our blessed Saviouâ— the light and life of the world hath counselled us Let our light shine and so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorifie our father which is in heaven Matth. 5.16 We that have light commanded for us every day how should we be lights and go forth as the Sun casting out our rays and beams in a holy and godly conversation And while we go forth and walk in such a conversation we go forth and walk as the Sun in its strength we enlighten all the world where we come and dazel the eyes of the wicked world or of the wicked in the world Sixthly How should we who have light commanded for us avoid all the works of darkness yea We should as the Apostle exhorts Rom. 13.12 13. cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light we should walk honestly as in the day As in the day which the light of the natural Sun makes and as in the day which the light of the mystical Sun our Lord Jesus Christ hath made Seventhly Remember as God hath commanded a morning for us here so he will command a light or a morning a morning light for all our actions hereafter As God hath made the the light so he will bring all things to light Many now live in the light of this world whose works are in the dark as well as theirs are works of darkness Now as the Lord hath commanded a morning to shine for us to worke by so he will have a morning wherein all our works shall be seen 1 Cor. 4.5 He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and the manifest the counsels of the heart Men may dig deep to hide their counsels from God but God knows how to bring them and their counsels to the morning and will cause a light to shine upon them though they have no light of truth or righteousness in them God will bring every work into judgement with every secret thing Eccl. 12.14 We must all appear saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 5.10 or we must all be manifest we must appear and so must our works too Those works of men shall be light as to their discovery which are nothing but darkness as to their impurity Those deeds which have no light in them shall come in the clearest light and be plainly seen to the bottom both by Men and Angels The Lord who hath commanded this moâ—ning light for us to do our work in will command another morning light to judge our works in and to give us the reward of them And let all the wicked of the earth to whom the morning of any day because they are in danger to be discovered by it is as the shadow of death Job 24.17 Let them I say consider how many thousand deaths that morning will be to them which will actually fully and impartially discover all their wickedness with all the secrets of it Lastly Consider if the Lord hath bestowed so great a mercy upon us in commanding the morning or in giving us light the light of the Sun then let us be minded how great a mercy the Lord hath bestowed upon us in commanding the light or morning of the Gospel to come upon us It was night with us and so it would have been for ever for any means we could have devised or used to help out selves out of it till God commanded Christ the bright Morning Star Rev. 22.16 and Sun of Righteousness to rise and shine upon us How unspeakable a mercy is it that such a light should appear to us who not only were in darkness but were darkness If we account it a mercy that God hath commanded a morning to shine to us O what a mercy is it that we have a Christ to shine upon us That the Day-Star from on high hath visited us That he who is the true light that enlightens every man that cometh into the world John 1.9 hath risen upon us both to scatter the darkness of sin and ignorance and to chear our souls with the sweet beams of his healing wings So much of the first part of the verse Hast thou commanded the mâ—rning since thy day 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sâ—ir◠〈◊〉 auâ—â—râ—◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mane 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 aurora dâ—ssâ—runt Nam prima dici 〈…〉 diâ—tum 〈…〉 hâ—c a nigri◠〈◊〉 specio ut vid tur Nam 〈◊〉 res sub diâ—â—rulo apparere inâ—pturâ— nigricâ—â—â— viâ—entur Câ—c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eâ—t nigrescâ—re bin nigrescentem lucem scil diluculum significat Sol varie nec uno loco oritur quotidie ejus loâ—â—s mutatirut sol ascendit aut descendit in signis Zodiaci Merc. And caused the day-spring to know his place That is when and where it should break forth and appear every morning The day-spring is exprest by a different word in the original from the morning light it implieth the first of the morning when the air is darkish or duskish we commonly call it the gray of the morning The word signifies to be dark or that darkness which we call twilight When the day-spring ushers in the morning there is a kind of dimness in the light Now saith the Lord Hast thou caused the day-spring to know its place hast thou taught it where to shew it self to the world The Lord speaks nere of the day-spring as if it were a rational creature that took instructions or a word of direction where to begin the morning light God not man hath taught the day-spring to know its place We have a like expression Psal 16.11 Thou wilt shew me or thou wilt cause me to know the path of life Thus the Lord makes the day-spring know the path to its own place The day never springs twice immediately in one place but is in a continual variation as Astronomers with experience teach The place of the light or Sun-rising differeth every morning and from thence we have the difference of the dayes The Sun passing through the twelve signs of the Zodiack beginning with Aries c. I shall not trouble you with their names which have been devised and are used only for learning sake the Sun I say passing every year thâ—ough these twelve Signs all which Astronomers present unto us under various forms or figures such as themselves fancied most useful to subserve the understanding of that Art according to the situation of these Signs through which the Sun runs his course in the Heavens the day-spring to us on Earth changeth its place every day appearing sometimes more southerly and sometimes more easterly as the Sun either ascends to the Summer Solstice at which time the day is at longest and the night at shortest as about the eleventh of our Moneth called June or when it descends to the Winter Solstice at which time the day is shortest and the night longest as about the eleventh of our December To which we may add the Suns coming in its
him I look upon the proud man and bring him low now let me see you do so too Canst thou with a look only abate their pride and bring down the pomp of man Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath Hence note First There is wrath in God God knoweth how to cast forth his wrath as well as to send forth his love Habet ira Domini suam energiam nunquam egreditur vana or shed it abroad as the Apostles word is Rom. 5.5 in the hearts of his justified ones by the holy Ghost which is given unto them The wrath of God saith the same Apostle Rom. 1.18 is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness The wrath of God is such as we can neither First withstand nor Secondly avoid there 's no out-running no making an escape from it but only by Jesus Christ and therefore the Apostle gives that glory to him alone 1 Thess 1.10 Even Jesus which delivered us from the wrath to come There is a wrath to come which God will scatter over all this sinful wicked world blessed are they that are delivered from it Yea not only is there wrath in God but a fierceness of wrath terrible wrath such as will cause the wicked as was said before to run into the holes of the rocks and into the caves of the earth for fear of the Lord and for the glory of his majesty when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth Isa 2.19 Let us mind this wrath and the fierceness of it and let us bless the Lord who hath sent Jesus Christ â—o deliver us from this wrath and from the fierceness of it When wrath shall be cast abroad upon the wicked world that it falls not upon the godly is the fruit of highest and freest love And though they sip of the cup yet that they drink not the dregs of it is rich mercy Psal 75.98 In the hand of the Lord there is a cup and the wine is red it is full of mixture and he powreth out the same in this powring out possibly a godly man may drink somewhat of it especially in a time of common calamity but the dregs thereof all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out and drink them It is of the Lords mercy and because his compassions fail not that we are delivered from the fierceness of his wrath and from drinking the very dregs of the cup of his displeasure Consider further upon whom this wrath will be exercised Cast forth the rage of thy wrath behold every one that is proud and abase him This the Lord bids Job do to shew what himself usually doth Hence note First The Lord takes special notice of proud persons He beholds them he locks upon them As it is said Saul 1 Sam. 18.9 He eyed David from that day forward that is which was his great sin he cast a revengeful envious eye upon him Thus when the holy God seeth wicked men gâ—ow lofty and proud he eyeth and beholdeth them from that very day with an eye of just revenge or with a purpose to break them and be revenged on them God beholds them as I may say with an evil eye that is with an intent to bring evil upon them He saith David Psal 138.6 knoweth the proud afar off As it is said of the Father of the humbled Prodigal in the Parable Luke 15. When he was yet a great way off his father saw him and had compassion So God quickly spies out a proud man even a great way off and hath indignation against him or as we may rather expound the Psalm He knoweth the proud afar off that is a proud man shall never come near him he will not admit him into his presence much less into his imbraces To be known afar off is to be far from the favourable or respectful knowledge of God yea to those whom the Lord knows afar off in this world he will say in the next I never knew you depart from me ye workers of iniquity Mat. 7.23 Secondly Note God is able to and will cast down proud men That which he would have Job do he himself as was said usually doth He beholdeth the proud and abaseth them he layeth them low Nebuchadnezzar that proud Monarch was brought to that confession Dan. 4.37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and honour and extol the King of Heaven all whose works are true and his ways judgment and those that walk in pride he is able to abase If men will be proud and lofty the Lord both knoweth very well how and is able very easily to bring them down And as he knows how and is able to deal with proud men so he desires and delights to deal with them above all sorts of sinners his greatest contests are with the proud Isa 2.12 13 14. The day of the Lord of Hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty and upon every one that is lifted up in his own conceit especially and he shall be brought low and upon all the Cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up and upon all the Oaks of Bashan and upon all the high mountains c. What meaneth the Prophet by these is the Lord angry with trees and mountains These are but the shadows of great and proud men the day of the Lord shall be upon every one of them and his hand will be heavy upon them in that day Proud men look upon themselves much above others but as God is above them so he loves to shew himself ahove them especially when they shew out their pride As Jethroe said to Moses Exod. 18.9 11. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them God sheweth himself above all when he acts above proud men and acts them down in their proudest actings And as the Lord delights to bring proud men down so he will certainly do it he is resolved upon it He looketh upon every one that is proud to abase him The Angels that fell were proud they kept not their first estate but left their habitation they did not like the state wherein God had placed them and therefo e God cast them down and he hath reserved them in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day Jude 6. When man in Paradise began to be proud and would be more than God made him God made him above all earthly creatures but he would be as God as his Creator he would be as it were the founder of his own happiness pride and unbelief at once took hold of him and led him to his sin-fall and then followed his fall his judgment-fall God cast him down God abased him and not only that proud man but man-kind for his pride they being in him his pride was theirs And to this day God hath all along set his face against all proud men and the pride
God in our selves there is no standing before God without a Mediator and there is no Mediator but Jesus Christ who is both God and Man or God-man for man to stand before God in Thus much of the first use or inference which the Lord makes from all that he had said of Leviathan The second inference followeth in the next verse Vers 11. Who hath prevented me that I should repay him As in the former verse the Lord gave us instruction concerning his own all-sufficiency and irresistible power Who can stand before me So in this he instructs us concerning his own absolute independency Who hath prevented me that I should repay him Both which parts of the Application the Lords shuts up with an Assertion of his universal soveraignty and lordship over all creatures in the close of this 11th verse Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine Who hath prevented me that I should repay him Master Broughton renders Who gave me any thing first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quis precessit me that I may pay him again These words the Apostle Paul plainly alludes to some conceive he quotes them in the 35th verse of the 11th Chapter of his Epistle to the Romans Who hath known the mind of the Lord or who hath been his counseller or who hath first given to him and it shall be recompensed unto him again So saith Saint Paul and here the Lord himself saith Who hath prevented me that I should repay him as much as to say Who hath first given to me and it shall be recompensed unto him again Who hath prevented me The Lord seems in these words Quis ostendit mihi viam in cretione totius mundi Vatebl to make proclamation all the world over to enquire among Angels and Men who it is or whether there be any one that can come forth and say he hath prevented him To prevent is to be aforehand with another in courtesie or kindness in help or assistance God prevents man in all these but no man hath prevented God in any one of them We may give a three-fold interpretation of this divine challenge First Who hath prevented me or who was afore-hand with me in the work of Creation who helpt me to make Leviathan you see what a piece of work he is how vast how dreadful a creature he is who helped me or who gave me any help in the forming or creating of him Several expound this question of the Lords independency in the work of creation none began to him none directed him how to create none counselled him what to create The Apostle useth that word Who hath been his counseller No man hath been the Lords counseller nor did he need any counsel in or about any of his works And as none were his counsellers to give him advice so none were his helpers to give him any assistance to bring the work about no hand hath been put to it but his own no hand was at it nor in it but his own I am he saith the Lord Isa 54.24 that maketh all things that stretcheth forth the heavens alone that spreadeth abroad the earth by my self I have done all alone all by my self the Angels did not help me As God made the Angels without help so he used not the help of Angels in making any thing else Secondly Who hath prevented me in governing and disposing the affairs of the world I have had no counsel hitherto for that And shall any now take upon them to teach me the art of government Thirdly In general Who hath prevented me that is who hath done me any good office who contributed the least benefit to me to whom am I beholding for the least mite That I should repay him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 à verbo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is that I should be engaged to repay him The word which we render to repay signifies properly to make peace because when debts are paid and what is due discharged then all is quiet there is no matter of difference remaining As if the Lord had said If any one can produce any bill or bond or make proof that I stand indebted to him I am ready to satisfie him and to discharge all my obligations Who hath prevented me that I should repay him Hence note First God will not be in any mans debt If any can make it good that they have prevented him that they have given him counsel or assistance in his works of creation and providence or that they have done him the least courtesie they shall receive to the full worth and value of it What we do in way of duty to the Lord he is ready to reward us for it we shall not lose our labour though God be no gainer by it And though it be through his grace strength and assistance that we do any good yet we shall be rewarded as if we had done it alone Surely then God would not be in our debt if we could do any thing alone or that did in it self oblige him Secondly Note God is afore-hand with us not we with him The Lord prevents us we do not prevent him That 's it which the Lord would then have Job and now us to understand by this question Who hath prevented me even that himself hath prevented us all and in all by his grace and goodness in any good we have received or done David waited for this preventing grace Psal 59.10 The God of my mercy shall prevent me he shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies he shall prevent not only my endeavours but even my desires and wishes Yet what in this Psalm he professed an assurance of in another Psalm to shew that our assurance of mercy must not give a stop to duty he puts into a prayer Psal 79.8 O remember not against us former iniquities let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us for we are brought very low The Lord hath preventing mercies for his people in their low estate Though we do not prevent the Lord though we are not before-hand with him by our preparations and prayers by our repentings and reformings in our low estate yet he hath mercies ready and prepared for us yea though we come forth to meet the Lord as we are advised Amos 4.12 humbling our selves before him in prayers and tears yet this doth not prevent the Lord but he prevents us by his grace and favour helping us to mourn and pray And as the Lord alwayes prevents us by helping us to pray so he sometimes prevents us with an answer to our prayers before he helps us to pray Isa 65.24 It shall come to pass that before they call I will answer and while they are yet speaking I will hear that is they shall have an answer to their prayers before they have made their prayers so that when we have made many prayers and have been long in prayer much fasting and humbling our selves yet mercy prevents us Mercy comes usually before
in sickness as well as in health in disgrace with men as well as when most honoured and cryed up by them when naked as well as when cloathed as well in rags as in the richest array Hence that confident conclusion vers 38. I am perswaded that neither death nor life c. shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And if so then we see where our true interest lyeth Let us make sure of Christ he will never leave us all earthly friends may Friends are a great mercy but they are not a sure mercy Again Consider Jobs friends who came not at him when in that afflicted condition yet as soon as ever God turned his captivity and made him prosper in the world then they would own him then they came Hence note Thirdly Such as are no friends in adversity will readily shew themselves friendly in prosperity That they came then is an intimation if not a proof that they came not before but then they came What Christ spake in another case I may apply by way of allusion to this Where the carcase is thither will the Eagles be gathered together When Job was up his friends appear'd All are ready to worship the rising Sun When the face of things and times change with us then the faces of friends change towards us then they have other respects and countenances for us this spirit of the world hath been anciently observed Si fueris foelix multos numerabis amicos Tempora si fuerintnubila solus eris even by Heathens If you be happy or restored to happiness you shall number many friends though you had none before Such friends are like those birds that visit our coasts in Summer when 't is warm weather when every thing flourisheth and is green then some birds visit us who all the Winter when 't is cold frost and snow leave us Faâ—ther it may be conceived that several of Jobs friends left him not only upon the occasion of his poverty and want but upon the supposition of his hypocrisie and wickedness many of them might have the same opinion of him which those three had who particularly dealt with him that surely he was a bad man because the Lord brought so much evil upon him Now when the Lord restored Job they had another a better opinion of him the Lord also giving a visible testimony of his accepting Job Hence note Fourthly God will one time or other vindicate the integrity of his faithful servants and set them right in the opinion of others God suffered Jobs integrity to lie under a cloud of supposed hypocrisie but at last the Lord restored him to his credit as well as to his estate and made his unkind and not only suspicious but censorious friends acknowledge that he was upright and faithful The Lord promiseth Psalm 37.6 to bring forth the righteousness of his servants as the light and their judgement as the noon-day that is a right judgement in others concerning them as well as the rightness of their judgement in what they have done and been or his own most righteous judgement in favour of them They who had a wrong judgement and took a false measure of Job measuring him by the outward dispensations of God and judging of his heart by his state and of his spirit by the face of his affairs these were at last otherwise perswaded of him 'T is as the way so the sin and folly of many to judge upon appearance upon the appearance of Gods outward dealings they conclude men good or bad as their outward condition is good or bad and therefore the Lord to redeem the credit of his faithful servants that lye under such misapprehensions sends prosperity and manifests his gracious acceptance of them that men of that perverse opinion may be convinced and delivered out of their error Note Fifthly The Lords favouring us or turning the light of his countenance towards us can soon cause men to favour us and shine upon us See what a change the Lord made at that time both in the state of things and in the hearts of men when the Lord outwardly forsook Job friends forsook him children mockt him acquaintance despised him his very servants slighted him yet no sooner did the Lord return in the manifestations of his favour but they all returne desiring to ingratiate themselves with him and strive who shall engage him most God can quickly give us new friends or restore the old Expleâ—â— contumelias honoribus detrimenta muneribus execrationes precibus The hearts of all men are in the hand of the Lord who turns them from us or to us as he pleaseth When God manifests his favour he can command our favour with men Though that which is a real motive of the Lords favour to his people their holiness and holy walkings gets them many enemies and they are hated for it by many yet the Lord discovering or owning the graces of his servants by signal favours often gets them credit and sets them right in the opinion of men Thus it was with Job all his friends returned to him upon the Lords high respect to him in turning his captivity Again in that Jobs friends came to him Cui dominus favet ei omnia favent Observe Sixthly It is the duty of friends to be friendly to come to and visit one another It is a duty to do so in both the seasons or in all the changes of our life It is a duty to do so in times of prosperity when God shines upon our Tabernacle When any receive extraordinary mercies it is the duty of friends to shew them extraordinary courtesies and to bless God for them and with them When Elizabeths neighbours and cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her they rejoyced with her Luke 1.58 It is a duty to rejoyce with those that rejoyce and to come to them that we may rejoyce with them It is a duty also to visit those that mourn and to mourn with them Friendly visits are a duty in all the seasons of our lives Once more Then came all his brethren c. It was late e're they came but they came Hence Note It is better to perform a duty late than not at all They had a long time even all the time of his long affliction neglected or at least slackned this duty of visiting Job yet they did not reason thus with themselves It is in vain to visit him now or our visiting him now may be thought but a flattering with him or a fawning upon him No though they had neglected him before they would not add new to their old incivilities We say of repentance which is a coming to God Late repentance is seldom true yet true repentance is never too late None should think it too late to come to God though they have long neglected him nor should sinners who have long neglected God be discouraged Though
received Sixthly There are gifts of incouragement to those that are industrious and deserve well which we may call remunerative gifts These are as oil to the wheel of ingenuous spirits in a good work it is lawful at any time and sometimes necessary to bestow such gifts Seventhly There are gifts of bribery which pervert justice and put out the eyes of Judges They are not the rewards of industry but the wages of unrighteousness such as Balack would have given Balaam he offered him great gifts I will promote thee to honour But what was it for even to hire him to curse the people of God Let all take heed of giving or taking gifts to pervert justice or to encourage any in the doing of any wickedness or unworthiness these are corruptive gifts Further Whereas they gave not only a piece of money or a lamb but every one an ear-ring of gold which we may consider not only as to the matter as it was gold but as to the form as it was an ear-ring or an artificial piece of gold that an ornamental piece of gold they might have given gold and probably they did in the pieces of money which they gave him but they gave him ear-rings also in which the fashion or use is most considerable and the workmanship more worth than the mettal Hence Note It is lawful to wear ornaments Not only may we wear that which serves for a covering to the body but that which is for the adorning of it An ear-ring is an ornament As all are to wear cloths to hide their shame and nakedness so some may wear robes to shew their state and greatness Job received ear-rings he did not cast them by as vain things When Abraham sent his servant to take a wife for his Son Isaac he stored him with cabinets of precious jewels to bestow upon her Gen. 24. and when he found Rebeccah at the well and found who she was he took a golden ear-ring of half a shekel weight and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold and gave them to Rebeccah And afterwards when her parents had given consent to the marriage then ver 53. The servant brought forth jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment and gave them to Rebeccah c. Abraham would not send such things to a Wife for his Son had they been vain in their own nature or sinful in their use Yet take the point with these cautions We may wear ornaments but First We must not be proud of them Secondly We must not set our affections upon them Thirdly We must beware of an affectation in wearing them Fourthly We must take heed of wastfulness we may not lavish out an estate upon ornaments nor make our selves poor to make our selves fine I grant some Scriptures speak negatively in appearance as to the use and wearing of jewels and ornaments 1 Tim. 2.9 In like manner also let women adorn themselves in modest aparel in shame fastness and sobriety not with broidened hair or gold or pearl or castly array This Scripture seems to cross the point directly and so doth that other 1 Pet. 3.3 Whose adorning speaking of women let it not be that outward adorning of plating the hair and of wearing of gold and of putting on of aparel but let it be the hidden man of the heart How then can good women wear these ornaments I answer These Scriptures do not absolutely forbid the wearing of ornaments but only as to those exceptions before given to wear them in pride or to set our affections upon them or to affect them or to wear them wastfully beyond our purse and place such wearing of ornaments is indeed unlawful Again it is not sinful to have or use ornaments but to make them our ornaments that is sinful our adorning must be the hidden man of the heart that must be grace That this is the Apostles mind is clear because he saith their adorning must not be the putting on of apparrel as well as not the plating of the hair and wearing of gold Therefore the negation is not absolute but comparative let not them count these their ornaments but grace or the hidden man of the heart As the Lord saith I will have mercy and not sacrifice that is mercy rather than sacrifice so I will have the hidden man of the heart not costly jewels and apparel your ornament that is I esteem the one much rather than the other and so ought you to esteem both your selves and others accordingly Take this caution further Times of affliction and suffering are very unseasonable to wear ear-rings of gold and ornaments When there is any great appearance of the displeasure of God against a people then how unsutable are all our pleasant things The Lord said to the people of Israel Put off your ornaments that I may know what to do with you Exod. 32. When we live in such a time in humbling days or are called to humbling duties we should be very watchful about these things and rather appear in raggs than robeâ— with dust upon our heads rather than with ornaments upon our backs Thus far of the first part of Jobs restauration the return of his friends and the significations of their friendliness towards him eating bread with him bemoaning him comforting him and presenting him with gifts of honour if not of enrichment pieces of money and earings of gold Yet all their civilities and bounties reached but a little way if at all towards that restauration which the Lord intended him the doubling of his whole estate which he soon received in full measure heaped up pressed down and running over as will appear in opening the two next verses and those which follow to the end of the chapter JOB Chap. 42. Vers 12 13. 12. So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning For he had fourteen thousand Sheep six thousand Camels and a thousand yoak of Oxen and a thousand She-Asses 13. He had also seven sons and three Daughters IN these two verses we have the second and the third part of Jobs restauration His friends were restored to him in the former verse his further restauration is set down in these two verses First generally at the beginning of the 12th verse So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning Secondly Particularly and First With respect to his Cattle of outward estate for he had saith the Text Fourteen thousand sheep and six thousand Camels c. Secondly With respect to his issue or children vers 13. He had also seven Sons and three daughters Vers 12. So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning In these words we may take notice of four things First the means or as I may call it the procuring cause of Jobs increase or of his growing and flowing prosperity it was a blessing Secondly We have here the Author or Fountain of this blessing it was the Lord. Thirdly
himself down to speak and treat with dust and ashes What a wonder is it that the Lord of Heaven and Earth should admit and enter into a parly with man who is but a well-shaped clod of Earth Solomon was in a kind of amazement at the mercy when he said at the Dedication of the Temple 1 Kings 8.22 But will God indeed dwell on Earth And may not we that God should come down to confer with an afflicted bed-rid man on Earth I know some are of opinion that the Lord spake by an Angel to Job however here was the Lords presence it was Jehovah who manifested himself to Job what Ministry soever he used Thus the Lord is pleased often to interpose in the case and cause of his afflicted servants though we see him not nor have such formal apparitions as here in the Text. The Lord the high and lofty One who dwelleth in the high and holy Place dwelleth also with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit and be dwelleth with him to revive him Isa 57.15 Therefore surely he manifests himself to him in his loving-kindness which is better than life and the very life of our lives The Lord who hath Heaven for his Throne and the Earth his footstool saith by the same prophet Isa 66.1 2. To this man will I look and lest any should take this man to be one of the mighty ones of this world he giveth us both a signal specification and clear character of this man to whom he looketh even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit and that trembleth at my Word And if the Lord look to such a man if he vouchsafe him his gracious â—ye doubtless he also reveals himself graciously and freely to him Secondly The Lord came here to instruct and teach Job Several persons had dealt with him before and they very worthy good and learned persons and they came with a purpose to do him good yet all would not do All that his three friends said who undertook him first in their turns was to little purpose in appearance And though Elihu a spritely young man discours'd him with much life and heat yet neither could he do the business Jobs spirit began indeed to yeeld upon the last engagement of Elihu with him yet he did not convince him fully God came at last and he prevailed he did the deed Then the Lord answered Job Hence Note We need the teachings of God besides all the teachings of men that we may rightly know him and our selves together with the intendment of his dealings with us and our own duty under them 'T is the mercy of the New Covenant that we shall be taught of God and not by man onely nor alone As here Job had three or four so we may have thrice three men toyling with us a long time in vain The work is never well done till God comes and though we have not such appearances of God now yet he doth the same thing in effect to this day This and that man a thousand men yea a man who is an Interpreter one of a thousand as Elihu spake may be labouring upon the conscience of a sinner and never bring things home either to convince or comfort him till God is pleased to come in by the power of his blessed Spirit and then who can but be convinced and comforted Hence our Lord Christ had no sooner reported the Covenant Promise out of the Prophet They shall be all taught of God John 6.45 but presently he makes this inference from it Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me We may say to all who are savingly wrought upon as Christ to Peter upon that Confession which he made Matth. 16.16 Thou art Christ the Son of the Living God Flesh and blood hath not revealed this to you but your Father which is in Heaven Impossibile est deum discere sine deo Iraen l. 4. adversus Haret c. 10. A deo discendum quicquid de deo intelligendum Hilar. l. 5. de Trin. It was said by one of the Ancients it is impossible to know God without God And so said another We must learn all that from God which we understand of God Unless God be our Tutor we shall never be good Scholars We know neither God nor our selves any further than God teacheth us Christ saith Be not called Masters for one is your Master even Christ Matth. 23.8 There are two sorts of Masters 1. Ruling or Commanding Masters 2. Teaching Masters To the former we are Servants to the latter we are Scholars In the eighth verse Christ speaks of Teaching Masters as of Ruling Masters at the tenth verse Now when Christ would not have any man take upon him or own the Title of Master or Teacher his meaning is that no man should arrogate to himself the honour of principal Teacher which is the peculiar of God but to acknowledge that all mans teaching is nothing without Gods as the Apostle also saith 1 Cor. 3. We must learn from God whatever we know aright either of God or of our selves Eliphaz Bildad and Zophar spake much of God to Job but Job was never effectually humbled till God spake Thirdly Note As God here by his Word so alwayes the Word of God is the true determiner of controversies and resolver of doubts No question can be truly stated but by the Word of God Rectum est index sui obliqui As the statutes of the Lord are right Psal 19.8 So they shew what is right and what is not A strait Rule declares it self to be strait and detects the crookedness of whatsoever is crooked The last appeal in all things doubtful is to the Law Isa 8.20 To the Law and to the Testimony if they speak not according to this Word it is because there is no light or as the Margin hath it no morning in them The Sun of righteousness hath not risen upon them who speak and hold unrighteous things Search the Scriptures saith Christ John 5.39 or as 't is well rendred in the Indicative Mood Ye search the Scriptures for in them ye think ye have eternal life Nor did they think amiss in thinking so but that which Christ secretly reproved while he said so was that they did amiss or contradicted the Scripture in their lives while they boastingly thought so Not what this or that man saith but what God saith is the true ground of mans faith Sumamus exlibris divinitus inspiratis solutionem questionum Theod. l. 1. Hist Eccles c. 7. It was a worthy speech of Constantine in the Nicene Council Let us take out of that Book divinely inspired the solution of our Questions It is not what the Fathers say nor what the Pope saith nor what Councils say but what the Word of God saith that must be heard and relied upon for salvation The Word is the Judge that is the rule of Judgement As here God was the
he hath founded it upon the waters as was shewed before yet that cannot be meant properly for how can water a fluid body naturally bear up or sustain the Earth a heavy body and not at all boyant We all see it hangeth or standeth in the ayre But what foundation can the ayre be to the Earth which will scarcely bear a feather It remains then undeniable that the Will and Power of God are the foundations of the Earth Rationi nihil occurrit cui innitatur terra si divinam exceperis voluntatem Nazian Orat. 24. There 's nothing can be given or assigned in reason if you look not to the Will of God for the foundation of the Earth Besides that there 's no bottom for it One of the Ancients giving a description of the Creation saith All things are laid up in his Power and Will these are the foundations the stay and establishment of all things Omnia reposita existimo in ejus potestate quod voluntas ejus sit fundamentum universorum Ambr. l. 1. Hexam c. 6. And as it is so with respect to the standing of the Earth so with respect to all those great things which God hath promised to do in the Earth the foundation of them all is his own Power and Will or his Powerful Will The foundation laid in Election and the foundation laid in Redemption by Jesus Christ other foundation can no man lay for all our spiritual comforts present priviledges and future hopes 1 Cor. 3.11 These foundations I say were laid in the Will of God Lo I come to do thy Will O God Heb. 10.7.9 The Will of God is the foundation and establishment of all things whether Natural or Civil Spiritual or Eternal Seventhly From the scope of these words we may Observe God who hath made the Earth by his Power doth also govern it and man who inhabits it And therefore man ought to be quiet and sit down in his governing as well as in his Creating Will. To convince and perswade Job of this is as hath been toucht the purpose of God in all that followeth He that hath made the World governs the World and if so shall poor creatures you or I or any other though a Job find fault with his government of it Will a Master-Builder suffer any one to find fault with his work who understands not how to lay a stone in it much less to give the rule or direction for the whole work Forasmuch then as the Lord is not only the Master-Builder but the sole Maker of this great House the World it becomes man for whose use it was made to acquiesce or rest quietly in his Government of it Surely the Maker of all things hath a right to dispose of all things and therefore all persons are to be satisfied in his disposal of them From the whole verse and the observations given upon it take these Scripture inferences First The Scripture makes this inference from it God is one and there is none like to him Isa 40.26 Isa 46.8 To whom will ye liken me to whom will you compare me I am he that stretched out the heavens and laid the foundation of the earth there 's none like to him in Wisdome none in Power who laid the foundation of the Earth There was never such a visible piece of work done in the World as the making of the World therefore theâ—e is none such as the Maker of the World The hypocrite is brought in dreaming that God was altogether such as himself Psal 50.21 And 't is as it hath been the common guise of Idolaters to think that God is no better than their Idol But what the Lord by his Prophet Jer. 10.11 12 taught the captive Jews to say to their great Lords the Babylonians the same hath he taught us to say to all Hypocrites and Idolaters The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens Then presently followeth as in Job He hath made the earth by his power he hath established the world by his wisdom and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion As if it had been said Will ye imagine that the Idols which you have made are like him who made you and all things And 't is considerable that whereas the whole Prophesie of Jeremy is written in the Hebrew Tongue this eleventh verse which holds out at once a testimony and a threatning against those Idolaters is written in the Chaldean Language with which the Jews by their long Captivity in Babylon were well acquainted that so the Babylonians might hear of it and know that the God of Israel who made heaven and earth was altogether unlike their gods who did never so much as arrogate to themsâ—lves any hand in much less the sole power of making heaven and earth Secondly Take this Scripture inference Seeing the Lord hath laid the foundations of the earth by his own Power and Wisdome then He is the Proprietor of the whole earth or the whole earth is the Lords proper possession Psal 34.1 The earth is the Lords aâ—d the fulness thereof the Lord made it and it is his He was not called nor set a work to build this great House for another but he made iâ— as by his own power so for his own pleasure all the inhabitants of the earth are his tenants and not only the earth but the whole stock and furniture of it is his For as the Lord made the earth so all that the earth is stored with Thus spake Abraham Gen. 14.22 to the King of Sodome who bid him take the goods to himself I have lifted up my hand unto the Lord the most high God possessor of heaven and earth that I will not take from a threed even to a shoe latchet c. As if he had said The Lord who is possessor of heaven and earth is my portion my possession and he can give me enough of the earth yea he will give me heaven also therefore I will not take any thing of thine lest thou shouldest say I have made Abraham rich The Lord who is possessor of the earth can give his people what earthly portions or possessions of the earth he pleaseth And let us remember what earthly portions soever we have in this world we have no reason to boast seeing all is the Lords and we are but his stewards and tenants at will And because 't is the Lords earth which we possess let us also remember to pay our rent our quit-rent to him that is thanks duly and daily lest we provoke him to distrain upon us or to take the forfeiture and turn us out of all Many hold lands from great Lords to pay only some small rent or service in a way of acknowledgement O let us remember to pay our rent to our Great Land-Lord The Lord of the whole earth They who acknowledge what they have is his or that they have and hold all they have
of him will honour him with what they have even with their substance and with the first fruits of all their increase Prov. 3.9 Thirdly We may infer Seing God founded the earth He is also the Ruler of it And that the Lord rules the earth is a mercy to all men on the earth The Lord reigns let the earth rejoyce Psal 97.1 That is men of the earth have cause to rejoyce because they have God who is infinitely both wise and good to rule them The Lord is King over all the earth sing ye praises with understanding Psal 47.7 And surely they who understand what a King he is will praise him Fourthly We may be encouraged to go unto God or apply our selves to God about all things here on earth seeing â—e hath laid the fouâ—dations of the earth The Lord having invited his people to ask him things to come concerning his sons and concerning the work of his hands to command him Isa 45.11 adds this in the next words as an encouragement to do so I have made the earth and created man upon it As if he had said Ask of me whatever you would have me do or would have done on earth for I am he that created the earth It may help our faith much when as David expresseth it Psal 11.3 the very foundations of earthly things are destroyed to consider that God laid the foundations of the earth In such a case it may be said as it followeth there in the Psalme What can the righteous do but may it not be said even in that hard case when foundations are destroyed What cannot the Lord do who laid the foundations of the earth This argument the Psalmist also useth Psal 124.8 Our help stands in the Name of the Lord who made heaven and earth Though earth and heaven shake and seem to be confounded or mingled together yet he who made heaven and earth without help can give us help or be our helper If our help stood in the best of men made of earth they might fail us but while our help stands in him that made the earth he will never fail us for he hath said he will not Heb. 13.5 and their experience who have trusted the Lord hath said it too Psal 9.10 This is the great priviledge of all that believe they may address to God by Christ for any thing in this earth because he is the Maker of it and having made it by a word speaking what cannot he do for them if he speak the word Fifthly Let us be much in praising the Lord for his wisdom power and greatness all which gloriously appear and shine forth in his laying the foundations of the earth David makes this a special part of Divine praise Psal 136.6 VVe should not onely praise the Lord for the great things he hath done on the earth but for this that he hath made the earth The work of God in laying the foundations of the earth calls as loudly for our praise as any thing except our redemption from the earth Rev. 5.9 chap. 14.3 which ever God wrought upon the face of the earth The making of the earth calls us to praise the Lord First Because he hath made so vast a body as this earth is or because he hath made such a large house for us Secondly Because he hath founded it so miraculosly hanging upon nothing that appears but in the ayre yet standing more firmly than any house built upon a rock Thirdly VVe should praise the wisdom of God that hath formed it so exactly and adorned it so richly It 's not a house huddled and clapt up together without skill or art though it was made word a word speaking in six days yet it was made with infinite wisdom as is more particularly held out v. 5. where the Lord speaks of laying the measures thereof and stretching the line upon it as also of fastning the foundations and laying the câ—rner-stone thereof all which â—â—ew it is not a house clapt up in haste but made with admirable exactness so that as 't is usual when great houses are built there were great acclamations made at the building of it as we have it the seventh verse of this Chapter then the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy to see such a magnificent pile reared up Lastly Take this inference If the visible world be such a building what is the invisible world the City having foundations which God hath prepared for those that love him Thus much of the first part of Jobs Conviction he had nothing to do in laying the foundations of the earth and he had as little in setting up and finishing that goodly structure as will appear in that which followeth Yet before the Lord proceeded any further to question Job about this great work of Creation he requires or calls for his answer in the close of this fourth verse to the question propounded in the former part of it Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the Earth Declare if thou hast understanding God challengeth Job to answer The Hebrew is If thou knowest understanding And so the word is used Isa 29.24 where we render They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding or as the Margin hath it shall know understanding Again Huram said 2 Chron. 2.12 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel that made heaven and earth who hath given to David the King a wise son endued with prudence and understanding The Original is thus strictly read Knowing prudence and understanding Daniel spake in the same forme chap. 2.21 He giveth wisdom to the wise and knowledge to them that know understanding To know is a work of the understanding No man knoweth any thing but by the help of his understanding The understanding is the first or Master-wheel in that noble engine the soul of man and when rightly informed and inlightned all the other wheels or faculties of the soul move aright unless over-poized by passions and self-ends Every rational creature hath an understanding yet every rational creature doth not know understanding that is doth not is not able to speak knowingly or to use and act his understanding knowingly about every matter The Lord supposeth Job might be defective here and therefore bespeaks him thus Declare if thou hast understanding or knowest understanding As if he had said The things which I question thee about may possibly be too high or too big for thy understanding Si perituâ— sis tantarum rerum Vatab. such as possibly thou canst not reach And hence some render or rather paraphrase the Text thus Declare if thou art skilful in such great things as I now speak of If thou art so wise as thou seemest to be by thy former contesting with my provideâ—ces declare thy wisdom in this point wherein I know thou wilt but declare thy ignorance thy infancy or inability to speak as one speaks Thou wilt shew thy self but a child while thou
that is the Lord marks and hits the fittest time to come in and help his out of trouble Thus as they who reserve things do it till a season of using them presents it self so God reserves the snow and hâ—il till he hath a season an opportunity to use them what that is himself as was said expresseth in the Text it is The time of trouble or of straits When trouble comes straits come 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ad tempus arctum vel Angugustiae and great troubles reduce us to great straits and compel us to say as that good King Jehosaphat did 2 Chron. 20. We know not what to do The Septuagint render The time of the enemies that is when I am resolved to punish or destroy my enemies The word signifies both trouble and an enemy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in tempus hostis Sept. and both may well be comprehended under one word seeing no trouble is more troublesome nor can put us to greater straits than the appearance of a powerful enemy which was Jehosaphats case when in a time of trouble he cried out We know not what to do And this notion of the word as taken for an enemy falls in clearly with the latter clause of the verse Against the day of battel and war As if the Lord had said When my enemies come forth against me these are the Weapons this the Ammunition which I at any time can and often do make use of in the day of battel and war 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Praeliuci The word rendred battel signifies to aâ—proach because in a day of battel enemies or opposites approach one to another 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 à radice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vesci and charge each other The word rendred war springs from a root signifying to eat because the sword of war is a great eater and devours the bodies of men Now when God breaks forth in anger against obstinate sinners his enemies and brings any sore and destroying judgement upon them he is said to have war with them or to make war against them Who would set the briars and thorns in battel against me saith the Lord Isa 27.4 So then Both the time of trouble and the day of battel and war spoken of in this Text are the time and day of the Lords wrath and vengeance declared against his implacable and incorrigible enemies Snow and hail are treasured up and reserved against this time of trouble against this day of battel and war Hence Note First God hath a check upon all creatures He reserves or stops them as and as long as himself pleaseth He can prohibit snow and hail and command them not to come As they will surely come at any time if he commands them to come so if he commands them not to come till such or such a time they will not come till then The soveraignty of God is absolute over the creature When Nebuchadnezzars understanding returned to him then he praised and honoured him that liveth for ever Dan. 4.34 whose dominion is an everlasting dominion and confessed vers 35. that he doth according to his will in the army of heaven that is the Angels the Sun Moon and Stars as also the Meteors Snow and Hail c. all or any of these are the army of heaven an army raised in the heavens in this army God doth according to his Will as well as among the inhabitants of the earth Secondly Observe God is very patient he doth not presently take vengeance nor bring trouble though he be alwayes provided for it and able to do it As he retaineth not his anger for ever so he restraineth it long because he delighteth in mercy Mic. 7.18 As mercy moves the Lord speedily to receive repenting sinners into favâ—ur so it prevails with him to be very slow in sending judgements upon those that are impenitent The Lord reserved or kept back the waters of the flood a hundred and twenty years from drowning the Old World though as they provoked and even dared him to do it every day by their presumptuous sinnings against his warnings so he was able to do it any hour or moment of the day Thirdly Note Trouble hath its time or season There is a time for every purpose under the Sun Eccl. 3.1 Men have times for their purposes and so hath God much more for his he hath his times for quietness and times for trouble And as sin is the cause and sourse of all trouble so when sin is ripe trouble is ready When men have filled up the measure of their sin then God pouts down trouble upon them or makes it a time of trouble that they may taste and see and be convinced how evil and how bitter a thing it is to sin against the Lord. The Amorites were full of iniquity when God spake to Abraham Gen. 15.16 but their iniquity was not full and therefore their time of trouble the time when their Land spewed them out to make room for the Children of Israel was not till a long time after Fourthly Note Times of trouble are specially known to and appointed by God As he reserves his stores of vengeance for those times so he knows those times Wise Princes reserve stores against that evil time of war c. yet when that evil time will be they know not but to God all times are known David said Psal 31.15 My times are in thy hand that is my times of peace and trouble of joy and sorrow are at thy dispose thou cuttest out my times not onely as to the length or shortness of them but as to the form and condition of them Now if the Lord disposeth and ordereth our times what they shall be whether troublous or prosperous then he must needs know what times will be times of trouble Fifthly Note Present impunity is no assurance of future indemnity to sinners Judgement is but reserved and the instruments of it snow and hail c. kept up for a while Prodigals and spend-thrifts may boast but the date of the bond will come out and then an arrest comes Let sinners remember the instruments of divine vengeance are only reserved they are not broken nor cast away and whosoever are found in sin their sin that is the punishment of their sin sooner or later will find them out Numb 32.23 As God sometimes defers to give out mercy to his faithful people but never denies it them so he often defers the trouble of the wicked but never they continuing to do wickedly acquits them from it The Apostle Peter prophesying of false teachers who shall bring in damnable heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and shall bring upon themselves swift destruction 2 Pet. 2.1 saith of them also v. 3. Whose judgement now of a long time lingreth not and their damnation slumbreth not Though all seems to be well with them at present and hâ—th been so a long time yet their misery is certain it neither
Stars Gen. 19.23 Neh. 4.21 Thus here canst thou cause Mazzaroth to rise and go forth Or canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth What 's that Some Interpreters conceive Sunt collectionis syderum quae usus obtinuit ut vocentur 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quasi parva animalia alii vero dicunt signifiâ—are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sydereum canem Chrysost apud Orus Colligunt quidam hic Mazzaroth esse quod ibi dicebatur penetralia Austri Merc. Remotiora siâ— na Heb. separationes i. e. sidera à nobis qui sub polo arctico degimus ut Jobus separata sic autem vooantur sidera meridionalia quae oriuntur in principio aestatis Pisc that by Mazzaroth we are to understand those Constellations which Astronomers call the twelve Signes of the Zodiack which are expressed for learning sake by the fancied names of living creatures so that according to this interpretation the Suns appearance in or passage through those monthly signs is the bringing forth of Mazzaroth in his season But most generally they are taken for the Southern Stars and thought to be the same with those Chap. 9.9 Called the Chambers of the South and seeing the other three are named there it is not improbable that under this word the fourth is intended Master Broughton calls them far Stars in the South The letter of the Hebrew imports that and the Seventy derive it from a root â—hat signifies to separate or disperse because those Stars are far separated or are at a great distance from us who lye under the Northern Pole Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season that is canst thou make that Constellation appear in its proper time thou canst not Hence take these brief Notes The Stars of heaven are brought forth by special order and appointment As men are brought forth at such a time in such a place so are they by an order from God The Stars of heaven are not under any law of man on earth no nor of the Angels in heaven Psal 19.4 5. In them speaking of the heavens hath he that is the Lord set a Tabernacle for the Sun which is as a Bride groom coming out of his Chamber every morning to visit his Spouse the earth and rejoyceth as a strong man to run a race what is there spoken of the Sun is true of Mazzaroth and of all the Stars whether planted in the Northern or Southern in the Eastern or Western parts of heaven 'T is the Lord who brings them all forth and that in their season Note secondly The Stars of heaven have their seasons and keep their seasons They keep them punctually to a minute to a moment they know their times and they keep time they have their seasons of rising and their seasons of setting Psal 65.8 Thou makest the out-goings of Morning and Evening to rejoyce Some Stars go out in the Morning others go out in the Evening their times are various but they all keep their time Psal 104.19 The Sun knoweth its going down that is the time of its going down the place of its going down In this we may see what we should do or our own duty Let us come forth in our season The Stars are brought forth in theirs and shall not we happy are they that come forth and bring forth in their season To hit time is a mercy as well as a duty Paul indeed said of himself 1 Cor. 15.8 that he was an abortive or born out of due time An abortive in nature is one that comes into the world before the due time Paul as to his spiritual birth or new birth through grace was not nor can any one be new-born before the due time We may rather say that we are new-born too late than too soon or before our time Paul might say he had been too long a proud Pharisie a formal professor and at last a persecutor of those who professed the truth of the Gospel in truth and therefore in that sence Paul was not an abortive or born out of due time namely before his time But Paul might say so of himself that he was so First Because he was the last of the Apostles that was called The other Apostles were called by Christ while he lived here on earth Paul was called by Christ from heaven after his death and departure from the earth Secondly He was born like an abortive or those that come out of due time because of the violence and grievous pangs which accompanied his new-birth He was smitten from his horse to the ground and lay as one dead in his passage to his new-life Such was the suddenness and violence of his conversion that it was most like an abortion Thirdly The Apostle himself seems to give the reason in the next Verse we know abortives are usually very weak and imperfect children and less in body than those born in due time Now such was Saint Pauls humility so low was he in his own thoughts that he calls himself vers 9. the least of the Apostles not meet to be called an Apostle In all these or in any of these notions the Apostle Paul might say he was born out of due time yet both as to the truth and seasonableness of his conversion he was born in due time and in his full time Now as there is a due time a season for our spiritual birth so for our fruit-bearing in spirituals It is said of every godly man Psal 1.3 He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season that is seasonable fruit The Stars appear in their season and so should the fruits of every Gospel-professor If we should see Winter-stars in Summer and Summer-stars in Winter if the Sun should rise at Mid-night or go down at Mid-day how prodigious would that appearance and disappearance be if the Sun should not rise and set just at the time we look for him it would breed horror and put all men into an amazement But now the Lord brings forth Mazzaroth and all the Stars in their season O therefore let us look to our seasons we shall be reproved else by the Stars of heaven Mazzaroth will be a witness against us Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season Or canst thou guid Arcturus with his Sons A radice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 duxit placidè sensim sicut pastoroves Arcturus est stella insignis quae oritur in principio Autumni Hebraei putant esse septem stellas quae semper apparent in nostro hemisphaerio à congregatione sic dictas nam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 est congregatio Merc. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sive Cynosura supra alias stellas in apice caeli tanquam mater in alto supra filios suos sedens cum iis certissima ratione circumducitur Coc. Here 's a fourth question Canst thou guid The word signifies to guid or conduct gently softly canst thou guid them as a Shepheard guids his flock
two interpretations First Some expound it of staying the rain when there is most need of rain or when the earth wants it most or in a time of drought For then the earth groweth hard like a molten-pillar and the clods thereof cleaving one to another make clefts in the body of the earth In a time of great drought the earth at once cleaves asunder and runs closet together as it were to succour it self Who stayeth the bottles of heaven when the earth is chapt and gapes for rain to soften and cool it Surely man doth it not nor can he be said to do it unless meritoriously It is God alone who efficiently stays the clouds from rain in a time of drought or when the necessities of the earth call aloud for it Taking the words in this sense Observe God can stop any of our mercies as here the rain when we have most need of them I saith the Lord Amos 4.7 have withholden the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest and I caused it to rain upon one City and caused it not to rain upon another City one piece was rained upon and the piece whereupon it rained not withered One months drought before harvest threatens a scarsity or dearth of Corn but two yea three months drought must needs usher in a dreadful famine Voce◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—â—â—o sermentâ—tiâ—â—m â—erbo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quâ—d â—â—gnificat â—â—rmentari atque intâ—mescere E. Pisc The second interpretation of these words seems yet more clear Who can stay the bottles of heaven when the dust groweth into hardness and the clods cleave fast together that is who but God can stop rain when there is no farther need of rain As it the Loâ—d had said When the bottles of heaven have given out so much rain as may sit the earth for fruit-bearing or when the ground hath had its fill so that the light dust is turned into lumps of earth and that dust which was raised and tossed with every breath of wiâ—d is clodded and agglutinated by water into a massie substance when I say 't is thus with the earth who can stay or stop the bottles of heaven from raining more to the spâ—il of all but my self So then the true use of rain is held forth in this 38. vers namely that the dust of the earth being moistened with rain may coalesce or be joyned close together This I conceive is the most natural and proper sense of the Text. For the earth which by drought was cruâ—bled into dust rain falling plentifully upon it is knit again into one body like meal or flower into which leven is put and so is made ready to receive Humore aquae terrae puries continentur uniuntur quae ante disjunctae fuerant Merc. Vt perfusio sit formentandae terrae ut conglutinentur glebae Jun. Trans I. e. ut terram quum pulverulenta est ab ariditate immissis pluviis sermentet ad glebarum comâ—agem rerum ex ea nascentium alimentum Jun. nourish and b ing forth whatever grain is cast into the bosome of it Rain falling upon the dust embodies it The ground moulders in a time of drought but when rain comes that hardens it The dust as we commonly say slyes before but as drought cleaves the earth so rain causeth the parts to unite anâ— then the earth which like a heap of sand would not hang together becomes solid and fit for tillage Now when so much rain hath fallen as prepares the earth and as the word imports fermentates or levens it to receive the seed cast into it then who stayeth the bottles of heaven Hence note First Rain compacts the earth As moisture loosens compacted things so it compacts or knit together loose things The earth is soon made dust by droughts and it would be a very dust-heap if it had no moisture to reunite it The Lord threatens his people in case of disobedience Deut. 28.24 to make the rain of their Land powder and dust that is they should have dust and powder instead of water Long drought turns the earth to dust In this learn how great a mercy there is in rain Secondly note The Lord knows when the earth hath had sufficient rain And therefore unless in judgement he will not let the clouds run wast he will stay his bottles from letting down one drop more when once the dust by rain falling upon it groweth into hardness and the clods cleave fast together Note Thirdly 'T is a mercy when the earth hath enough that God stops the bottles As it is a duty when we have drank enough to stop the bottle that is to give over drinking so 't is a mercy that the Lord stops the bottles when the earth hath drank enough When the earth hath enough the Lord sometimes will not stop the bottles of heaven but lets them pour down rain till the fruits of the earth are utterly spoyled and this he doth for the punishment of mans sin always and sometimes for the punishment of those special sins mans unthankfulness for and abuse of the fruits of the earth that is because he did not stay the bottle when he had taken enough Now if the Lord knows when to give rain and when to stop it with respect to husbandry and the natural fruits of the earth then doubtless he knows and will take care to give rain for the souls of his people when they have need Psal 68.2 Thou O God didst send a plentiful rain whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance when it was weary which is specially meant of spiritual rain There are bottles of heaven which water souls The Preachers of the word are those bottles or clouds which hold and destil the mystical rain the Lord will not stop them till he sees the hearts of men made fit to bring forth the fruits of righteousness holiness he will not stop I say that spiritual rain till this be effected unless in judgement to a people that have despised the rain and slighted those showers of divine doctrine against such the Lord will stop the bottles of heaven then their souls turn to dust and their hearts become hard as rocks or like the mountains upon which neither rain nor dew falls fruitless and barren of every good word and work JOB Chap. 38. Vers 39 40 41. 39. Wilt thou hunt the prey for the Lion or fill the appetite of the young Lions 40 When they couch in their dens and abide in the covert to lie in wait 41. Who provideth for the Raven his food when his young ones cry unto God they wander for lack of meat THe Lord having by a multitude of questions proposed to Job concerning inanimates or creatures without life such as are the Earth the Sea the Heavens the Clouds and Meteors having I say by these questions convinced him of his weakness and insufficiency as also of the transcendent power and wisdom which abideth
expects prayer in all such cases which if it be as it ought to be earnest and fervent is a striving a contending with him very pleasing and acceptable to him When the providences of God were grievous to Jacob and he feared they might be much more grievous to him the Text saith he wrestled with the Angel but how was that the Prophet Hosea tells us Chap. 12.4 it was by weeping and making supplication The Apostle useth the same expression Rom. 15.30 I beseech you brethren that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me that is let you and I set our shoulders to it wrestling with God in the actings of faith for mercy This is a dutiful contending with God a blessed striving with God Let us strive so and we shall as Jacob did prevail with God and obtain the blessing We may warrantably and confidently venture upon this contention with God as for any other take heed of it so bear it why should we meddle to our hurt as the King of Israel cautioned the King of Judah when he would needs be contending with him 2 Kings 14.10 The Lord may contend with us and he will when we give him cause yet he hath assured his people that he will not contend for ever nor be alwayes wroth Isa 57.16 But we must humble our selves under his mighty hand alwayes as the Apostle directs 1 Pet. 5.6 and not contend with him at all unlesse in the sense and way last opened It is as much our duty to let God do what he will what he pleaseth with us patiently as to do readily whatsoever his will and pleasure is Secondly In that the Text saith shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him Observe They who contend with God or are discontent with the works of God seem to themselves able to instruct and teach God That 's the thing at the bottom which the Lord would convince Job of Discontented persons seem to say unto God they could put things into a better way if they had the handling of them or that they could model the government of the world more equally if it were in their hands Such is the pride and sinfulness or the sinful pride of mans heart that he thinks himself able to instruct God and teach him to mend his work Some have been so arrogant and presumptuous as to say they could have mended some things in the natural fabrick of the world had they been the contrivers of it and many have said at least in their hearts where the fool saith there is no God that they could mend the providential fabrick or course of it Beware of these presumptions Remember it is our duty to be instructed by God to receive instruction from God Wo to those who would give him instruction Job 22.22 Acquaint thy self now with him and receive the law at his mouth that is the rule of all thy actions but do not give the law to him No man hath moâ—e need of instruction than he who thinks he can give instruction to God It is said proverbially when we see an inferior much more a smatterer in any Art or Science offer to controule a perfect Artist What A Sow or a Swine teach Minerva Sus minervam how much more may we say so of the most learned that controule God or contend with him about his works The works of God of every kind are so exact in every kind that it is impossible to find any real defect or redundancy in them To go about to mend them is to marr them to alter them were to deface them Those things which men call or count the blemishes of Gods works are the true beauty of them and what they contend with him about is the commendation of them and the glory of his workmanship And as at last Jesus Christ will Present the whole body of believers or the persons of all that believe to himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing Eph. 5.27 so he will at last represent the providences of God or his works of providence both in the Church and all over the world without spot or wrinkle or any such thing Only here will be the difference the Church will be presented not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing she hath had her spots and wrinkles and many such things But the works of God shall then be represented as never having had any spot or wrinkle or any such thing that is then it shall be made appear that they were always without spot or wrinkle altogether just righteous and perfect Further From the whole sentence in that here we have an intimation of mans contending with God and presuming to instruct him take these two inferences from it First There is much pride in the heart of man There would never be any contending with God were there not much pride in the heart of man For Prov. 13.10 only by pride cometh contention If so then where no pride is there is no contention There are indeed several other occasions of contention some out of covetousness others out of malice contend with their neighbours yet all may be resolved into this the pride of mans heart pride bears part with all the occasions and causes of contention It should be matter of great humiliation to us that our hearts are proud at all but that they rise even to such a hight of pride as produceth contention and trying Masteries as it were with God himself how should that humble us And if to contend with man our equal be a symptome of pride what is it to contend with God who is infinitely above all men Secondly Take this Inference from it There is a great deal of folly bound up in the heart of man If man were not vain and foolish he would not willingly do any thing that should have the least signification of a contention with God much less that which can signifie nothing else Solomon saith fools will be medling it is highest folly to be thus medling with Gods matters Again it is a sufficient proof of our ignorance and folly to attempt in any way to instruct God or teach him either what to do or how to do either when to do or in what measure to do or towards whom to do any of his works but they who are unsatisfied with the works of God and in that sense contend with him about them make an attempt always in some of these respects sometimes in all of them to instruct and teach him Is not their folly manifest to all men who are not as foolish as themselves Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him He that reproveth God let him answer it This second part of the verse is of near alliance to the former Contending with God is indeed a reproving of God These two Acts expound each other yet more distinctly to reprove supposeth First The finding of a fault Secondly A rebuke given for that
or rather as the Prophet there speaks will not behold it no not when it shines in the plainest demonstrations whether of wrath against wicked men or of love and mercy to the godly as clearly as the Sun at noon day Secondly As we should tremble at the majesty of the Lord so admire his excellency they that excel others especially they who excel all others in any kind are much admired The Lord is cloathed with excellency how then should we admire him and say Who is a God like unto thee This God is our God Thirdly Seeing the Lord is cloathed with glory we should glorifie him and that First in his essential glory Secondly in the glory of his acts and operations We should glorifie him for the greatness of his power especially for the greatness of his grace because the grace and mercy of God are his glory as the Apostle spake in that prayer Eph. 3.16 That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory that is of his grace and favour towards you to be strengthned with might by his Spirit in the inner man And as the grace and goodness of God is his glory so also is his holiness Exod. 15.11 Who is a God like unto thee glorious in holiness Let us glorifie God in and for all his glories in and for the glory of his power mercy grace and holiness Fourthly God is arrayed with beauty Beauty is a taking thing then how should our souls delight in the Lord We delight in things that are beautiful we love beauty how should this draw forth our love our affections to God! All the beauty of the world is but a blot 't is darkness and a stained thing in comparison of the Lords beauty the beauty of his holiness and therefore if we have a love to beauty let us love the Lord who is arrayed with beauty even with the perfection of beauty Lastly In general Seeing the Lord is deckt with majesty and excellency arrayed with glory and beauty let us continually ascribe all these to God What God is and hath shewed himself to be we should shew forth 1 Chron. 29.11 Thine O Lord saith David is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty for all that is in heaven and in earth is thine David ascribed all to God there as also Psal 145.10 All thy works praise thee O Lord and thy Saints shall bless thee they shall speak of the glory of thy Kingdom and talk of thy power to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts and the glorious majesty of his Kingdom thy Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations Thus Saints are to blazon the name of God and to make his praise glorious The Apostle Jude concludes his Epistle with this Doxology To the only wise God our Saviour that is Jesus Christ be glory and majesty and dominion and power now and ever Amen Further to remember the majesty and excellency of God may and should be First an incouragement to serve him Who would not serve a Prince who is decked with majesty and excellency who is arrayed with glory and beauty who would not serve such a King as this How ambitious are men to serve those who are deckt with worldly majesty and excellency shall not we have a holy ambition to serve the Lord who is thus decked and arrayed Secondly This may exceedingly hearten and embolden us against all the danger we may meet with in the Lords service If we encounter with hardships and hazards in Gods work let us remember he that is cloathed with majesty and excellency c. can protect us in his service and reward us for it we can lose nothing by him though we should lose all for him life and all Thirdly This should fill our souls with reverential thoughts of God continually Did we know the Lord in these divine discoveries of himself in his majesty and excellency in his glory and beauty how would our hearts be filled with high thoughts of him we would neither speak nor think of God but with a gracious awe upon our spirits Fourthly This should provoke us in all holy duties to do our best The Lord reproved the Jews Mal. 1.8 when they brought him a poor lean sacrifice Offer it now unto thy Governour will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person Shall we put off God who is full of majesty and excellency of glory and beauty with poor weak and sickly services such as our Governours men in high place power will not accept from our hands but turn back with disdain upon our hands The worship and service of God consists not in a bodily exercise nor in any outward beauty he is a spirit and must be worshipped in spirit and in truth that is in truth of heart and according to the truth of his word which the Apostle calls the simplicity that is in Christ 2 Cor. 11.3 The glory and beauty of God is spiritual and the beauty that he must be served with is above all the inward beauty of faith and love and holy fear in our hearts Fifthly If God be thus deckt with majesty c. This may assure us in praying to him and calling upon him that we shall not seek him in vain It is worth the while to attend such a God and pour out our hearts before him We may safely depend upon God for all seeing majesty and excellency are his The Lords prayer by which we are to form or unto which we should conform all our prayers concludes with this thine is the kingdom power and glory all is thine and therefore we have great encouragement to ask all of thee Men can give to those that ask them according to the extent of their power There is a confluence or comprehension of all power in the majesty excellency and glory of God and therefore he can give whatsoever we ask Now as that God is thus deckt and arrayed with majesty and excellency is implied in this Text so 't is also implied that he hath thus deckt himself while he saith to Job Deck thy self with majesty and excellency Hence observe Secondly The majesty and excellency the glory and beauty of God are all of and from himself He is the fountain as of his own being so of the majesty and excellency of the glory and beauty of his being he decks and arrays himself he is not decked by others Moralists say honour is not or resides not in him that is honoured but in him that honoureth yet here honour is seated in him that is honoured We honour God and give glory to him but we cannot add any honour to him all is originally in himself he is the beginning without beginning of his own majesty And as Gods majesty is his own so of his own putting on he borroweth nothing from the creature nor needs he any creature to deck him He is not what others will make
pride of the Assyrian put him upon other sins upon oppression especially he could not keep at home nor be contented with his own Dominion thâ—ugh a very large and vast one he must go abroad and invade other mens Territories his pride sent him to do mischief and he enlarged his desire as hell Proud men must oppress and wrong others to bring in fewel for their own lusts Pride calls in aid from many sins to serve its turn Lastly If Pride provokes God if he looketh upon every one that is proud to abase him and bring him low then how should we labour to be humble ones that the Lord may look upon us with a favourable eye and so he doth upon all them that walk humbly with him As God resisteth the proud so he giveth grace to the humble that is favour The humble shall have his favour and the proud his frowns As to do justly and to love mercy is the sum of all duty to man so to walk humbly is the sum of all duty to God Mic. 6.8 They who walk humbly walk not onely holily but safely They who are low in their own eyes are under the special protection of the high God The Lord having called upon Job to shew the effect of his wrath against one sort of bad men the proud calleth upon him in the next words to shew the effects of his wrath upon all sorts of bad men comprehended under this general word The wicked And tread down the wicked in their place The Lord bids Job do this if he could indeed he could not that he might shew himself a competent match for God As if the Lord had said I tread down the wicked in their places do thou so too if thou canst God had said before Abase every one that is proud and bring him low now he saith Tread down the wicked Tread them down As mire in the street We tread upon vile and contemptible things To tread upon any tâ—ing a person especially notes utter contempt of him and abâ—olute conquest over him and therefore Josh 10.24 to shew the compleat victory which the Lords people had goâ— over the Kings of Canaan Joshua called for all the men of Israel and said unto the Captains of the men of war which went with him Come near put your feet upon the necks of these Kings and they came near and put their feet upon the necks of them And that 's it which the Apostle gives in way of promise as an assurance of our conquest over the evil spirit the devil Rom. 16.20 God shall bruise we put in the Margin tread the Greek word signiâ—ies to bruise by treading God shall tread Satan under your feet shortly that is God will give you a full and a final victory over the devil We have a like expression or promise Psal 91.13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet God will give his people power not onely over hurtful beasts but over men which are hurtful as those beasts and over Satan who is eminently shadowed by the Lion the Adder the young Lion and the Dragon in that evil spirit all these evil beasts are trodden under feet that is subdued and conquered When David would shew how he in case he were faulty was willing to be made a very slave to his enemies he phrases it thus Psal 7.5 Let the enemy persecute my soul and take it yea let him tread down my life upon the earth and lay mine honour in the dust that is let him have full power over me let me be at his mercy though he be mercilesse Once more saith the Church Psal 44.5 Through thee will we push down our enemies through thy name will we tread them down that rise up against us Thus the Lord bespake Job Come saith he Let me see you tread down the wicked get an absolute conquest over them that they may rise up no more in this world to do wickedly Tread down The wicked The word wicked is often taken largely so every man in a sinful state may be called a wicked man every person unconverted or unregenerate every person that hath not true grace is wicked There is no middle estate among men between good and bad converted and unconverted yet here the wicked are not to be taken onely in a large sense for sinners in common but strictly First For the proud before spoken of There the Lord said abase the proud here he saith Tread down the wicked that is the wicked who are proud To be wicked and to be proud are the same For as most wicked men are proud so all proud men are wicked for pride it self is a great wickednesse and it is pride that causeth most men to do wickedly even to rebel against God and his righteous laws to rise up against his wayes and truths When we have said of a man he is proud if we have not said all evil we have said one of the worst evils of him and that which layes him open as to suffer the worst penal evils so to do the worst sinful evils Secondly If we take the words distinctly as we may then by the wicked are meant grosse and flagitious sinners notorious sinners for though as I said before any one that hath not grace may be called wicked yet properly and in Scripture sense wicked ones are notorious presumptuous and flagitious sinners such as sin with a high hand and with a stiffe neck Thirdly By the wicked we may especially understand oppressors who are troublesome and vexatious to others As some are wicked in taking their own pleasure and in satisfying their vain desires so many are wicked in vexing afflicting and oppressing others The Hebrew word for a wicked man signifies such a one as is both unquiet himself and will not suffer others to be quiet In any of or in all these three notions we may expound the word wicked here the wicked are proud ones or notorious evil ones or oppressors of others Tread down the wicked In their place The Hebrew is Vnder them The word also signifieth as we render a proper place and that 's considerable Tread them down in their place The Lord doth not say in thy place but in their place which may note these two things First Wheresoever thou findest them tread them down Secondly In their place that is where they flourish most where they are best rooted or most strongly secured where they have the greatest advantages and strengths to save them harmlesse That is specially a mans place Non est difficile superbum hominem petentem in alieno loco superare quia in eo minus habet potentiae Sanct. where he seateth and hopes to settle himself Now saith God Tread them down in their place I do so I destroy the wicked when and where they think themselves safest where they think no hand can touch them nor arm reach them there my foot shall tread
Earth alone The Lord can begin and finish how and when he pleaseth He is a rock and his work is perfect As in spirituals he is the Author and finisher of our faith Heb. 12.2 so in temporals he is the Author and finisher of all our comforts deliverances and salvations When we have no help at all in our selves nor in any creature there is enough to be had in God Hosea 14.3 With thee the fatherless find mercy that is they find mercy with thee and if mercy then help who are as helpless as a fatherless child they especially who look upon themselves as fatherless what help and strength what fathers or friends soever they have in this world if God be not their help and strength their friend and father When we are convinced that only God can help us when we have other helps then God alone will help us though we have no other helpers as he promised Judah Hosea 1.7 I will have mercy upon the house of Judah and will save them by the Lord their God and will not save them by bow nor by sword nor by battel by horses nor by horse-men As if the Lord had said I will do all for Judah my self alone though I could have others to do it by It is seldome that God hath as School-men speak an immediate attingence upon any effect he commonly useth instruments yet he sometimes hath and hath as often as himself pleaseth As our mercies are alwayes of grace only so sometimes they are wrought out by the power of God only And what power soever is seen working at them 't is his power that doth the work his wheel is in every wheel Sixthly What cause have we to magnifie the free grace and mighty power of God He is able to do for us though all oppose him and he is willing to do for us though none nor we our selves prevent him Such is the power of God that he can overcome all opposition in others against what he hath a mind to do for us and such is the freeness of his grace that it over-passeth or rather passeth by all those indispositions in us which might cause him to forbear doing or have no mind to do any thing for us Seventhly If none have prevented the Lord if all the good we have and all that we shall have floweth freely to us then we should be very thankful to God for every good we have received very full of purposes to praise him for whatever we shall further receive This Inference the Apostle makes in the last words of Rom. 11. Of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory for ever Amen Let us never be found sacrificing to our own net nor burning incense to our own drag as if by them our portion in spirituals or temporals were fat and our meat plenteous Let us put praise far from our selves and say with the Psalmist Not unto us not unto us but to thy name O Lord be praise and glory Lastly Let us be very humble The Lord puts this question to Job to humble him it was shewed in the beginning of the Chapter that the design of God in presenting this vast creature Leviathan to the view or consideration of Job was to humble him for seeing the Lord hath made all things and can do all things of himself and doth them for himself let us lye in the dust before him let us take heed of pride high thoughts and boasting words in any thing we have and are let us say as the Apostle Rom. 3.27 Where is boasting where is pride he answers It is excluded But by what Law why cannot boasting come in is it kept out by the Law of works by any thing that we have done No boasting would never be shut out if we could do any thing of our selves therefore saith he this comes to pass by the Law of faith by casting our selves wholly upon God both as to our justification and salvation That God doth all things of himself should render us nothing in our selves Who hath prevented me that I should repay him The Lord having made these uses of what he had said concerning Leviathan proceeds to a general assertion as was said in the close of this 11th verse Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine Possum illi amplam mercedem si velim reddereddere cum omnia quae sub coelo uspiâ—â— gentium sunt mea sint meum est aurum These words are interpreted by several of the Jewish writers in connexion with what went before thus Who hath prevented me and I will repay him As if the Lord had said Do not think that I have not enough by me to repay you for your counsel and assistance if you dare say I have had any from you for Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine That 's a good sense shewing the Lords sufficiency to make good his offer Some make great promises of what they will do when they have not wherewithal to do it Yet rather Secondly We may expound this assertion as carrying on the former Argument or further to prove that no man can prevent the Lord seeing all is his already Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine saith he The creatures are all mine I challenge all I lay claim to all whether therefore I give to one or take from another no man hath reason to question me or to ask of me a reason why I did or do so for all is my own And when the Lord saith Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine his mean-is not only that all under heaven but that heaven it self and all that is in heaven is his also The Lords Estate or Right is not confined to the things which are under the heaven So that when he saith Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine he saith in effect all is mine Thus Moses expoundeth this assertion Deut. 10.14 Behold the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lords thy God the earth also with all that therein is The reason why the Lord speaks here only of this estate under heaven is because he was discoursing with Job of this inferiour world and the furniture of it and it was enough for him to understand as to the present debate that all under heaven was the Lords but in truth not only is the Earth the Sea the Air with all their fulness and furniture the Lords but the Heaven and the Heaven of Heavens is the Lords with all their beauty and glory Hence note The Lord is the great proprietour of all things in this world Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is the Lords or all is the Lords First by creation he hath given all things their being Secondly all is the Lords by preservation he keepeth all things in their being Jesus Christ upholds all things by the word of his power Heb. 1.3 that is by his powerful word The same commanding word which gave all
Metaphorical Whirlwind in those three senses opened But Thirdly with others I take the Whirlwind here in proper sense that is for such a Whiâ—lwind as is often heard and felt sounding blustering and making great disturbance in the ayre blowing up Trees by the roots and overthrowing Houses to the very foundation Ex nube obscura Rab. Levi. Ex Nimbo Bez. Ex procella venti turbine horrifico Eturbine i. e. e nube e qua erupit turbo seu ventus turbineus Pisc Di nube aliqua praeter naturae ordinem facta Grot. De ipsa caligine in qua sc videtur nobis Deus delitescere Vatabl. One of the Rabbins calls it a dark cloud several of the Moderns express it by a rainy or watry cloud out of which issued that dreadful Storm called a Whirlwind Doubtless some sudden extraordinary Wind exceeding the constant order and common course of Nature gathered the clouds at that time Thus God at once hid the glory of his Majesty and testified it much after the same manner as he did at the promulgation of the Law upon Mount Sinai when he answered Job out of the Whirlwind But it may be questioned why did God answer Job out of a Whirlwind First Such a way of answering was most proper to the dispensation of those Old Testament Times when the Covenant of Grace lay covered with Legal Shadows and was usually administred in a clothing or shew of terror especially as was said before at the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai Exod. 19. Deut. 4.12 when so terrible was the sight that Moses said I exceedingly fear and quake Heb. 12.21 And surely the Lord appeared and spake very dreadfully to some of the Prophets in those Elder Times especially to the Prophet Habakkuk who thus reports the consternation of his mind chap. 3.16 When I heard my belly trembled my lips quivered at the voice rottenness entred into my bones and I trembled in my self that I might rest in the day of trouble Now Gospel Times being more clear and calm Christ speaks more clearly and calmly as it was phophesied Isa 42.2 3. He shall not cry nor lift up his voice in the street Christ did not speak out of a Whirlwind A bruised reed he shall not break and the smoaking flax shall he not quench he shall bring forth Judgement unto Victory That is he shall with all tenderness condescend to the weakest souls and deal with them most sweetly gently and compassionately Secondly The Lord spake in a Whirlwind that he might shew the greater State and Majesty to awaken Job yet more or to make him more attentive as also to affect him yet more deeply with the apprehension of his Power and Glory and to leave a greater impression upon his spirit of his own vileness weakness and nothingness Job was yet too big in his own eyes the Lord would annihilate or make him nothing the Lord would beat him out of all conceit with himself out of an opinion of his own integrity and righteousness that he might see and confess there was no way but to lie at his foot abhorring himself and repenting in dust and ashes Such to this day is the pride and stupidness of mans flesh that he hardly attends the Word or Works of God unless awed by some extraordinary Ministration Thirdly We may conceive the Lord appeared and spake in this Whirlwind Aerumnoso homini conformem exhibens aspoctum Munst that he might therein suit his appearance to the state and condition of Job at that time or that he might as it were symbolize with Jobs troubled estate Job as I toucht before was in a Storm and now God declares himself in a storm and that is the reason which some give why the Lord appeared to Moses Exod. 3.2 in a burning bush it was say they that his apparition might answer their present condition The Children of Israel were then in the fire of affliction and entangled in the bush of cruel bondage they were scratcht and torn with briars and thorns and the Lord spake out of a burning bush to Moses as here to Job out of the Whirlwind Fourthly and lastly I conceive the reason why the Lord spake o him in a Storm or Whirlwind was to let him know that he was not well pleased with him but purposed to reprove and chide him De turbine indignationis indice Though Job was a precious servant of God yet God was not well pleased with many passages under his affliction and therefore he would not flatter but humble him For though Job spake from an honest heart and what he said was truth yet God did not like his manner of defence and pleading for himself He was not pleased to see him hold up the Bucklers so long when he should have laid them down rather and submitted David to shew how greatly the Lord was displeased with his enemies tells us what dreadful effects followed the hearing and granting of his prayer against them Psal 18.7 8 9 c. Then the Earth shook and trembled the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken because he was wroth there went a smoke out of his nostrils and fire out of his mouth devoured coals also were kindled by it he bowed the Heavens also and came down and darkness was under his feet c. Thus the Lord appeared in an Earthquake in smoke in fire and darknesse to make the proud opposers of his faithful Servant David know how much his anger was kindled against them Thus also when the Lord revealed himself to Elijah 1 Kings 19.11 it s said a great and strong wind rent the mountains and brake the rocks and after the wind an Earthquake and after the Earthquake a fire before the still voice was heard And why all this but to shew that the Lord was highly displeased with the doings of the Kings of Israel at that time and with that idolatrous generation therefore he appeared in such a dreadful manner while he purposed to conclude all in a still voice Though the Lord was not in the Wind in the Earthquake nor in the Fire yet these were fore-runners of his appearance and signified that the Lord would shake that people with a mighty Wind and Earthquake of Judgement yea even consume them with the fire of his wrathful jealousie for their superstitious following after Baal and deserting his appointed Worship When the lusts of wicked men grow fiery and stormy God will convince them with fire and stormes and if his own servants grow too bold with him he will make them sensible of it as here he did Job by speaking to them out of a Whirlwind though he be intended to speak to them at last as he did to Elijah in a still voice and to Job with favour and approbation Thus much for the opening of these words Then the Lord answered Job out of the Whirlwind and said Hence Observe First The great goodness of God who condescends or lets