Est velut epiphonema ad superiora Merc 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 clamare non quoquo modo significat sed cum singultu ut solent moribundi Merc and here we have as it were the conclusion or a kinde of acclamation upon the whole matter Would you know what worke these men make they are so high in their cruelty that men groane under it The word which we translate to groane doth not signifie any kinde of groane for some cry before they are hurt but that which is caused by the greatest hurt and comes from the very bottom of the heart even such a groane as they give forth who are about to dye Men groane from Out of the Cittie This shews the impudence of those men in sinne as well as their impunity We might reasonably suppose they would not dare to doe thus in the open Citie though they had done it in a corner of the Country where there were but few to take notice of them To doe thus in the Citie in the eyes of all men is an argument that they had lost their modesty as well as their honesty and were resolved not onely to doe evill but to stand to it or make it good And the soule of the wounded cryeth out That is the wounded cry out the soule is put for the person or the man or the soule of the wounded is sayd to cry out to shew the greatnesse and dolefullnesse of the cry As when Mary sayd My soule doth magnifie the Lord it argues that shee magnified the Lord with strong affections as if shee had been all soule Suâ—h also is the force of that passage in Deborahs Song Judg. 5.21 O my soule thou hast troden downe strength shee trod downe the strength of the enemy with all her strength And her soule which was her strength in God was in it more then her body So here the soule of the wounded cryeth out that is the wounded cry out most lamentably they powre out their owne soules while others were powring out their bloud But what are these wounded or how were they wounded Wee may take it eyther of an outward or inward wounding There is a wounded spirit as well as a wounded body many are wounded whose flesh is whole who have not so much as a scarre made in their skin yet here the wounded were such whose flesh or outward state was wounded first and then their hearts or spirits were wounded because of that with griefe and sorrow The soule of the wounded The word which we translate wounded signifies two things First that which is prophane and polluted and in the verb to pollute and prophane a thing Idol-worshippers are so called because they are polluted as wounded men with blood And hence also it is used as a word of abomination The Lord forbid sayd David 1 Sam. 24.6 And againe 2 Sam. 20.20 Farre be it from me farre be it from me sayd Joab in both which places the actions abominated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 polluti prophani 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 absit vox prohibitionis abominationis res prophana s t mihi had the defilement or pollution of blood in them And the Jewes speaking this word usually rent their garments shewing the abhorrence and indignation of their minds at blasphemie or such like abominations Now because wounded men are defiled in their blood therefore this word signifieth the wounded The soule of the wounded cryeth out not onely cryeth but cryeth out Which implyeth the greatnesse of their wound and the extreame painefullnes of it Hence Note Oppression is a crying sinne and makes the oppressed cry The blood of Abel who was the first man that ever was outwardly wounded cryed when he was dead how much more doe they cry whose blood is powring out and themselves under present feare of death The soules under the Altar cryed how long Lord how long Rev. 6.9 Those soules had suffered and were past suffering yet they cryed out for vengeance upon their adversaryes how much more will their soules cry who are under sufferings The wounds of the wounded are as so many wide mouthes crying out to God though their owne soules should be silent and say nothing I have upon other passages in this booke met with the sinne of oppression and the cry of the poore upon it therefore I shall not further stay here but a while insist upon the last clause of this context which holds out the chiefe and most considerable matter of it The oppressour doth all these wickednesses but what doth God Surely we might expect to heare of God in the next words healing and helping the wounded who make this cry and wounding the hairy scalpe of those who made them cry had not God a fit occasion put in his hand to shew himselfe first for the releife of the oppressed and secondly for the punishment of the oppressour He that beholds such actings as these the fatherles plucked from the breasts the poore made slaves the labourer denied his wages the wounded crying groaning he I say that beholds all this might say in his heart surely now God will presently appeare and indeed God hath often appeared when the wicked have been in the heate of such actings and the poore in the heate of such sufferings Psal 12.5 For the oppression of the poore for the sighing of the needy now I will arise saith the Lord I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him Yet here we finde no such thing nothing like the Lords arising for the saving of the poore from oppression or for the breaking of oppressors Job saw or had seene the poore oppressed and the needy sighing but did not see God comming eyther with deliverance or revenge for he adds though all this be done Yet God layeth not folly to them Master Broughton reads And the puissant marketh not the unsavory dealing His meaning is not that God did not know that their dealings were unsavory or that he did not observe and take notice of their dealings but he did not observe them so as to appeare presently against them God layeth not or God putteth not the meaning is God imputeth not or God chargeth not folly or strictly to the letter of the Hebrew that which is unsavory to them or upon them That word which signifies a thing unsavory or without salt in a natural and proper sence may elegantly be rendred folly in a moral or metaphoricall sence for foolishnes or folly is that which hath no salt of reason righteousnesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod fit praeter omnem rationem aequitatem Bez justice or equity in it Hence the word is often used to signifie that which is done besides without or against all these So it is sayd Chap. 1.22 In all this Job sinned not neither did he charge God foolishly or neither did he charge folly upon God it is this word Job did not thinke that God dealt unjustly or unreasonably with him though he had
employments whether more private or publicke are wronged and suffer in his death Though that which cuts off a mans life cannot cut off his owne hope if he have a wel-grounded one for things to come yet it cuts off the hopes of all others depending upon him as an instrument in the hand of God for good things present Eighthly The murtherer takes away that from a man which no man can restore to him or repaire him in he takes away that which is Impossible for him to give againe He that tooke away a mans goods was bound by the law of God to restore it fourefold or fivefold or sevenfold according to the case and possibly he might restore it an hundredfold but he that takes away a mans life hath taken that which though he would he cannot restore so much as single The law of nature will not suffer the murderer to restore life for 't is like water which being spilt cannot by any humane power be gathered up againe and the law of God saith concerning the sin of murther that no satisfaction shall be taken for it and indeed none can For though some would commute and have by the sinfull indulgence and cruel pity of unjust Magistrates commuted for it yet none could ever satisfie for it And when Magistrates eyther through foule corruption or foolish compassion have not taken vengeance upon the murtherer in kinde but have suffered him to commute or compound for that sin eyther by paying a pecuniary penalty or by undergoing some punishment lesse then death God hath taken vengeance upon them for it and hath sayd to them in his providences as he sayd to Ahab by his Prophet for the sparing of Benhadad 1 Kings 20.42 Because ye have let goe out of your hand a man whom I had appointed to utter destruction therefore your life shall goe for his life and your people shall be cut off by the sword because your sword did not cut off the murderer Si magistratus cessent ab officio deus ipse injustas caedes fame peste bellis externis aut intestinis ulciscitur Merl. Whole nations have been filled with blood by this kinde of keeping backe the hand from blood Lastly The murtherer hurts others but he chiefely hurts himselfe Some expound Lamech confessing this with sorrow Gen. 4.23 while he said unto his wives Hearken unto my speech for I have slaine a man to my wounding and a young man to my hurt There are divers other Interpretations and readings of those words and we put in the Margin I would slay a man in my wound and a young man in my hurt As if he had boasted of his strength to his wives that though he were weake with wounds and hurts yet he would venture to fight with any man and doubted not to get victory over him kill him and so the words carry a sence like that speech of the Prophet Jer. 37.10 telling the Jewes that theirs were vaine confidences while they hoped to be delivered from the Caldeans who besieged them for saith he Though there remained but wounded men among them yet they should rise up every man in his tent and burne this City with fire But as to our reading I have slaine a man to my wounding Some expound it onely of a bodily wounding I have got a wound my selfe or I have hurt my selfe while I slew a man much more is this true of a spirituall wounding and hurt to the soule and Conscience for though a murtherer slay a man and come off with a whole skin yet he slayeth a man to his wounding and killeth him to his hurt The Rabbins have a tradition upon that place that Lamech having been a great hunter in his younger dayes being then growne old was led forth by his young man to take his pleasure in hunting and shooting at Deere and that while he was in this disport or exercise in the feild Cain passed by and the young man poynted him to Cain Lamech being dim-sighted shot at Cain and killed him in stead of a wild beast but soone after discovering that he had killed Cain turned to the young man his guide in a passionate anger and killed him also This relation they give as the reason why Lamech sayd I have slaine a man to my wounding and a young man to my hurt but I shall not stay upon that tradition of the Jewes and shall onely make so much use of Lamechs confession as at least to illustrate if not to prove the poynt in hand that he who slayeth a man doth it to his owne hurt and wounding often to the wounding of his body estate and honour alwayes to the wounding of his owne soule and conscience Every sin in some degree or other wounds the soule But the wounding of others to death is the chiefe sin of all sins against the body and outward concernments of man which woundeth a mans soule The murtherer at one blow strikes through the body of his neighbour and his owne soule Further we might observe from those words in the text riseing with the light That murderers and indeed any sort of wicked doers are diligent and laborious to doe the commands of their vilest lusts But I noted this at the 5th verse upon those words Rising betimes for a prey I shall not stay upon it here I onely adde this Let not us be sloathfull in doing good seeing the murderer is so diligent and early up for the doing of mischiefe And in the night is as a Thiefe These words may be taken two wayes For First The Particle as is by some conceived not to be a note of similitude but to carry on a direct predication He is as a thiefe that is Particula quasi non dicit similitudinem sed proprietatem He is a very thiefe We finde elsewhere in Scripture that a particle of likenes doth not onely note the likenes of one thing to another but the samenes of one thing with another Taking it thus here The meaning of the words is as if Job had said He riseth betimes in the morning to play the murtherer and in the night hee playe's the thiefe I have noted the same sence of the particle heretofore first from those words of the Evangelist concerning Christ Joh. 1.14 Wee saw his glory as the glory of the onely begotten Son of God for Christ was not onely like the onely begotten Son of God but he was really so as also from that of the Prophet Hosea 5.10 The Princes of Judah were as or like them that remove the bound that is they did remove the bound Secondly Others keepe to the similitude and say the meaning of Job is not that the murtherer doth turne theife or that he proceeds from killing in the day to stealing in the night Facere aliquid tanquam fur est proverbialis locutio quae importat secretam diligentemque abscensionem But say they this verse is quite through a description of the murtherer
signifies the evill of affliction yet here I shall take it for the evill of sinne or as we translate wickednesse which denotes not ordinary but great sinne for though every wicked man be a sinner yet every sinner is not properly a wicked man Further wickednesse in the former and iniquity in the latter part of the verse may be thus distinguished wickednesse specially respects those acts by which we hurt and wrong others iniquitie those in which we passe by or neglect the duty which we owe to others Malitiam dicit plurimam sed iniquitates infinitas quia in pluribus peccat homo omittendo quam committendo Aquin. and therefore Eliphaz calls his wickednesse great but his iniquities infinite because sinnes of omission are more in number then sinnes of commission Man fayles oftner by not doing the good required then by doing the evill forbidden Nature can easier forbeare that which it likes or pleaseth it then be conversant in that which it likes not or with which it is displeased Is not thy wickednesse great The word signifies both magnitude and multitude and it may be taken both wayes here for great in bulke and great in number But it may be said whose wickednesse is not great or is any sinne little Why then doth Eliphaz fasten this upon Job Is not thy wickednesse great I answer first that it is unbecoming any man to say his finnes are little we should not little or lessen our sinnes or have low thoughts of them as wee ought not to have low thoughts of any of the mercies of God but to thinke them all great to us yea too great for us so we should not have light thoughts of any of our sinnes but judge the least of them great and the lightest of them heavy yea even too great and too heavy for us to beare Nor doth any thing more greaten a mans sinne then his opinion that it is little Secondly I answer that indeed no sinne is little in the least sinne that ever was committed there is a greatnesse as committed against the great God as it is a breach of the Law and an abuse of the love of the Great God Neverthelesse though every sinne thus considered is great yet comparatively some sinnes are but little and sinnes being weighed one with the other we may give this distinction of them into little and great light and heavy And as some Godly men are faithfull and feare God above many so some wicked men are sinfull and dishonour God above many Is not thy wickednesse great Hence note 'T is our duty not onely to take notice of our sinnes but of the greatnesse and degree of our sinnes Eliphaz doth well to put Job upon that enquirie Is not thy wickednesse Great Though he did ill so groundlesly to suspect much more to conclude that it was so When Moses Exod. 32.31 interceded for the people after they had made the golden Calfe he makes report of their sin to God in the fullest aggravation of it O this people have sinned a great sinne and have made them Gods of Gold he doth not onely confesse in their behalfe that they had sinned but they had sinned greatly They have sayth he sinned a sin that 's more then to doe a thing that is sinfull and which is yet more They have sinned a great sin and which is most of all they though they have been taught and have professed that God made them have made them gods of Gold David makes this the ground why he did beg pardon of his sin Psal 25.11 Pardon mine iniquitie for it is great As we are to looke upon the greatnesse of sinne to humble our soules with godly sorrow so we are to looke upon the greatnesse of sinne when wee sue to the Lord for pardon pardon my sinne for it is great our very senciblenesse that our sinne is great is a prevayling argument with God to pardon it and our insenciblenesse that our sinnes are great gives the greatest stop to the pardon of them And as every sinne hath the more need of pardon by how much the greater it is so God will have the more glory in pardoning it by how much the greater it is The great wounds and sicknesses of the Patient have the more need of curing and if a Phycitian cure a great wound or sicknesse he hath the more honour by the cure Now that we may take the truest measure of our sinnes we must looke upon them first in their nature and kinde of what sort they are and to what they relate in their commission secondly in their circumstances when how and in what manner they have been committed That sinne which is but little in the nature of it may be a very great one in the circumstances of it As there are some mercies which we receive from God little in their kinde yet great in their circumstances and very obligeing so are our sinnes Some finnes are very horrid in their owne nature they lay the conscience wast and eate out the very principles of Godlinesse such are Atheisme Blasphemy and Idolatry The sinne of the people of Israel in making Gods of Gold how detestable was it a golden God what an ugly sight is that and indeed there are many sinnes which by how much they have the more externall beauty and glory upon them the more ugly and filthy they are Other sinnes are small in their kinde yet by additionall considerations they swell into an immense vastnesse and become out of measure finfull For Instance first to sinne against light that is not onely to commit a knowne sinne but to commit it knowingly T is possible that while we know such a thing to be a sinne yet to doe it unknowingly or not to know that we have done it He that knoweth it is a sinne to tell any untruth may yet tell one and not know it But when we doe that which is a knowne sin and likewise know that we doe it then we have no cloake for our sinne Secondly To sinne against many received mercies greatens it exceedingly Thus the Lord aggravates the sinne of David I have done thus and thus for thee and if this had been to little I would moreover have given thee such and such things Wherefore hast thou despised the commandement of the Lord to doe evill in his sight 2 Sam. 12.8 9. Thirdly It greatens sinne when continued in after warnings and renewed admonitions He that being often reproved hardneth his necke shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy Prov. 29.1 The Greatnesse of his punishment he shall be not afflicted but destroyed the quicknes of it he shall suddenly be destroyed the irrecoverablenes of it and that without remedy all these with one consent vote the greatnes of that sin whatsoever it be in its kinde which is persisted in after perswasion to desist and depart from it The Church is commanded to passe her extreamest censure upon that offending brother who having been told his fault first
state of poverty that the worke of God in raysing them up to health and plenty may be made manifest The designe of God lookes beyond the sin of man in the afflictions of most men yet man seldome lookes beyond it Thirdly Note from the whole verse That we are more ready to judge the sinnes of others great then our owne Is not thy wickednesse great and thine iniquities infinite Eliphaz might have sayd as much of himselfe and his owne sinne and it had been but a duty to have done so we should not aggravate the sins of others nor extenuate or lessen our owne we should not set the sinnes of others in open light nor provide coverings for our owne yet most commonly we run the contrary course we have a favourable opinion and excuses ready for what we have done while we have hard thoughts of and give harsh censures upon what others doe our owne sins we can call moats and the sins of others beames The better any man is the better he judges others and the worse of himselfe Paul spake no complement while he sayd that he was lesse then the least of all Saints and the chiefe of sinners usually they who are the severest observers and censurers of others eyther flatter or have not well observed themselves Fourthly Forasmuch as Eliphaz seing Job under great sufferings sayth to him Is not thy wickednesse great The counsell in it selfe was seasonable Hence observe That in time of suffering it is good both to put our selves and others upon inquiry about our sinnes So the Prophet Lam. 3.39 40. Why doth a living man complaine a man for the punishment of his sins Let us search and try our wayes and turne againe to the Lord times of afflictions should be times of inquisition when the Lord is smiting we should be searching when we have received many wounds it is time for us to be suspecting our selves of many sinnes and the counsell of others is not to be rejected when seing us in sorrow they advise us to consider what our sinnes are how great and how many For though we should be tender in pressing those who are under the load and burden of affliction with the burden of their sinnes yet they who are so shall doe well and wisely to presse it upon themselves Fiftly Whereas Eliphaz sayth Is not thy wickednesse great and thine iniquitie infinite and in the next verse concludes upon it Thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought c. All which were but conjectures and suspitions Observe That suppositions and conjectures are no fit grounds upon which to build a judgement concerning the faultines of others We must not Censure upon I heare so I suppose so I thinke so but upon I know it is so many have run into great sinne by judging the sins of others Great Judge not saith our Saviour Matth. 7.1 that ye be not judged He speakes not against all judgement but eyther first against severe and harsh judging or secondly against false judging or thirdly against inconsiderate and rash judging When we judge without due ground not knowing the why or wherefore of our Judgement take heed of such judging that ye be not judged that is lest having judged others unduely ye receive your due in Judgement Eliphaz had nothing upon knowledge to charge Job for yet while he questions Is not thy wickednesse great He doth more then seemingly conclude that his sin was very great and his iniquities infinite And in the next verse in stead of querying he comes to peremptory concluding Vers 6. For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought and stripped the naked of their cloathing Now begins the speciall charge or inditement now he innumerates severall sinnes As if he had said What doest thou stand looking for matter or reasons why thou art thus afflicted here are the reasons I will name them to thee Thou hast taken a pledge fram thy brother for nought Thus Eliphaz powreth upon him and dischargeth whole volyes of deadly shot but all at randome and besides the marke Before he spake in the third person he speaks now in the second thou thou thou art the man thou hast taken a pledge Againe Eliphaz had formerly dealt with Job as an hypocrite he then granted that he had some shews of holinesse and some appearance or counterfeit of goodnesse at least now he denieth that now he pulls off his visour or maske and objects against him barefaced Before he charged him with falsenesse of heart while he professed and practised Religion but now he objects such practises against him as no man doth who hath but a profession of Religion He objects those crimes against him which are proper to prophane open sinners to common oppressors who raise themselves upon the ruins and inrich themselves by the spoyls of their weaker brethren These are sinners not onely against the Law of God but light of nature these are acts not onely of impiety but of cruelty inhumanity and tyranny Thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought Job was a Magistrate and this would have aggravated his sin exceedingly if it had been true for any man to oppresse another is very wickednesse but for a Magistrate who is set up to be a protector a releiver of others a helper of the freindlesse and a Judge of the widdow for him to carry himselfe thus for him to oppresse and grind the faces of the poore is most tyrannicall Tyrannus est qui ita dominatur ut ad proprium commodum utilitatem omnia conferat Arist lib. 4. polit 1. Ethic. Thus Aristotle defines a Tyrant He is one that rules so as to turne all to his owne private benefit or profit he that governs so governs for himselfe Whereas true government seekes and respects the good of others Just governours are a generall blessing and their ayme is the common not their private wealth Thus Eliphaz renders Job a very tyrant who when he should be a nursing-father to his Country proves a devourer of it and when he should provide bread for those about him he takes their bread yea their blood from them and gives them a stone Thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought There are three aggravations of his supposed sinne in these words First That he tooke a pledge Secondly That he tooke it of a brother Thirdly That he tooke it for nought Thou hast taken a pledge The Hebrew is no more then this Thou hast pledged In Hebraeo simplex est verbum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod est pignorare aut pignus accipere idem est obligare The word signifies also to bind or fasten a thing as with a coard and the reason is because a pledge given is an obligation a ty or bond to performe the promise made or pay the debt contracted A promise is an audible bond but a pledge is a visible bond It is no sinne in it selfe to take a pledge
by the Holy Ghost was minded to put her away secretly and would not make her a publique example He was unwilling to bring her to justice or that others should see eyther her supposed sin or punishment But as God doth worke many glorious salvations for his people that the wicked may see it and be ashamed so he brings many visible destructions upon the wicked not onely that the righteous may see it and rejoyce or be glad which act follows next to be opened but that the wicked may see it and tremble to doe wickedly Hence observe First That the Lord sets up wicked men many times as examples of his wrathfull justice Not onely doe they feele wrath upon themselves but others see it The Lord sometimes chastens his owne people in the view of the world and sets them up as examples of his fatherly displeasure Thus Nathan speakes in the name of the Lord to David 2 Sam 12.12 Thou didst it secretly but I will doe this thing what thing I will afflict and chasten thee for this great offence before all Israel and before the Sâ—nne that is in plaine and cleare light Though thou hast done this evill in the darknes ot many close contrivances yet I will draw the curtaine and make the poenall effects of thy sinne as conspicuous as the actings of thy sin have been close and covert Againe Numb 25.4 when the people began to commit whoredome with the daughters of Moab and Israel had joynâ—d himselfe unto Baal peor so that the Anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel Then the Lord said to Moses take all the heads of the people that is the capital offenders or chiefe rulers who gave way or at best gave no stop to such wickednes and hang them up before the Lord against the Sunne that the feirce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel To hang them up before the Sunne is a phrase of speech importing the publicknes of their punishment as it is sayd of the seven Sons of Saul that they were hanged on the hill before the Lord 2 Sam. 21.9 for caution unto all whatsoever is done in the fight of all or so that all may see is sayd in the Language of the Jewes to be done before the Sunne To which sence also we may interpret that vision of the Prophet Zechariah Chap. 5 6. 9 10 11. at the 6th verse we reade of an Ephah and this lift up ver 9th between earth and heaven the Ephah was a measure of dry things among the Jewes and in that vision it signified that the sinne and punishment of the Jewes were measured and proportioned This Ephah being lifted up and carried I sayth the Prophet said whether doe these beare the Ephah ver 10. And he said unto me to build it an house in the land of Shinar and it shall be established and set there upon her owne base The building it a house in the land of Shinar that is in Babylon signified the lastingnes or continuance of their sinne in the sad consequents of it their punishment and banishment in strange lands not for the space of seventy yeares onely as by the Babylonians but as some of the Learned expound the vision for many seventyes by the Romanes and as this Ephah had a house built for it noting the setlednes and durâ—tion of the Judgement which should come upon them for their sinne so also it was set upon its own base to signifie the notoriousnes or conspicuousnes of the Judgement it being as a house set upon pillars for all to behold and take notice of as we see fullfilled to this day since the first overthrow of their estate by Titus Vespatianus and their final dispersion by Aelius Adrianus There are I grant other conceptions about that vision but as this suits wel with the poynt in hand so with the calamitous state of that people to this day And thus the Lord threatned the King of Tyrus Ezek. 28.17 Whose heart was lifted up because of his beauty and who had corrupted his wisdome by reason of his brightnesse Now what will the Lord doe what course will he take with him The next words enforme us I will cast thee to the ground and I will lay thee before Kings that they may behold thee He doth not say I will cast thee into the ground but to the ground and lay thee before Kings that is thou shalt he a spectacle for all the Kings of the Earth that they may behold as what thy pride and selfe-confidence have brought thee to so what their owne if they tread thy path eyther will or justly may bring them unto Thus also in the 7th verse of Jude Epistle the Apostle sayth that Sodome and Gomorrha and the Cities about them in like manner giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh are set forth for an example suffering the vengeance of Eternal fire The Judgements of God are not onely punishments to them who went before but premonotions to them who come after The righteous see it and are glad Here is the effect which that sight wrought upon the righteous The eye affects the heart and the heart is affected sutably to the object eyther with joy or with sorrow The destruction of men is a sorrowfull object and therefore we might rather expect that the righteous beholding it should be affected with sorrow but the Text affirmes a direct contrary effect of this fight The righteous see it and are glad Hence observe The judgements of God upon the wicked are matter of joy to the righteous It is the duty of the Saints to mourne with them that mourne and to rejoyce with them that rejoyce Rom. 12.15 But then we must understand these mourners and rejoycers to be such as themselves are Saints must mourne with mourning Saints and rejoyce with rejoycing Saint The godly are not bound eyther to joy the joyes or sorrow the sorrowes of the wicked The judgements of God upon the wicked have a twofold effect eminently noted in Scripture First they cause feare and secondly they cause joy When exemplary justice was to be done according to the law of Moses upon presumptuous transgressours it is sayd Deut. 13.11 All Israel shall heare and feare and shall doe no more any such wickednes David Psal 64. having complained to God in prayer of the cruelty of his enemies and begged protection from their malicious practises growes up to much assurance that downe they must v. 7 8. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow suddenly shall they be wounded and then ver 9. All men shall feare and shall declare the worke of God for they shall wisely consider of his doings Thus feare is the issue of divine judgement And yet joy is the issue of them at the 10th verse of the same Psalme The righteous shall be glad in the Lord and trust in him and all the upright in heart shall glory Feare is a common effect All men shall
Cum nondum abscinditur substantia nostra residuum illorum absumit ignis assuesce quaeso cum illo Jun But here he is supposed entring upon a very serious exhortation to repentance after this manner or to this effect O Job now while our substance is not quite out downe and the fire consumeth the residue or the remnant of the wicked acquaint thy selfe with God or apply thy selfe to God as if he should say before thou art cleane cut downe before thou art utterly ruined as many wicked men have been heretofore and now are humble thy selfe and seeke to God that thy sin may be forgiven and thy wound healed Some paralel this in sense with that of the Preacher Eccle. 12.1 Remember now thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth while the evill dayes come not nor the yeares draw nigh wherein thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them Thus Eliphaz is conceived exhorting Job While our substance is not cut downe while we are not totally undone Quum subsisteÌ„tia nostra non sit excisa reliquias autem istorum ignis assumpserit Tygur Ita bene ut nihil melius Bold 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 extantâ—a vel potius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quo subsistimus duramus vel subsistantia nostra i. e. vita qua subsistimus nam stare valet interdum superstitem esse Drus while the fire of Gods wrath is consuming the remainder of wicked men doe thou acquaint thy selfe with God and repent And though our translation makes not this connection yet it joynes fully in the sense of the Originall Whereas our substance is not cut downe So this verse is an elegant conclusion of the whole matter hitherto insisted upon by Eliphaz and he shuts it up in two parts first shewing the state of the innocent who are brought in speaking thus Our substance is not cut downe strictly That by which we stand or subsist our substance or subsistence which some expound not by goods but by life we may take it both wayes our life and that by which our life is maintained or by which we and our families subsist is not cut downe There is yet a difficulty in regard of the grammaticall sense of these words For Eliphaz having spoken before in the third person plural The righteous are glad and the innocent laugh them to scorne should as it may be thought rather have continued his speech in the same forme and have sayd Whereas Their substance is not downe but he puts it in the first person plural Whereas our substance is not cut downe c. We may answer two wayes First that it is usuall in Scripture to vary the number while the same person or persons is or are spoken of take onely one Instance Hos 12.4 He that is the Angel of the Covenant found him in Bethel that is Jacob. And there he spake with us It should according to Grammar be read thus And there he spake with him Having found Jacob in Bethel he spake with him in Bethel But we see both the person and number are varied the former words running in the third person singular being meant particularly of Jacob the latter in the first person plural There he spake with us The Spirit of God thereby signifying that what God spake at that time to Jacob personally he spake to all the spirituall seed of Jacob whether of the Circumcision or Uncircumcision virtually He so spake to Jacob as that the substance and effect of his speech reacheth downe to and hath an influence upon us beleevers who are his posterity according to the Spirit Besides this other Scriptures hold out the like variation of the number as in the Text which is the first answer Secondly Eliphaz might purposely vary the number that himselfe might put in for a share and be numbred among those who had obtained that sparing mercy not to be cut downe while others were consumed And so this reason of the change is purely spirituall much like that last opened out of Hosea Whence note That the righteous are often preserved in common calamities Psal 20.8 They are brought downe and are fallen but we are risen and stand upright our substance is not cut downe God takes speciall care of his owne people they are under a promise there can be no greater safety no better security then to be under a promise the promise is the best shelter in a storme and the best shield against the dart The Apostle Peter gives us two famous examples of this 2 Pet. 2.5 6. God spared not the old world but saved Noah c. bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly And having turned the Cities of Sodome and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow c. and delivered just Lot c. From both which examples he concludeth v. 9. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the Godly out of temptation and to reserve the unjust unto the day of Judgement to be punished When judgement begins at the house of God what shall the end of them be that obey not the Gospel of God as the same Apostle speaks 1 Pet. 4.17 It is a sure argument to the wicked that they shall be judged when they see God bringing judgements upon his owne house and people but the wicked are many times judged while the house and people of God are preserved and untoucht and when both good and bad both the innocent and the wicked are wrapt up in the same calamity when they are as it were thrust together into the same furnace the Lord makes a difference they are not cut downe as the wicked are cut downe nor consumed as they are consumed When the righteous are cast into the fire they are purged but not consumed but as it follows in the second part of this conclusion shewing the state of the wicked The remnant of them the fire consumeth Fire in this place is not taken strictly as opposed to water God indeed hath often made fire in kinde his scourge And the Apostle Jude saith of Sodome That it suffered the vengeance of eternall fire But all the judgements of God are in Scripture compared to fire Mala. 4.1 Behold the day cometh that shall burne like an Oven and all the proud yea all that doe wickedly shall be stubble and the day that cometh shall burne them up saith the Lord of hosts that it shall leave them neither fruit nor branch There is a burning and not by fire There is so great a judgement and terror in fire let loose and breaking its bounds that it may well signifie all judgements or any thing that is terrible Isa 52.4 As the fire devoureth the stubble and the flame consumeth the chaffe so their roote shall be rottennesse and their blossome shall goe up as dust Thus here the remnant of them the fire consumeth that is the wrath of God appearing in some visible judgement consumeth the remnant But what is this remnant which the fire consumeth I answer
have occasion to frequent Secondly As if Job would here shew what hast men make to escape who are under guilt As if he had sayd The wicked man will be so set upon the run That he will not stay so much as to view or behold his owne vineyards formerly so delightfull and pleasant to him Thirdly It is conceaved to be a proverbiall speech according to which it was ironically sayd of Malefactors who were led forth to suffer death They Behold not the way of the vineyards No they behold onely the way to the Gibbet or place of execution Fourthly Others divide the word Cheramim which we translate Non refluet secundum consuetudinem Aliqrum ruâ—t vineyards into two that is into Chi a particle of similitude or likenes and Ramim which signifyes eyther persâ—ns or things that are high Hence Junius translates He shall not returne or flow backe againe he shall fall after the manner of things that are high And he expounds the sence of his owne translation He shall not returne to his former state as waters doe which ebbe and flow but as waters which fall from a high place cannot goe backe so shall he remaine cast downe for ever Water being a heavy body must have a descent it cannot ascend naturally therefore the water that falls from a high place is gone and commeth not againe The wicked man perisheth as waters that flow from a high place and returne no more Another following that division of the word renders the clause Non prospicit incessum sicut excelsorum i. e. non curabit incedere eo modo quo solent in cedere illi qui dignitate vel potentia alijs praesunt Bold thus He doth not looke to or provide for his way or his going as of the High ones that is he shall never goe in that pompe or equipage in which they goe who are above others in power and dignity As if he had sayd hee shall ever live in a low meane and miserable condition Hee shall no more behold the way of the high while he lives nor which the same Author cleaves to as the most genuine interpretation shall he take care or provide to be buryed according to the way custome or manner of the high ones when he dyeth But I shall not insist upon eyther of these rendrings though they all fall into one common channel with the former which is to set forth that the wicked man is under a curse or that his portion is cursed in the earth yea that a curse is his portion Nor shall I having often observed from other texts of this booke the wofull end of wicked men for this reason I say I shall not stay to give any further observations from this clause according to any of the rendrings of it of all which I most embrace that of our owne translaters He shall not behold the way of the vineyards not onely because most of the learned Hebricians render it so but first because it makes no division of nor puts any straine at all upon any of the Original words in the text And secondly because it carryes to my thoughts so fayre a correspondence with the words which follow in the two next verses JOB CHAP. 24 Vers 19 20. Drought and heate consume the snow waters so doth the grave these which have sinned The womb shall forget him and the worme shall feed sweetly on him he shall be no more remembred and wickednesse shall be broken as a tree THere are two different translations of the 19th verse I shall propose them and then explicate our owne First thus In the drought and heate they rob and in the snow water they sin to the grave Secondly to the same sense by way of similitude like as the dry earth and heate drinke up the snow water so they sin even to the grave Both these rendrings carry in them two things generally remarkable First The obstinacy and perseverance of wicked men in sin while they live Secondly Their impunity in sin untill death In the drought and heate they rob and in the snow water That is they rob and spoyle at all times or in all the seasons of the yeare in hard times in the hardest times in the extremity of drought and in the extremity of cold They never give over they sin to the grave This reading is much insisted upon by some and as the sence is usefull 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rapuit vi apertè res aut personas so the text may beare it For the verb signifies to snatch a thing openly and forceably as well as to consume secretly and so may be rendred by robbing as well as by consuming In drought and heate they rob and in the snow waters First We may consider this drought and heate with the snow water as expressing those seasons which are very troublesome to the wicked man to doe his worke in to rob and spoyle extreame heate and extreame cold are great impediments to action yet in heate and snow they rob Whence observe A wicked man will breake through all difficulties to finde a way to his beloved sin Though he be in danger of melting with heate or of freezing with cold yet he will rob or doe any other mischiefe that his heart is set upon neyther heate nor cold neyther wett or dry shall keepe him in yea though an Angel with a drawne sword in his hand stand in his way as in the way of Balaam yet when he hath a minde he will goe on We may say of every bold and presumptuous sinner that he sins in heate and cold he sins in the sight of wrath and death The threatenings which are the portion of such have the extreamity of heate and cold in them The threatenings have sword and fire in them wrath and death in them yet the wicked sin in the face of them and upon the mâ—â—ter dare them to doe their worst A godly man whose heart is bent and set heaven-ward will walke on his way though he must passe through heate and cold though he meete with dangers and difficulties though he meete many Lyons in his way yet he will not turne out of his way Paul saith of himselfe and his fellow-labourers 2 Cor. 6.4 In all things approving our selves as the Ministers of God in much patience in afflictions in necessities in distresses in stripes in imprisonments c. And a little after v. 8. By honour and dishonour by evill report and good report c. Here was working in heate and cold in fire and frost in all sorts of providences from God in all sorts of aspects from men Paul and his colleagues never minded what men did to them but what the minde of God was they should doe And thus every godly man workes or doth the worke of God For though every Godly man attaines not to such a degree of zeale and holy courage as Paul had yet he hath a truth of zeale and holy courage which
vulgar and improper sence even those things that never had life may be called dead Mr Broughton renders strictly not dead things but things without life are formed under the waters The Hebrew word may come from a twofold roote and so hath a twofold signification First to heale and cure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dolorem mitigavit sanavit transferturper MetaphoraÌ„ a corpore ad animam ut sig remittere peccata and in Scripture it is transferred from the healing of the body to the healing of the soule in the remission of sins because as the wound of the body is healed by the salve so is the soules wound namely sinne healed by remission or forgivenesse The word is used in this sence Isa 6.10 Make the heart of this people fat and make their eares heavy and shut their eyes least they see with their eyes and heare with their eares and understand with their heart and convert and be healed that is pardoned Secondly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 debitis dissolutus laxus languidus it signifies to be dissolved or loosened to be weake and languishing wee translate it dead because things that are dead are weakened and dissolved and therefore death is called a dissolution As Paul sayd Phil. 1.23 I desire to depart or to be dissolved that is to dye and the same phrase is used for death 2 Cor 5.1 Wee know that when the earthly house of this Tabernacle shall be dissolved c. Againe by the figure Antiphrasis frequent in Scripture this word as it signifies dead and weake things so also strong and lively things yea those that are strongest or most lively and therefore Gyants who are the strongest of men are expressed by this word Deut. 2.11 The Enims dwelt therein in times past Ecce Gigantes gemunt sub aquis Vulg a people great and many and tall as the Anakims which also were accounted Giants c. And the vulgar translates so here Behold The Giants groane under the waters Giants are called Rephaim in the Hebrew which word in the roote signifies to weaken not from their nature but from their effects not because they are weake but because they weaken others Giants are so strong that the very sight of them makes others weake and faint or pulls downe men of strength and might It is sayd that Saul and the whole Army of Israel were dismayed when they saw Goliah and greatly afraid they were weake before the Giant There is much labouring to make out this sence of the word here some understand it of the Giants before the flood Behold the Giants groane from under the flood Those Giants were indeed overthrowne by the waters and so they conceave that Job alluded unto them but I shall not stay upon that interpretation Others expound the text of those Gyants whose proper element is water the mighty fishes of the Sea the Whale the Leviathan spoken of in this booke of Job Leviathan is a Sea-monster a Sea-gyant of huge dimensions Naturall Historians and travellers describe the vastnes of the Whale or Leviathan to wonder and amazement And 't is granted that in these Gods power is much seene But I shall lay by this exposition also because I conceive fishes are spoken of in the next words where they are called the inhabitants thereof that is of the Sea or waters Againe this word Rephaim is often put for the dead or those that are departed this life Psal 88.10 Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead shall the dead arise and praise thee There are two words used for the dead in that verse one is the ordinary word the other is that of the Text. Solomon Pro. 2.18 shewing how dangerous it is to have to doe with the adulteresse sayth Her house inclineth unto death and her paths unto the Rephaim or the dead The house of Adultery and uncleanenes is the Gatehouse to death it is not a house raysed up but bowed downe her house enclineth unto death and she who is the governesse of rather the miss-governeness of the house will by her ill life bring thee among the dead even among those who are twice dead corporally dead at present and spiritually dead for ever But that which I shall rather pitch upon according to our translation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is that by these dead things are meant such things as never had any life Mr Broughton expounds his translation Things without life of those precious things that are formed under the waters Amber and pearle and goodly stones These dead things are found under the waters and there they are formed Gods providence reacheth to the furthest places even to the bottome of the Sea and lowest earth which seeme to be as cast off So he glosseth and so doe other Interpreters Incipit dei providentiam poâ—entiam describere a rebus subterraneis initio sumpâ—o Merc concluding that Job is here setting forth the power of God in forming minerals and pretious stones under the waters or in the deepes and so riseth in his discourse by degrees to higher things As if he had sayd O Bildad what doest thou shewing me the power and providence of God in the high places where he maketh peace I can tell thee that the same power and providence of God are extended to those things which are wrought in the bowels of the earth and at the bottome of the Sea and so are furthest removed from our sight And whereas we say Dead things are formed there that word properly signifies to bring forth children or any living creature Job 39.1 2. Knowest thou the time when the wilde Goates of the rock bring forth or canst thou marke when the Hindes doe calve Canst thou number the moneths that they fulfill or knowest thou the time when they bring forth yea The Eternall Word and Wisdome of God speakes of himselfe in the language of this Word Pro. 8.25 Before the mountaines were setled before the hils was I brought forth It signifieth also to be in paine and groane for paine because child-bearing causeth much paine and groaning So the word is used in a metaphoricall sence Deut 2.25 This day will I begin saith the Lord to put the dread of thee and the feare of thee upon the Nations that are under the whole heaven who shall heare report of thee and shall tremble and be in anguish because of thee they shall be in anguish as a woman travelling with child and pained to bring forth Whence that translation takes its ground The Gyants groane under the waters And as it signifies to forme and fashion the child or any living thing in the womb and then to bring forth so it is applyed to the forming of things that have no life Ps 90. â—2 Before the mountaines were brought forth or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God Dead things are formed But by whom here is no power exprest Job sayth onely they are formed