to Joshua Josh 1.5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life What a promise was here to a man Joshua was indeed one of the worthiest warriers that ever was upon the earth and may well be reckoned not only one of but the cheif or most worthy among the nine Worthies of the world seing no man could stand before him nor should in way of opposition all the days of his life Now if the Lord promised such a power unto Joshua and made it good that none should be able to stand before him all the days of his life then who among the children of men shall be able to stand before God The Prophet Malachy speaking of Christs coming Chap. 3.1 saith Behold he shall suddenly come into his Temple even the Messenger of the Covenant But what follows ver 2. Who may abide the day of his coming If there was such a terribleness in Christs coming in the flesh as to the spiritual power and effects of it that the Prophet saith Who may abide the day of his coming O then who shall be able to stand before Christ when he shall come in glory to judge the earth If they could not abide the day of his coming when he came with refiners fire and fullers sope how will they be able to stand before him when he cometh with consuming fire No man can stand before God in any of these four ways First In his own wisdom to plead it out with God If we plead with God our wisdom will be found foolishness and we our selves shall be confounded as fools The Lord saith Job Chap. 12.17 maketh the Judges fools Judges are usually full of wisdom yet God maketh even them fools God in strict sense maketh none nor would he have any made Judges but the wise yet he himself can make the wisest of them fools And if so then there is no standing before God in our own wisdom Secondly There is no standing before God in our own strength or power Our strength is but weakness yea rottennâ—ss to his as the Prophet speaks Isa 5.24 Their root shall be rottenness and there blossome shall go up as the dust Thus it is with all flesh if they stand in their own strength their root which is their strength shall be as rottenness and their blossome which is their beauty shall go up as the dust Thirdly There is no standing before God in our own righteousness to be acquitted accepted and justified There are many deficiencies and flawâ— in our righteousness therefore we cannot stand before God in it there is much unrighteousness in our righteousness therefore we cannot stand before God in it and how righteous if I may so speak soever our righteousness is or may be yet we cannot stand before God in it because he hath appointed another righteousness or the righteousness of another even the righteousness of Jesus Christ for us to stand before him in So then if we would stand before God all these must be laid down we must lay down our own wisdom we must become fools that we may be wise we must lay down our own strength we must become weak that we may be strong and we must lay down our own righteousness and look upon our selves as guilty creatures as condemned persons as cast and lost in our selves we must have nothing but the wisdom and strength and righteousness of God to stand before God in that is we must stand before God by faith God is not terrible to such they may stand before God the poorest sinner may stand before God in the wisdom and strength and righteousness of Jesus Christ Thus we may answer the question Who can stand before me saith God I can stand before thee saith a believer I can stand before thee with boldness being quit of self-wisdom strength and righteousness and looking to Christ Jesus for all How sweet how gracious and how delightful is the presence of God to an humble believing soul to a broken-hearted sinner The Lord saith I will dwell with such a one he shall not only come and stand before me but I will come and sit down with him I will take up my abode in an humble soul in an empty soul Who is able to stand before me saith God None can in their own wisdom strength or righteousness but in Christ we may From hence we may more than conclude Fourthly That there is no standing before God in our sins God is terrible to sinners that is to those who continue in the love and practice of their sins God is of purer eyes than to behold and approve evil David having spoken of those Psal 1.1 that stand in the way of sinners saith at the 5th ver there is a standing for them in the Judgment They that stand in the way of sinners cannot stand at the Judgment-seat of God Job said Chap. 13.16 A hypocrite shall not come before him that is he shall not come with acceptance before God Though hypocrites will thrust themselves into the presence of God yet they shall not come before him though now an hypocrite may come before God in any outward performance yet not with any acceptance and to be sure he shall not come before God in glory and if he shall not come before him how can he stand before him The Lord will even blow him away Only they that fall down before God are able to stand before him We must fall down before God in a sence of our own vileness and wretchedness and then we shall be able to stand before him and to behold his pleased face by an eye of faith A stout sinner shall never stand before him It is said Zech. 3.1 Joshua stood before the Angel of the Lord. He had much ado to keep his standing why because the Devil stood there to resist him and pointed to his filthy garments but the Angel pleaded with the Lord to take away his filthy garments and when they were taken away then he was able to stand before God It is said Zech. 4.14 which is conceived to be meant of Joshua and Zerubbabel These are the two anointed ones which stand before the Lord of the whole earth And as they in the type so all that are Olive-branches that have the pure oil of the Spirit may and shall stand before God We become Olive-branches in Christ having the oil or the graces of the Spirit sent down into our hearts according to the promise Holy and humble souls Olive-branches they that are full of the grace and Spirit of our Lord Jesus shall stand before God but as for man himself that is man in himself in his own wisdom strength or righteousness above all in his sins and unrighteousness can never stand before God If he cannot stand before Leviathan how can he stand before the Lord This is a great Gospel truth given in by himself while he is treating of this sea-monster There is no standing before
they carried it on a new Cart when it should have been carryed upon the Levites shoulders that was a failing in the outward manner of that work Hence that confession of David when he undertook that work a second time 1 Chron. 15.13 The Lord made a breach upon us at first for that we sought him not after the due order We must worship God aright for the outward manner of his commands and institutions else we dishonour him while we intend to worship him Secondly The inward manner must be according to the command of God 'T is possible we may hit the outward form of worship yet miss in the inward manner of it The Lord searcheth the heart he knoweth what is within and must be worshipped in spirit and in truth John 4.24 that is according to the truth of the rule made known in the word and in truth of heart The inward manner of worship is First That we worship in faith Without faith it is impossible to please God Heb. 11.6 If we have not a justifying faith yea if we have not a perswading faith Rom. 14.5 23. that what we do is according to the will of God our worship iâ— not according to what the Lord hath commanded and so becomes sin to us Secondly That we worship in love Though we do never so many holy services to the Lord if we do them not in love to him we fail in the inward manner of our worship The sum of all the Lords commands is Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might It is not heaâ—ing and praying but these in love which is the fulfilling of the commandement Every duty must be mixt also with love to man We may do many things commanded to men yet if we do them not in love to men we do nothing as the Lord commandeth Thus the holy Apostle concluded peremptorily 1 Cor. 13.1 Though I speak with the tongue of men and angels c. and have not charity I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cimbal and though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burnt and have not charity it profiteth nothing Thirdly To do all that the Lord commands according to the inward manner is to do all in humility that is First Acknowledging that we have no power of our own to do any thing Secondly That we have deserved nothing how much soever we have done or how well soever we have done it Thus in doing the Lords commands we should labour to answer the mind of the Lord fully and to hit every circumstance to omit nothing no not the lest thing Moses Exod. 10.16 being to carry the people of Israel out of Egypt would not compound the matter with Pharaoh Ye may go said Pharaoh after he had been broken by several plagues Only let your little ones stay no saith Moses that is not as the Lord hath commanded me And at another time he said Go only let your cattle stay no saith Moses this is not as the Lord commanded I will not leave so much as a hoof behind me And so said Moses concerning the observances of the law For thus I am commanded or this is as the Loâ—d commanded as we read all along the books of Exodus and Leviticus We are not full in our obedience till we obey fully It is said of Caleb Num. 14.24 He had another spirit he followed the Lord fully that is as to matter and manner as to out-side and in-side Let us labour to be full followers of God not out-side followers of God only but in-side followers Let us not rest in the in-side when we are not right in the out-side nor please our selves with an out-side service when we are careless of the inward Thus of their obedience as considered in general They did according as the Lord commanded Further consider their doing as the Lord commanded them in that special matter their reconciliation first to himself and then to Job Hence Observe Fourthly What the Lord appointeth for our reconciliation we must do and we must do it as he hath appointed Cur te pudeat peccatum tuum dicere cum non pudet facere Bernard in Sentent Erubescere mala sapientiae est bonum verò erubescere fatuitatis Greg. l. 1. in Ezek. hom 10. Though the means which God appointeth seem to us improbable and weak though it be troublesome and chargeable as here the offering up of so many bullocks and rams yet we must do it Yea though it put us to shame before men by the acknowledgment of our errors and mistakes as here Eliphaz and his two friends also did yet we must do it They who are ashamed of sin will not be ashamed to acknowledge their sin But what must we do to be reconciled to God or maâ— They who desire reconcilion with God must go out of themselves and go to Jesus Christ they must as Eliphaz c. did bring a sacrifice to God not as they did of bullocks and rams but which was shadowed by those legal sacrifices the sacrifice of Jesus Christ himself Who by one offering hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified Heb. 10.14 They who desire reconciliation with man must do that which God here appointed these men go to him whom they have wronged and acknowledge their error or that they have wronged him they must also desire his pardon and prayers Thus did these men and they did as the Lord commanded for their reconciliation first to himself and then to Job Fifthly We may consider this their obedience as to the spring of it What made them so ready when the Lord commanded them to go and do as he had commanded them doubtless this was one thing the men were now humbled God had brought them to a fight of their sin Ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right this they were made sensible of and confessed and so obeyed Hence Observe They who are truly humbled and touched with a clear sight and deep sense of their sins will do whatsoever the Lord commandeth and as he commandeth They who are made sensible of the wrath of God deserved by and kindled against them for their sins will do any thing which he commands for the obtaining of his favour God may have any thing of an humble soul had the Lord commanded these men to go to Job and offer sacrifice before he had convinced them of their sin they might have flung away over the field and not have kept the path of his commandments but having humbled them they submitted When Peter had preached that notable Sermon which prickt his hearers at the very heart Acts 2.37 Then they said unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles men and brethren what shall we do They were not only ready to do what they were commanded but did even ask for commands What shall we do They as it
Spirit in it and therefore it must needs make great turns God turned the captivity of Job when he prayed Sixthly Jesus Christ presents such prayers the prayers of faith the prayers of repentance unto God his Father Christs intercession gives effect or gets answer to our supplications The Father hears the Son always John 11.42 and so he doth all them whose prayers are offered to him by the Son Revel 8.3 The angel came and stood at the altar having a golden censer and there was given unto him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne The angel there spoken of is the angel or messenger of the Covenant prophesied of Mal. 3.1 that is Jesus Christ 't is he he alone who offers the incense of his own prayers with the prayers of all Saints upon the golden altar which is before the throne and being there represented doing so presently as it followeth ver 5. There were voices and thunders and lightenings signifying the wonderful effects of prayer till it should come after many turnings in the world or as I may say after a world of turnings to the Lords turning of Sions captivity as here of Jobs Seventhly Jesus Christ doth not only present the prayers of believers to God but also prayeth in them when saints pray he prayeth in them for he and they are mystically one And as Christ is in believers the hope of glory Col. 1.27 so he is in them the help of duty and so much their help that without him they can do nothing John 15.5 Now a believers prayer being in this sense Christs prayer it cannot but do great things Lastly As Jesus Christ presents the prayers of believers to the Father and prayeth in them or helps them to pray by the blessed and holy Spirit sent down according to his gracious promise into their hearts so he himself prayeth for them when they are not actually praying for themselves For saith the Apostle Heb. 7.25 He ever liveth to make intercession for them The best believers do not always make supplications for themselves but Christ is always making as well as he ever lives to make intercession for them The Apostle speaking of Christs intercession useth the word in the present tense or time which denoteth a continued act Rom. 8.34 Who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us The sacrifice of Christ though but once offered is an everlasting sacrifice and this other part of his priestly-office his intercession is everlasting as being often yea always or everlastingly offered The way or manner of Christs making everlasting intercession for us is a great secret it may suffice us to know and believe that he doth it Now it is chiefly from this everlasting intercession of Christ that both the persons of the elect partake of the benefits of his sacrifice and that their prayers are answered for the obtaining of any good as also for the removal of any evil as here Jobs was for the turning of his captivity Thus I have given a brief accompt of this inference that if prayer prevails to turn the captivity of others then much more our own Prayer hath had a great hand in all the good turns that ever the Lord made for his Church And when the Lord shall fully turn the captivity of Sion his Church he will pour out a mighty spirit of prayer upon all the sons of Sion The Prophet fore-shewed the return of the captivity of the Jews out of Babilon Jerem. 29.10 After seventy years be accomplished at Babilon I will visit you and perform my good word towards you in causing you to return to this place for I know the thoughts that I think towards you saith the Lord thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end But what should the frame of their hearts be at that day the 12th verse tells us And ye shall go and pray unto me and I will hearken These words may bear a two-fold sense First The sense of a command Then shall ye call upon me and then shall ye go and pray That is your duty in that day Secondly I conceive they may also bear the sense of a promise then shall your hearts be inlarged then I will pour out a spirit of prayer upon you And ye shall go and pray unto me and I will hearken We may conclude the approach of mercy when we discern the spirits of men up in and warm at this duty Many enquire about the time when the captivity of Sion shall fully end we may find an answer to that question best by the inlargement of our own hearts in prayer David speaking of that said Psal 102.17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute the meanest and lowest shrubs in grace as the word there used imports and not despise that is he will highly esteem and therefore answer their prayer How much more the prayer of the tall cedars in grace or of the strong wrestlers when they call upon him and cry unto him with all their might day and night The Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends Nor was it a bare turn As Job did not offer a lean sacrifice to God in prayer but the strength of his soul went out in it so the Lord in giving him an answer did not give him a lean or slight return but as it followeth Also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before The Hebrew is The Lord added to Job to the double Some translate too barely The Lord made an accession or an addition but that doth not reach the sense intended For a little more than he had before had been an addition to what he had before but double is more than a little or the common notion of an addition the Lord gave him twice as much or double to that great estate which he had before This doubling of his estate may be taken two ways First Strictly as four is twice two and eight twice four See the wild conceits of the Jewish Rabbins about the doubling of Jobs estate in Mercer upon the place In that strict sence it may be taken here as to his personal estate but as to persons it will not hold the number of his children was the same as before If we compare this chapter with the first chapter ver 3. we find his estate doubled in strict sence Whereas Job had then seven thousand sheep now saith this chapter ver 12. he had fourteen thousand sheep and whereas before he had three thousand camels now he had six thousand camels and whereas before he had five hundred yoke of oxen now he had a thousand yoke of oxen and lastly whereas before he had five hundred she asses now he had a thousand she asses Here was double in the letter In duplum i. e. in plurimum Quam plurimum numerus finitus pro infinito
generation lying upon his death-bed a friend asked him whether the light shining into the room did not offend him he answâ—red Hic sat lucis Oecolampadius putting his hand upon his heart Here I have light enough The heart of a godly man is the house of spiritual light there he hath and holds the light of divine knowledge about the things of the Gospel and the light of divine comfort arising from that knowledge It is also reported of Mr. Deering our Countrey-man that in his last sickness and towards his end being set upright in his bed for his ease a friend requested him that he would speak something for the edification and comfort of those about him Whereupon the Sun shining in his face he took occasion to speak thus There is but one Sun in the world and there is but one Sun of righteousness which graciously shineth upon me speaking further he concluded thus I bless God I have so much light of joy and comfort in my soul that were it put to my wish or choice I had rather a thousand times die than live As the hearts of these worthies were the dwelling place of light so is the heart of every godly person in his measure and degree the light of knowledge and of joy abide there The Apostle saith 2 Cor. 4.6 God who commanded light to shine out of darkness hath shined into our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ And where that shine of God gives the light of knowledge the light of comfort cannot be withheld unless it be for a season that the soul may rejoyce the more in the end and at last without end For Lastly There is an eternal light the light of Glory and that hath a certain dwelling place that light dwelleth alwayes in heaven and the Saints at rest in heaven dwell alwayes in that light Eternal glory is called the inheritance of the saints in light Col. 1.12 Again Spiritual darkness hath its place and we should labour to know the place of that darkness to avoid it Ignorance is spiritual darkness and that dwells in the heart of every man by nature All that continue in that sad condition have their understanding darkened through the ignorance that is in them Eph. 4.18 and they who now are in the light were once in the dark yea they were darkness Eph. 5.8 Let it also be remembred in whomsoever this darkness of sin and ignorance abides they must abide under the darkness of wrath and judgement for ever The place where that darkness dwells is hell and there outer darkness as 't is often called in the Gospel dwells even such darkness as wherein the damned are not onely out of the possession of the least ray or glimmering of light but without any hope or expectation of it Hell is quite beyond the bound or boundaries of light there 's darkness and thick darkness nothing but darkness Thus we see light and darkness have their places natural light and darkness have theirs and so have spiritual and eternal light and darkness Secondly From the scope of these two verses Observe It is God who disposeth and ordereth light and darkness The question was put to Job whether he had disposed of them but he could not assume to himself that he had taken or laid the light to the bound thereof or knew the paths to the house thereof Light and darkness are at the dispose and under the command of God alone And as the work or power of God is wonderful in the dispose of natural light and darkness so 't is much more wonness in the dispose of civil spiritual and eternal light and darkderful these the Lord taketh to their bound and knoweth the paths to their house I form light and create darkness saith the Lord Isa 45.7 What light and darkness doth the Lord there speak of Surely of civil light and darkness as the next words import I make peace and create evil I make and create them I also direct and appoint them whither to go whether to a Nation or to a man only whether to this or that man or Nation Darkness is of me as truly as light And that not only civil but spiritual and eternal light and darkness are at Gods dispose is as evident from the Scriptures of truth Some lands may be called lands of light like Goshen others like Egypt under that three days plague may be called lands of darkness Of such lands that complaint is made Psal 74.20 The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty All places of the earth full of ignorance not knowing God of atheisme not acknowledging God of idolatry worshipping false gods or the true God â—alsly may be called lands of darkness or the dark places of the earth Now as the Lord maketh one land a place of spiritual light so he leaveth another to be a place of darkness And he often maketh changes from darkness to light that 's mercy and from light to darkness that 's wrath in the same lands Some lands which had sate in darkness for ages and generations the Lord hath visited with Gospel light and some lands which for ages and generations had that light are now laid in darkness How sad a witness of this are the anciently famous seats of the Asian and African Churches now under Mahometan power And further as the Lord disposeth that outward spiritual light and darkness giving the knowledge of the Gospel to or taking it away from Nations as he pleaseth so he dispoâ—eth inward light or darkness to every soul Some gracious souls walk in the light of Gods countenance and under the sweet shinings of his face every day others who also as the Prophet speaks Isa 50.10 Fear the Lord and obey the voice of his servants walk in darkness and see no light Now whence cometh this difference Is it not of the Lord who hath the command of our joys and of our sorrows and who appoints this kind of light and darkness their several and special places according to the soveraignty of his own Will From all that hath been said we may draw down this conclusion which the Lord did chiefly aim at in dealing with Job That we are to own and acknowledge the hand of God in every condition be it light or be it darkness be it joy or be it sorrow 't is all of God There is nothing which concerns either the comfort or trouble of man but comes forth from God and is ordered by him like as in all ages and revolutions of time light and darkness have held their course and kept their place according to his institution and direction Job was in darkness both as to his outward and inward estate his body was pained his soul was grieved anguish â—â—llâ—d 〈◊〉 spirit and God would have him see know and acknowledge his hand in all As if he had said Thou canst no more dispose the peace
goodness who hath ordained both those causes and their products or effects for the benefit and comfort yea for the contentment and delight of man What is man that God should be thus mindful of him that for his sake and use or for the sweetning of his passage through the Wilderness of this troublesome world he should impregnate the earth by the sweet influences of heaven It hath been said Let him look to the Stars of heaven who denies the God of heaven and doubtless he will not only not deny but not so much as doubt that there is a God in heaven who duely considers the pure nature and the irresistible operations of the Stars of heaven Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades Or loose the bands of Oâ—ion We can neither bind what God lets loose Tune coeli naturae ordinem immutabis ut quod Astrum Pleiadum sol vit constringas aut quod Orion constringit solvas Merc. nor loosen what God binds What Christ affirmed of himself in regard of spirituals Rev. 3.7 These things saith he that hath the key of David that openeth and no man shutteth that shutteth and no man openeth the same is true also in regard of naturals and therefore the Lord had no sooner said to Job Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades but he adds or loose the bands of Orion There are several opinions concerning these two Constellations of heaven yet all agree in this that one of them is a benigne Constellation and very comfortable to the fruits of the earth and that the other is as sharp and churlish that the one is very friendly and favourable to all living creatures but that the other is a bitter and as it were a killing Constellation and therefore the Lord saith Canst thou loose the bands of Oâ—ion When once Orion hath and holds the earth as it were in bands and chains when Orion hath got the earth in his clutches and huggs it in appearance to death in his cold armes who can rescue it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod est inconstantem varium esse quasi signum quod inconstantiam perturbationem aeris efficiat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aut attrahentia Orionis aperies Drus Aut Lora Orionis dissolves Jun. Vox Hebraea 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a verbo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 traxit Funes ejus sunt operationes quibus tempestates velut furibus attrabit frigore constringit terram Scult Sidus hoc oritur in principio hiemis terram tanquam loris constringit Pisc Nimbosus Orion Virg. The Pleiades open the earth and set all free they call up the quickening moisture and draw out the verdure of every growing thing But Orion holds all in bands Orion is a hard natured Constellation the Oâ—iginal word signifies to be unconstant vexatious and unquiet because under the Dominion of this Star the aire is usually troublesome and unquiet Canst thou loose c. The word imports opening what is fast shut or loosing what is fast bound When a man is in bands we say loose him from his bands Now saith the Lord Canst thou loose the bands of Orion that is canst free the aire from those colds and frosts which bind the body of the earth and all things growing out of the earth in winter season The word rendred bands comes from a root that signifies to draw hence some translate The Traces of Orion Traces are those bands by which Horses being fastned to Carts or Wagons draw them after them Which expression alludes to that natural power planted in this Star by which according to Gods appointment it draws rain storms and cold freezing winds after it and so binds up the pores of the earth Now saith the Lord to Job canst thou with all thy skill aâ—d strength loose those bands and set the earth at liberty Thou canst not Oâ— this Orion see more at the 9th Chapter ver 9. I shall only say thus much further here That these words stand in direct opposition to the former shewing that as Job could not stop those Benigne Stars the Pleiades from giving forth their vertues to the earth so he could not loose the bands of that severe and harsh Star nor divert the effects which it brings upon the earth Canst thou loose the bands of Orion Hence learn first in general Cold is a binder a great and mighty binder Winter binds the earth from bearing and it binds the hands of men from working when a man is extream cold he can make little use of his hands And as Natural so Spiritual cold is a great binder A cold heart is a bound heart When the heart hath in it no heat of love to God or hath not been heated with a sence of the love of God when the heart hath in it no heat of zeal for the glory of God nor for the good of men when these sad colds are upon the heart 't is bound indeed He that hath this cold upon him can say but little to God and will say and do less for God He is bound not only hand and foot but tongue also Take heed of cold upon your hearts it will hinder you from holy activity bind you up from duty both towards God and man He that is only luke-warm will do God little service can do none that is pleasing and acceptable unto God but he that is key-cold as we say neither will nor can do any thing at all that may be called Service The Apostle Paul Acts 20.22 was bound in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem which was a great service for Christ that is The heat of true affection which the instinct of the holy Spirit caused in him engaged him beyond all power of revocation to undertake that hazardous journey But when any are bound in spirit by the coldness of their affections to Christ they always prove hand-bound and foot-bound I may say without affectation according to the use of that word in our language hide-bound also as to any thing that is good especially if it be as it was in the Apostles case now mentioned either dangerous or costly And when a soul is in those bands of the Mystical Orion the evil spirit surely none but God can loose them seeing none but he can loose these in the Text. Canst thou loose the bands of Orion the Winter-bands Hence note Secondly It is not in the power of man to loose what God binds The Lord put the question to Job about his works that he might see his own weakness and utter inability to undo his providential workings When God had Job in bonds it was not in his power to loose his bonds by his strength and striving The providences of God were to him as Orion to the earth cold and sharp causing the frost of adversity to bind him so strongly that he could by no means loose himself Christ saith to his Disciples about Church-censures rightly laid and Church-approbation
a learned Author that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 De cannot signifie sufficiency both the sense of the place shews and almost all interpreters agree And this also may be further confirmed by a like use of the same word as it is put after ב Judg. 6.5 and after מ Isa 66.23 The Learned Reader consulting the original will easily observe saith he that in both those places 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath no special signification Yet doubtless considering that not one Iota or tittle in the Scripture is in vain that additional word hath its use and possibly is of more use than any have as yet well understood For though it be granted as Rabbi David saith in his Dictionary that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in all those places is paragogical yet Paragoges may have more in them than meerly the ornament of speech Our Translators intimate as much Hab. 2.13 where they do not render barely in the fire and for vanity but in the very fire and for very vanity And therefore with the good leave of that learned Author I apprehend with the Rabbin whom he quotes but likes not for this opinion that in all places where this word is used it hath a special force declaring the greatness and continuance of the thing spoken of And so in this place we may take the meaning thus As the generous horse is alwayes forward for the battel so when the trumpet begins to sound but when the trumpet soundeth long as the Lord spake to Moses at the giving of the Law Exod. 19.13 then the horse being fully assured that the battel will suddenly begin is mightily affected with a kind of joy which he expresseth as well and as fully as he can in his language saying Ha ha now 't is as I would have it That this Interjection ha ha imports joy and exultation Emittit exultationis vocem Aquin. Alacritèr se ad pugnam parat Scult Ad lituos hilarem intrepidumque tubarum prospiciebat Equum Statius l. 11. Theb. all agree and it may note not only that inward joy with which the horse is affected at the sound of the trumpet but also that outward expression which he makes of it by neighing which may not improperly be called his ha ha the sound which we hear in the air when a horse neigheth symbolizing much with this Interjection ha ha spoken by a man And all men know who know any thing of the qualities or customs of gallant horses that it is usual with them to neigh when they are much pleased and are upon a neer attainment of their desire or the injoyment of their pleasures Comparing the latter part of the former verse according to the second exposition of our Translation with this Observe Assurance of what we would have breeds extream joy and triumph in his spirit that would have it When the horse finds it is the battel indeed then he rejoyceth greatly Men often break out into such exclamations when having been long doubtful of a thing and fearful how it might issue they at last see its issue answering the utmost of their wishes and expectations Psal 40.15 Let them saith David be desolate for a reward of their shame that say Ah ha Ah ha that is let them be rewarded with desolation for their shameful doings in saying Ah ha Ah ha because they see me cast down To say Ah ha at what is done is as much as to say it pleaseth us well it gives us high content Thus also they cryed out Psal 35.21 Ah ha our eyes have seen it As the vision we shall have in heaven is faith perfected in the highest assurance imaginable so in any case in this world what of our desires our eyes see we take high content in It is comfortable when we have some hope of what we desire but when we once see it then we cry Ah ha if what our eyes see be to us as theirs was to them in the same Psalm where they are again brought in saying Ah ha so would we have it ver 25. now it is as it should be we have been looking for such a day a long time but now it is come Ah ha Ah ha So would we have it And consider it either in natural or spiritual things there is a time as to spiritual things when we do not believe the silver trumpet of the Gospel sounds mercy to us that sin is pardoned that God is gracious but when once there is a convincing sufficiency of the trumpets sound when once our unbelief is fully overcome and our hearts wound up to assurance then the soul is in its triumph and cryes out as the horse when he perceives the desired battel approacheth Ah ha Ah ha This content of the horse appears yet further in the next words He smells the battel afar off the thunder of the Captains and the shouting These words hold out another matter which doth much set forth and commend the honour of the horse and his desire of the combat He smells the battel To be in battel pleaseth him so well that the smell of it is to him a delightful and pleasant odour The very stink of a Camp as the Prophet calls it Amos 4.10 is a sweet perfume to his nostrils He smells a battel He smelleth the battel afar off 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Odorari Olfacere The Hebrew word signifieth properly to smell or take the scent of any thing And almost all interpreters ancient and modern retain that signification here yet some there are who take smelling in this place metaphorically for perceiving fore-apprehending or presaging Sentit aut praesentiscit For the Hebrew as some very well skilled in that language assure us having no word which answers the Greek and Latine words noted in the margin signifying to perceive and feel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sentire maketh use of this word in the Text for those purposes Thus 't is said Judg. 16.9 When it that is the threed toucheth or as our old translation hath it feeleth the fire So Isa 11.3 He that is Christ the Messias shall be quick of understanding in the fear of the Lord. The Hebrew is He shall smell or be quick-scented in the fear of the Lord. His very senses shall be as it were toucht with or dipt in the fear of the Lord that is he shall religiously sense or judge all things The fear of the Lord shall be the rule or guide of all his senses as it follows in that verse He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes neither reprove after the hearing of his ears that is according to outward appearances and reports Thus we may take the word in this passage the horse smelleth that is he perceiveth or apprehendeth the battel Praesagiunt pugnam Plin. l. 8. c. 42. Naturalists report wonders about the understanding of the horses and his sagaciousness in fore-seeing or presaging battels And this he doth saith the Text Afar off Our
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
great things and we should use means proportionable for the doing of every thing You cannot batter down a stone wall or a strong tower with paper-shot nor with a pot-gun no you must plant cannon for that service Again when this Scripture saith Canst thou draw out Leviathan The emphasis as was shewed before in opening the words lieth in the word thou As if the Lord had said thou canst not but I can Hence note The Lord is able to do the greatest things by smallest means Leviathan to God is but as any little fish to us which is taken with a hook and line To take up Leviathan to do the greatest thing is as easie to God as the least to man As the power of God supplyeth all the weakness of the creature to do any thing so it surpasseth all that strength and greatness of the creature which may seem to hinder him from doing any thing with it or upon it He saith the Apostle Phil. 3.21 shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body how shall he do this according to the working of his mighty power whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself The Lord can doubtless subdue Leviathan to himself by the working of that mighty power which subdueth all things to himself And it is much more easie for Christ to subdue any Leviathan than to change our vile body into the likeness of his own glorious body For as Jesus Christ was once declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection that is his own resurrection from the dead so he will again declare himself to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of power by our resurrection from the dead He that can draw our dust out of the grave with a word can soon draw Leviathan out of the deepest gulf in the Sea by his hook and cord This may comfort those and strengthen their faith who at any time see Leviathans ready to swallow them up as the Whale did Jonah As the Lord prepared that great fish to swallow up Jonah Jonah 1.17 so he commanded that great fish to deliver him back safe again or as that Scripture saith Chap. 2.10 He spake to the fish and he vomited out Jonah upon the dry land Both were acts of great power and teach us that the Lord hath a soveraign commanding power over all even the greatest creatures The Lord hath a hook for Leviathan He had hooks for Pharaoh The great Dragon in the midst of his Rivers Ezek. 29.3 4. And of him the Lord commanded the same Prophet to speak in a like notion Ezek. 32.2 Son of man take up a lamentation for Pharaoh and say to him thou art like a young Lion of the Nations and thou art as a Whale in the Seas and thou camest forth with thy Rivers and troubledst the waters with thy feet and fouledst their Rivers therefore I will spread out my net over thee and they shall bring thee up in my net I have a net for thee saith this Chapter I have hooks for thee saith that other The Prophet Isaiah to engage the Lord to do some great thing for his Church minded him of what he had formerly and anciently done for Israel Isa 51.9 Awake awake put on strength O arm of the Lord awake as in the ancient dayes as in the generations of old art thou not it that hath cut Rahab and wounded the Dragon This Rahab was Egypt and the Dragon was Pharoah as Interpreters generally agree The Psalmist reports the dealings of God with Pharoah and Egypt in language nearer that of the Text Psal 74.13 14. Thou breakest the heads of the Dragons in the waters thou breakest the heads of Leviathan in pieces and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness that is the remembrance of that mercy and of the mighty power of God in destroying Pharoah and his Egyptian Host who pursued them after their departure from Egypt to the red Sea was to be food for their faith in all the dangers and hardships which they were like to meet with in their travels through the howling wilderness to the Land of promise Take one Scripture-instance more 2 Kin. 19.28 Sennacherib was a Leviathan he came up against Hezekiah to destroy him and his people which provoked the Lord to speak thus of him Because thy rage against me is come into my ears therefore I will put my hook into thy nose and my bridle in thy lips and turn thee back by the way thou camest Thus far of the first thing in the description of Leviathan his greatness The second part of his description sheweth the stoutness and stubbornness of his spirit he will not comply he will not yield he will not any way submit This is laid down in the 3d 4th and 5th verses Vers 3. Will he make many supplications to thee The word in the Hebrew properly signifies deprecation Precamur bona deprecamur tantum mala which is prayer for the turning away of evil when evil is near then we deprecate it Will he do this not he He will not petition thee he scorns to petition thee or to cry for quarter But it may be said can fishes pray or make supplications to do so is at least the work of rational creatures I answer Per Prosopopoeian tribuit ei orationem these words are to be understood by that figure Prosopopoeia frequently used in Scripture when acts of Reason are attributed to irrational yea to senseless and lifeless creatures The very hills and valleys the Seas and waters praise God by a figure and here by a like figure Leviathan will not make supplications unto man which shews the stoutness of his spirit As some prisoners taken in war scorn to ask their lives so if Leviathan were taken with a hook he would make no supplications nor beg your favour so stout is he his heart is too great his stomack too big for any kind of submission Will he make many supplications unto thee no he will make none at all This is further expressed in the latter part of the verse Will he speak soft words to thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pro 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sc 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mollibus vel blandis vâ—rbis aut sermonibus Pisc Mr. Broughton renders or Will he speak to thee tenderly Will he flatter or humour thee that he may get loose or be freed from thee When the Gibeonites Josh 9.9 were afraid they should be taken and destroyed they came and begged peace they spake soft words There are words of two sorts Some are very hard words and hard words wound like hard blows And though no blows are given The Lord will come to execute judgement upon the ungodly for all their hard speeches Jude vers 15. Many speak words as hard as stones they throw hard words at the heads and about the
are they that put their trust in him Psal 2.12 My wrath is kindled against thee and thy two friends Why Because ye have not spoken that which is right of me Hence note Fourthly When the Lord is angry he will shew cause of his anger God is not angry as men often are without cause When Jonah was angry the Lord said unto him Dost thou well to be angry Yea saith he that I do I have reason enough thought he to be angry though there was no true reason at all for it But when the Lord is angry he always hath reason enough and he sometimes giveth his reason That the Lord doth us good is from free grace there is no reason in us why he doth us good as he told the people of Israel I did this and that for you not because ye were more than others either in weight or number but because I loved you but when the Lord afflicts his people he tells them the reason 't is for your sins or to purge you from your sins and sometimes pointeth them to the special sins for which he punisheth them and from which he would have them purged As here he did Eliphaz and his two friends Ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right as my servant Job hath The Lord doth not charge them with any evil actings but with undue speakings Ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right Hence note Failings in speech or in what we say may kindle wrath as well as failings in what we do Further The Lord doth not charge them with speaking soul and filthy things they had only spoken the thing that was not right A little failing in speech or in what we say concerning God and his ways may kindle wrath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ad me coram me Pagn Ye have not spoken of me that is concerning me or concerning my proceedings with Job the thing that is right The Hebrew is To me ye have not spoken to me the thing that is right God was not only the subject of whom they spake but the object to whom they spake this whole disputation being transacted as in the presence of God and both Job and his friends appealing to him as the Judge and Moderator of it Hence the Septuagint render ye have not spoken before me the thing that is right As if God had said all that ye have spoken hath been in my presence I being witness yea I being Judge yet ye spake not right Did we remember that whatsoever we speak as well as whatsoever we do is before God and must come under his judgment we would be more careful both to do and to speak which these men did not the thing that is right Ye have not spoken of me The thing that is right The Hebrew is but one word and it may be taken two ways 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 complectitur veritatem convenientiam cum officio decoro Significat igitur falsa dixisse de Dei judicio Jobo non eo animo dixisse sive vera sive falsa essent quo decobat Coc. Causam meam iniquè egistis Jun. First For rightness in matter Secondly In manner Our translation refers to the matter ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right Yet they failed as the word implieth in their manner of speaking also they handled Gods cause unhandsomely they spake not as they ought as well as what they ought not to a poor afflicted creature they spake not with that tenderness pity and compassionateness as became them to a man in that pitiful case But though the Lord might say in both these senses Ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right yet he said not as the Septuagint over-rashly render Ye have not spoken of me any thing that is right nor doth the Lord charge them absolutely as not speaking right of him but with a modification or comparatively Ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right As my servant Job hath As if he had said Job hath been condemned by you and yet Job hath spoken better than you righter than you though he hath had his failings in speaking yet ye have failed more than he But it may be questioned what was it that they did not speak right and what was it that Job spake righter than they I answer They had not spoken so right as he First About the doctrine of Gods providence by which he governs all things and distributes good and evil that is prosperity and adversity to the sons of men Secondly They had not spoken so right as he taking up the signs or tokens of the love and hatred of God from his outward dispensations Thirdly They censured Job as a sinful doer in former times and that now his sin had found him out because at that time he was so great a sufferer These things were not right Or thus Jobs friends did not speak right First In judging that God was angry with him because he afflicted him Secondly Nor did they speak right in judging Job wicked because afflicted they spake many right things about the justice and power of God but they did not hit Jobs case right They thought and concluded that if Job had not been a great sinner God would not have afflicted him at all at least not so greatly They supposed God could not justly afflict Job as he had done had Job been a just man This was not right they did not well consider First That God may afflict a just man out of Soveraignty Secondly They did not well consider that God hath other ends and reasons in afflicting than for iniquity and therefore they knew not how to justifie the proceedings of God but by condemning Job which there was no necessity to do So then their great errour and mistake was in resolving this question affirmatively Whether he that is greatly afflicted be a great sinner or whether the severe judgments of God light only upon ungodly men Their affimation of this was enough to make Job despair and did provoke him to utter several very passionate and unfitting speeches For though Job spake many things right yet not all right God judged him according to the tendency and scope of his spirit and speech not according to the accidents and suddein extravagancies of either Job spake right First In affirming constantly that God did not afflict him for his sin Secondly That his afflictions were no signs of Gods displeasure against him nor of his wickedness against God Yet Job did not speak all nor always right He failed First When he spake impatiently of his own sufferings Secondly When he spake so boldly to God asking as it were an account of his doings and dealings with him Thirdly He spake not right though that was right which he spake when he spake so much of his own righteousness thereby though not purposely yet according to the apprehension of others reflecting upon
found matters mending with himself and the answers of prayer in the mercies of God coming tumbling in thick and three-fold His captivity fled far away when he had thus drawn near to God he had as a very full and satisfactory so a very speedy answer When he prayed Prayer is the making known our wants and desires to God It is a spiritual work not a meer bodily exercise it is the labour of the heart not lip-labour Jobs prayer was a fervent working or effectual prayer as the Apostle James speaks chap. 5.16 not a cold slothful sleepy prayer when he prayed he made work of prayer Many speak words of prayer that make no work of prayer nor are they at work in prayer Job prayed in the same sense that Saul afterwards Paul did Acts. 9.11 when the Lord Jesus bid Ananias go to him for Behold he prayeth implying that he was at it indeed He had been brought up after the strictest rule of the Pharisees who prayed much or made many prayers but he prayed to so little purpose before that we may well call that his first prayer and say he had never prayed before Job prayed for his friends as Paul for himself he was very earnest with God for them and prevailed Extraordinary cases call for extraordinary layings out in duty It was an extraordinary case When he prayed For his friends The Hebrew is When he prayed for his friend Singulare partitivum pro plurali Merc. It is usual in the Grammar of the holy Text to put the singular for the plural 'T is so here either First because he prayed for every one of them distinctly and by name or Secondly because he looked upon them all as one and bound them up in the same requests When he prayed For his friends They are called his friends to shew the esteem that he had of them notwithstanding all their unkindness and unfriendliness towards him He prayed for them in much love O raram singularem virtutem quae in paucissimis vel Christianis reperiatur Merc. though they had shewed little love to him and his heart was so much towards them that the Text speaks as if he had forgot himself or left himself at that time quite out of his prayers Doubtless Job prayed for himself but his great business at that time with God was for his friends Now in that Jobs prayer is said expresly to be for his friends not for himself though we cannot doubt but that he prayed and prayed much for himself Observe A godly man is free to pray for others as well as for himself and in some cases or at some times more for others than for himself He seldom drives this blessed trade with heaven for self only and he sometimes doth it upon the alone account of others 'T is a great piece of spiritualness to walk exactly and keep in with God to the utmost that so our own personal soul concerns may not take up our whole time in prayer but that we may have a freedom of spirit to inlarge for the benefit of others Many by their uneven walkings exceedingly hinder themselves in this duty of praying for friends and of praying for the whole Church Uneven walkings hinder that duty in a twofold respect First Because they indispose the heart to prayer in general which is one special reason why the Apostle Peter gives that counsel to Husband and Wife 1 Pet. 3.7 to walk according to knowledge and as being heirs together of the same grace of life that saith he your prayers be not hindred that is lest your hearts be indisposed to prayer Secondly Because uneven walkings will find us so much work for our selves in prayer that we shall scarce have time or leisure to intend or sue out the benefit of others in prayer He that watcheth over his own heart and wayes will be and do most in prayer for others And that First For the removing or preventing of the sorrows and sufferings of others Secondly For the removing of the sins of others yea though their sins have been against himself which was Jobs case He prayed for those who had dealt very hardly with him and sinned against God in doing so he prayed for the pardon of their sin God being very angry with them and having told them he would deal with them according to their folly unless they made Job their friend to him This was the occasion of Jobs travelling in prayer for his friends and in this he shewed a spirit becoming the Gospel though he lived not in the clear light of it And how uncomely is it that any should live less in the power of the Gospel while they live more in the light of it To pray much for others especially for those who have wronged and grieved us hath much of the power of the Gospel and of the Spirit of Christ in it For thus Jesus Christ while he was nailed to the Cross prayed for the pardon of their sins and out-rages who had crucified him Father forgive them for they know not what they do Luke 23.34 Even while his crucifiers were reviling him he was begging for them and beseeching his Father that he would shew them mercy who had shewed him no mercy no nor done him common justice And thus in his measure Jobs heart was carryed out in his prayer for his friends that those sins of theirs might be forgiven them by which they had much wronged him yea and derided him in a sort upon his Cross as the Jews did Christ upon his This also was the frame of Davids heart towards those that had injured him Psal 109.4 For my love they are my adversaries that 's an ill requital but how did he requite them we may take his own word for it he tells us how but I give my self unto prayer yea he seemed a man wholly given unto prayer The elegant conciseness of the Hebrew is But I prayer we supply it thus But I give my self unto prayer They are sinning against me requiting my love with hatred But I give my self unto prayer But for whom did he pray doubtless he prayed and prayed much for himself he prayed also for them We may understand those words I give my self unto prayer two wayes First I pray against their plots and evil dealings with me prayer was Davids best strength alwayes against his enemies yet that was not all But Secondly I give my self to prayer that the Lord would pardon their sin and turn their hearts when they are doing me mischief or though they have done me mischief I am wishing them the best good David in another place shewed what a spirit of charity he was cloathed with when no reproof could hinder him from praying for others in some good men reproofs stir up passion not prayer Psal 141.5 Let the righteous smite me it shall be a kindness smite me how with reproof so it followeth Let him reprove me it shall be an excellent oyl which shall not break my