flock and brought in a Kid to make the savoury meat for Isaac Now the Apostle Paul to advance the freenes of grace doth not only instance in those two persons but useth a phrase of speech which savours so much of that passage that though he had not named the men yet every man who knew the Scriptures must needs understand both of whom and of what he meant it It is not of him that willeth c. that is it was neyther Rebeckaes will to have it so nor Jacobs hast which appeared in his running to the flock to have it so that gave him the Blessing but it was of God that shewed mercy And as it was then so it is now though a man be as willing as Rebeckah or though he make as much speed as Jacob for his blessing yet all comes freely by the grace of God Thus the frequent usage of Scripture shewes us how much the Spirit of God delights to lead our thoughts by the light of some one word a great way back into the consideration of what hath been done and written of old for our instruction The words of the text now under discussion Whose foundation was overflowne with a flood are surely an allusion to some particular persons or action in the dayes of old and they may be applyed three wayes First To the drowning of the whole world in the time of Noah by a flood when the Lord opened the windowes of heaven and overwhelmed both man and beast in those mighty waters which universal judgement is by way of eminence called The Deluge or The Flood unto this very day Secondly They may have respect to the overthrow of Sodome and Gomorrah which Cities though they were destroyed by fire yet it was with a flood of fire The Text saith expresly Gen. 19.24 Then the Lord rayned upon Sodome and upon Gemorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven and he overthrew the Cities all the plaine c. They were overflowne with a flood of fire Thirdly Hunc locum a v. 15. ad v 20. omnino respicere ad dimersionem Pharaones Egyptiorum non levibus suadeor conjecturis Pined The allusion may be carried to the destruction of Pharaoh and the Egyptians in the red Sea They also were overflowne with a flood The waters of the red Sea which stood up as a wall for Israell to passe thorow at the Command of God returning upon the Egyptians swallowed them up them and their Chariots and their horses The enemy sayd thus Moses describes that fatal overthrow Exod. 15.9 10. I will pursue I will overtake I will divide the spoyle my lust shall be satisfied upon them I will draw my sword my hand shall destroy them Thus the enemy raged foamed with revenge like a tempestuous Sea and had opened all the sluces of his will to overflow them And when the enemy had thus breathed out his wrath in a foure times repeated I will Then the Lord did blow with his wind the Sea covered them They sanke as lead in the mighty waters So then the words may relate to any of those three signall Judgements to the drowning of the old world with a flood of water to the destruction of Sodome and Gomorrah with a flood of fire or to the overthrow of Pharaoh and his Egyptian host in the red Sea But more particularly for the explication of these words whose foundation was overflowne with a flood Whose foundation This word foundation taken in a proper sence referres to a materiall building And the foundation of any building is the stability and strength of it by foundation in a metaphorical sence Ea omnia quae illis velur fundamenti loco erant in quibus spem praesidium ponebant c. Merc wee are to understand all those things by which the state of persons or things is upheld and here whatsoever wicked men support beare up themselves by as a building is borne up by the foundation is to be understood as their foundation So their power their riches their councell their wisdome their friends and confederates whatsoever I say is the support of their worldly State that 's their foundation And thus it is here said their foundation was overflowne With a flood In two of the former Instances to which the allusion was made their foundation was overflowne by a flood properly taken If wee take it more generally for all wicked men who at any time have been overthrowne wee may say that they have all been overflowne by a flood metaphorically For so First The displeasure of God by what meanes or instrument soever put forth is called a flood whether is be by sword or by famine or by pestilence it is a flood Esa 8.7 Wee read warre Compared to a flood Now therefore behold the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river strong and many what were these waters Even the King of Assyria and all his glory the King of Assyria with his Armyes in which he gloried or which he counted his glory were the waters of the river strong and many and hee shall come up over all his channells and goe over all his hands that is the former Limits of his Dominion And he shall passe thorow Judah hee shall overflow and goe over There The Sword is Compared to a flood or to a mighty river which beares downe all before it The same Prophet speakes againe in the same Language Esa 59.19 When the enemy shall come in like a flood the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a Standard against him as if it had been said The enemy shall come rushing in like a mighty torrent but the Spirit of God like a more mighty winde shall blow and rush upon him causing him to recoile and give back or as our Margent hath it put him to flight Againe Ezek. 13. The Prophet foreshewes the approaching calamity upon those who had seduced the Jewes into a vaine security which is there called the building of a wall with untempered morter A wall he calls that prophecy because it promised safety and defence but he calls it also a wall built with untempered morter because that false prophecy was a weake prophecy and should shortly fall The manner how he gives us in the notion of the Text vers 13. Wherefore thus saith the Lord God I will even rent it with a stormy winde in my fury and there shall be as an overflowing shower in mine anger c. that is wrath shall be upon it the Babylonian Army was the special judgement in which that wrath was expressed and that shall be as an overflowing shower Great and continuall showers will try the strongest buildings and quickly overthrow the weake A wall of untempered morter is no match for a storme As our Saviour also assures us in the close of his Sermon on the Mount Matth. 7.27 where all those evills troubles afflictions sorrowes and persecutions whether sent upon such as are really
Church Lest saith he such a one should be swallowed up with over-much sorrow Sorrow of any sort even sorrow for sinne may possibly have an excesse or an over-muchnes in it and when ever it hath so beyond the end for which it serves for sorrow is not of any worth in it selfe but as it serves to a spirituall end When I say sorrow hath such an excesse then not onely the comforts but the gifts and usefullnes of the person sorrowing are in danger to be swallowed up by it Secondly Water doth not onely swallow up but enter in while it covereth the body it fills the bowells Thus affliction like water fills within as well as covers without David complaines that his afflâ—ctions did so Psal 69.1 Save me O God for the waters are come in unto my soule Not onely have these waters sweld over mee but they are soakt into mee Inward or soule-afflictions as well as outward and bodyly afflictions are set forth by waters Psal 109.18 As he cloathed himselfe with cursing like as with his garment so let it come into his bowells or within him like water and like oyle into his bones Liquids penetrate so doe afflictions Thirdly As the water is not mans proper Element hee lives and breathe in the ayre not in the water So affliction is not our proper Element though it be due to our sinne yet it is not proper to our nature Man was not made to live in affliction as the fish was made to live in the water and therefore as it is said The Lord doth not willingly afflict nor grieve the Children of men Lam. 3.33 'T is as it were besides the nature of God when he afflicts the children of men So it is sayd Heb. 12.11 No chastning for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous Man is out of his Element when he is under chastnings Hee was made at first to live in the light of Gods countenance in the smiles and embraces of divine love As man is out of his way when he sins so he is off from his end when he suffers He was not designed for the overwhelming choaking waters of sorrow and judgement but for the sweete refreshing ayre of joy and mercy It often proves a mercy in the event to be covered with these waters To be covered with them that we may be washed by them is a mercy but onely to be covered with them especially as Eliphaz here saith Job was to be deeply covered with them is a deepe and soare affliction Abundance of waters cover thee Hence note That as God hath treasures of mercy and abounds in goodness so hee hath treasures of affliction and abundance of wrath As God hath abundance of waters sealed up in the Clouds as in a treasury and hee can unlocke his treasury and let them out whensoever he pleaseth eyther to refresh or overflow the Earth so hee hath abundance of afflictions and hee can let them forth as out of a treasury when he pleaseth And as wee read Ezek. 47. that the waters of the Sanctuary those holy waters were of several degrees first to the Ankles secondly to the knees then to the Loines and then a river that could not be passed over abundance of waters Thus also the bitter waters the waters of affliction are of severall degrees some waters of afflictions are but Ancle-deepe they onely make us a little wet-shod there are other waters up to the knees and others to the Loynes and others wee may rightly call abundance of waters a Sea of waters I am come into deepe waters saith David Psal 69.2 or into depth of waters where the floods overflow mee And having sayd Psal 42.6 O my God my soule is cast downe within mee He adds in the next words v. 7. Deepe calleth unto deepe at the noyse of thy water-spouts All thy waves and thy billowes are gone over me Where by deepe to deepe by waterspouts by waves and billowes he elegantly sets forth his distresse in allusion to a Ship at Sea in a vehement storme and stresse of weather when the same wave upon whose back the vessel rides out of one deep plungeth it downe into another Thus the afflicted are tossed and overwhelmed in a Sea of trouble till they are at their wits end if not at their faiths end Take two or three Deductions from all these words layd together Wee see by how many metaphors the sorrows of this life are set forth even by snares and feares and darknes and waters Hence note First That as God hath abundance of afflictions in his power so hee hath variety of wayes and meanes to afflict the sonnes of men eyther for the punishment of their sinne or for the tryall of their graces If one will not doe it another shall if the snare will not feare shall if feare will not darknes shall and if darknes will not the waters shall and if waters of one hight will not doe it hee will have waters deepe enough to doe it abundance of waters shall doe it hee hath variety of wayes to deale both with sinners and with Saints Secondly Consider the inference which Eliphaz makes Therefore snares c. are upon thee That Is because thou hast done wickedly in not releeving and in oppressing the poore therefore snares have entangled thee This though false in Jobs particular case yet is a truth in General And it teacheth us That There is an unavoydable sequell between sinne and sorrow Looke upon sinne in its owne nature and so the sequell is unavoydable sinne is bigge with sorrow as affliction burdens the sinner so sinne is burdend with affliction Sinne hath all sorts of affliction in its bowells and wee may say of all the evills that afflict us they are our sinnes Sinne is formally the transgression of the Law and sinne is virtually the punishment of transgressors Many I grant are afflicted for tryall of their graces as hath been shewed before but grace had never been thus tryed if man had not sinned Sinne is the remote cause of all afflictions and it is the next or immediate procuring cause of most afflictions Would any man avoyde the snare let him feare to sinne would he avoyd feare let him feare to doe evill would he keepe out of darkness and not be covered with abundance of waters let him take heed hee drinke not iniquity like water let him have no fellowship with the unfruitfull workes of darkness God tells the sinner plainely what portion he is to expect Say woe to the wicked it shall be ill with him for the reward of his hands shall be given him Isa 3.11 Wee may as well hope to avoyd burning when we run into the fire or dirtying when we run into the mire as to escape smarting when we run into sinne Yet more distinctly wee may consider all those evills comprehended under those words in the Text Snares darknes c. eyther in reference to wicked men or to the Saints Snares and darknes upon the wicked are the
never obey commandements for the holines that is in them but for the benefit that comes by them What can the Allmighty doe for them As when Judas betrayed Jesus Christ he went out with a mercinary spirit to doe that wickednesse What will you give mee and I will betray him So when a carnal man serves Jesus Christ he sayth What will he give me what can he doe for me he cannot serve God for nought that is freely as Satan charged Job in the beginning of this booke Job serveth thee sayd Satan because thou hast done so much for him because thou hast served his turne and made a hedge about him this was Satans slaunder upon that good man but 't is no sâ—under to say so of carnal men Doe they serve God for nought They doe not they cannot if they may gaine by godlinesse they will doe somewhat which shall have a shew of godlinesse profit will make any thing passe with and pleasing to a carnall minde though in it selfe it be never so displeasing Such is the noblenesse of the people of God that though there be a reward in serving of him yet they are ready to serve him without reward they can serve him upon a bare command abstract from promises and profits They can obey God as a creator though he should not be a rewarder Godlinesse is profitable for all things and hath the promise both of this life and of that which is to come yet a gratious heart loves Godlinesse more then profitablenes and eyes the worke of God more then his reward Further for the opening of these words Some read thus What can the allmighty doe against them The Hebrew particle stands indifferently to both and may be translated for or against in which sense we finde it in the 35th of this Booke Si peccaveris quid ei nocebis propriè quid ei facies ver 6 7. If thou sinnest what dost thou against him That is what hurt dost thou to God thy sinne cannot reach or wound him what dost thou against him Thus here They say to the allmighty depart from us and what can the allmighty doe against them Surely the allmighty is not able to hurt us from him we expect no good and from him we feare no evill Were not these mighty men thinke you who thought the Allmighty could not match them These were mighty men indeed Giants sons of Anak no doubt they were but Giants in wickednes And so this reading gives us a further character or discovery of a wicked mans Spirit Hence Observe Some wicked men have this presumption that let God doe his worst he cannot hurt them I finde in Scripture a threefold false and presumptuous apprehension which evill men have of God while they are doing evill First Some presume that God will protect them from evill while they doe evill Mich. 3.11 The beads thereof judge for reward and the Priests thereof teach for hire and the Prophets thereof divine for money yet will they leane upon the Lord and say Is not the Lord among us none evill can come upon us These were such as made it their busines to breake the Law of God yet they thought God would not suffer any trouble to breake in upon them Secondly Others presume that at least God will not be so severe as to inflict those evills which he hath threatned The old world was threatned with a Deluge but they could not beleeve God would make good his word they even mockt at the credulity and simplicity of Noah to see him build that great Ship or Arke upon the dry Land as if he meant to sayle his vessel without water As for them they neither belâ—â—ved nor feared a flood So they Isa 5.19 will put the Lord to a triall Let him hasten his worke that we may see it let us see what he will doe as if they had said to the Prophet you told us what he would doe how severe he would be what meaneth all your talke we would see something done What will the Allmighty doe against us Surely nothing he is not so strict as you make him The Prophet describes the worst of men the men setled on their lees speaking thus Zeph. 1.12 They say in their heart the Lord will not doe good neither will he doe evill that is he will neyther reward nor punish he will neyther helpe nor hurt To say eyther of these is alike dishonourable unto God To say eyther much more both though indeed to say eyther is to say both is to say not only that God is neyther to be loved nor feared but that he is not at all It is the glory of God to doe the one as well as to doe the other and unlesse he could doe both he could doe neyther Isa 45.7 I forme the light and create darknesse the darknesse of trouble is of God as much as the light of comfort I make peace and create evill the evill of punishment is as much the creature of God as peace is and God doth as much appeare a creator in the one as in the other the doing of this kinde of evill doth as much shew the power and providence of God as the doing of good yet those in the Prophet sayd the Lord will doe neither He will neither doe good neyther will be doe evill Thirdly Those in the Text were raysed to a higher pitch of presumption then both the former For they sayd what can the Allmighty doe against us As if they had sayd Let him doe his worst wee feare him not To thinke that God will sheild us from the evill which others threaten or that he will not bring that evill upon us which himselfe hath threatned when we doe evill are very high actings of presumption But to thinke that God can doe nothing against us to thinke that the Arme of God is shorter then that it can reach us or weaker then that it can over-power us to thinke that we have out-growne divine justice and are too big or too strong to be dealt with by the Allmighty is presumption to madnes woe to those sinners who secure themselves in the goodnes of God to them more woe to those who secure themselves in Gods neglect of them but above all woe is their portion who secure themselves as it were in the weaknes of God even while in words they acknowledge his power saying What can the Allmighty doe against us Thirdly Others read the words thus They say to the allmighty depart from us and what hath the allmighty done against them That is what hurt hath God done them They are troubled at the presence of God But what cause hath God given them to be troubled at his presence And then we may connect these words with the words of the 18th verse What hath God done against them yea he filled their houses with good things that 's all the dammage he did them This is a fayre sence and consistent with the Original Text leaving the
from the waters which were above the firmament Where by the firmament we are to understand that vast space which is extended or stretched out from the earth up to the clouds commonly called The ayre and by the waters above the firmament those raine-waters bound up in the clouds These upper waters are the waters of which our divine Philosopher here sayth that God bindeth them up In his thicke clouds Though clouds are much thinner then the water which they hold 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 densitas as Naturalists teach us yet they are thicker then the common ayre or they may be called thickned ayre and therefore the Hebrew word for a cloud is derived from a roote that signifyeth Thicknes And though we have a distinction of clouds into thicke and thinne comparing one with another yet all clouds compared to the ayre are thicke and compared to the waters all are thinne Besides the Hebrew word signifyes clouds indifferently as wel thinne as thicke or rather clouds Generally without any determination or restriction eyther to thick or thinne And therefore the text is best translated without an Epithete In his clouds or if any Epithete were given It would advance Jobs scope and purpose most to translate it In his thinne clouds for the thinner the cloud is the greater is the power of God and the wonder the more wonderfull in making them the Continent of such mighty waters But we translate wel Hee bindeth up the waters in his thicke clouds It may here be enquired why the clouds are appropriated unto God in such a speciall manner by calling them His clouds I answer the clouds are His not onely First In that common sence in which all things in the world are his because he maketh and disposeth of them for that use to hold the waters which the heate of the Sun exhaleth or draweth up in vapours from the earth But they are called his clouds Secondly Because God is sayd to use them as Princes doe Horses of State or Charets of triumph to ride upon Isa 19.1 Behold the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud as also because the Lord to shew the unsearchablenes incomprehensiblenes of his wayes and counsells in governing this world and in ordering the affaires of his chosen people is often expressed in Scripture as dwelling in a cloud or covering himselfe with clouds Psal 18.11 Hee made darkenes his secret place his pavilion round about him were darke waters and thicke clouds of the skies And againe it is no sooner sayd Psal 97.1 The Lord reigneth but in the very next verse it is sayd Clouds and darkenes are round about him righteousnes and Judgement are the habitation of his throane that is his administrations are alwayes full of righteousnes though seldome full of clearenes they are alwayes cloathed with equity though usually cloathed with obscurity His way and his dwelling is in the clouds and therefore also the clouds are his He bindeth up the waters in his thicke clouds Some Philosophers hold that the cloud doth not so much hold the water as is water and that the cloud is dissolved into water when it raineth others that the clouds hold water like a spunge which being pressed yeelds it out againe But Jobs Philosophy lifts up the glory of God most which maketh the cloud as a vessel or garment in which the waters are bound and yet see the wonder The cloud is not rent under them The waters being of a mighty bulke and weight 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 discidit rupit secuit in duas partes usurpatur de quavis violeÌ„ta ruptione aut segregatione rerum ante hac cohaerentium might easily breake their way through the clouds did not God both bind and ballance them as Elihu speakes Chap. 37.16 Doest thou know the ballancing of the clouds To his ballancing to his binding we must ascribe the not renting of the cloud As binding in the former clause noted an act of power and force in God so this word renting noteth a power and force in the water It is sayd Ps 78.13 God rent or divided the Sea that his people might passe through And this word is used 1 Chron 11.18 concerning those mighty men who fetched David water from the wel of Bethlem And the three brake through the host of the Philistines And thus would the waters naturally breake through the clouds but they are forbidden The cloud is not rent under all that weight for God holds it together and makes it as firme as brasse Hence observe It is an eminent a wonderfull act of divine power by which the waters are contained and stayed within the clouds The mighty power of God is seene in keeping the waters of the Sea in compasse by the sands and shoares but it is a greater act of power to keepe the waters of the ayre in compasse by the clouds There are three things very wonderfull or there are three wonders in this detention of the waters First That the waters which are a fluid body and love to be continually flowing and diffusing themselves should yet be stopt and stayed together by a cloud which is a thinner and so a more fluid body then the water It is no great matter to see water kept in conduits of stone or in vessels of wood and brasse because these are firme and solid bodyes such as the water cannot penetrate nor force it selfe through but in the Judgement of nature how improbable is it that a thinne cloud should beare such a weight and power of waters and yet not rent nor breake under them When Peter had enclosed a multitude of Great fishes in his net even an hundred fifty and three Joh. 21.11 we find this added as a wonder And for all there were so many yet was not the net broken How much more may this be added as a wonder that such a multitude of waters should be held in a cloud and yet the cloud not broken Hac sane est ex illis naturae mirabilâ—bus quae assiduitate vituerunt yea though the cloud be tossed and driven with feirce and raging windes This is one of those wonders in nature which is therefore onely not wondered at because it is so common and which because it is continually done few enquire into or admire the power by which it is done Secondly As it is a wonder that the cloud is not rent with the weight of the water so that the cloud is rent at the speciall order and command of God At his word it is that the clouds are lockt up and by his word they are opened As in spiritualls so also in naturalls Nulla gutta descendit ex illis donec veniat verbum ejus mittat illas per plateas Moses Gerund He openeth and no man shutteth he shutteth and no man openeth It is not in the power of all the world to rent or open a cloud though the earth be parcht and all things that live languish
and as a hater of wickednesse He reproves man because he hath sinned against him not because he is afraid of him as Eliphaz shews in the words which follow JOB CHAP. 22. 5 6 7 8 9. Is not thy wickednesse great and thine iniquity infinite For thou hast taken a pledge of thy Brother for nought and stripped the naked of their clothing Thou hast not given water to the weary to drinke and thou hast with holden bread from the hungry But as for the mighty man he had the earth and the honourable man dwelt in it Thou hast sent widdows away empty and the arms of the fatherlesse have been broken IN this Context Eliphaz intends to shew the true reason why God reproved Job and entred into judgment with him it was not as was sayd at the 4th Verse either because God was afraid of him or because he feared God but it was for his wickednesse as Eliphaz though mistaken concluded against him as if he had said God doth not punish thee because he is afraid of thee but because he loveth justice and hateth iniquity Is not thy wickednesse great and thine iniquity infinite That 's the scope of these words which we may fitly call Job's Indictment and this Indictment is laid down first in general words vers 5. Is not thy wickednesse great and thine iniquity infinite And here Job is not charged with wickednesse and iniquity barely but under a two-fold aggravation 1. Great 2. Infinite Secondly We have his Indictment drawn on t into particular Charges or a spefication of some notorious sins given against him in the Verses following This particular Charge consists of two heads First Sinnes against man Secondly Sinnes against God His supposed sinnes against man contained in the words now read are of two sorts First Sinnes of commission or of the evill which he had done Secondly Sinnes of omission or of the good that he had not done The evill which he chargeth him to have done is twofold first an act of injustice taking a pledge in the sixt verse secondly an act of uncharitablenesse stripping the naked in the same verse Both which evills or miscarriages towards the honest poore are aggravated ver 8th by his undue connivence at the wicked rich as he was too severe against the poore so he was over-favourable towards the great and mighty But as for the mighty man he had the earth and the honourable man be dwelt in it as if he had said Thou didst never set thy selfe to doe justice upon the great ones be they and doe they what they will they have the earth thou didst never put forth or exercise thy power to suppresse and oppose their insolencies thy edge was turned only against inferior ones Thou tookest a pledge from the poore and hast stripped the naked of their cloathing His sinnes of omission are expressed in the 7th verse Thou hast not given water to the weary thou hast withholden bread from the hungry and in the 9th verse Thou hast sent widdows away empty and the armes of the fatherlesse have been broken Which may be either taken thus Thou hast broken their armes or thou hast not given thy helpe and assistance to restore and releive them when broken Thus we have a light into the meaning of these five verses as they are a charge of sinne upon Job Vers 5. Is not thy wickednesse great The question may be taken two wayes either conjecturally and doubtingly or assertively and affirmingly Usually in Scripture such questions are resolved into assertions and so divers Interpreters resolve this here Is not thy wickednesse great That is I conclude against thee that thy wickednesse is great and that thy iniquities are infinite so Mr Broughton renders Doubtlesse thy evill is great Others conceive it more cleare to the minde of the Text that this question should be interpreted conjecturally Non tam haec ei ex professo obijcit quam cogitandum ei relinquit num haec fecerit Merc. Is not thy wickednesse great That is may we not suppose that thy wickednesse is great may we not from at least probable grounds thinke thus of thee And that First from the generall state of man by nature mans heart being sinfull he may sinne and sinne as it were without bounds greatly There is no man sayth Solomon 1 Kings 8. 46. that liveth and sinneth not Solomon puts it as a parenthesis in his prayer but it is such a parenthesis as hoocks in all man kinde it takes all in Who is there that sinneth not so Pro. 20.9 Who can say I am cleane from my sinne Now upon this generall ground Eliphaz might suppose Is not thy wickednesse great All men have this in their nature and hast not thou made improvement of it in thy life All men being sinfull by nature art not thou extreamely sinfull in practise Againe He might make the supposition upon this ground his present condition or his affliction thou art greatly afflicted thy afflictions are not of an ordinary sise or measure therefore is not thy wickednesse great and thine iniquity beyond the ordinary measure Upon this common rule he might suppose his sin very great for usually God doth proportion and measure out punishments by our sinnes Thy sufferings are very great therefore are not thy sinnes great too Thus he might speake conjecturally upon both these considerations And yet if we consider how positively he speaks of particulars at the 6th and 7th verses c Thou hast taken a pledge of thy brother for nought and stripped the naked of their cloathing c. He gives us but too much ground to thinke that he did more then barely conjecture while he sayd Is not thy wickednesse great The word which we render wickednesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 malum tuū vox Hebraea pertinet ad improbitatē quandam impudentiam contra jus aequum omnia conculcantem is by some specially expounded of that wickednesse which hath a kinde of impudence in it and which doth not onely breake transgresse or step over the Law but spurns against it every man that sinneth steppeth over the Law over the line but there are some that kicke at it some who trample upon it yea they would destroy it so some highten the emphasis of the word Againe the word is rendred by others as signifying the evill of punishment in this part of the verse and not the evill of sinne Is not thy affliction great therefore thy iniquity is infinite Malitia in sacris interdū est afflictio aerumna vexatio pro malo paenae non culpae accipit Rab Lev The Greeke word Matth. 6.34 answers this Sufficient to the day is the evill thereof that is the trouble and the sorrow of it Amos 3.6 Is there any evill in the Citie which the Lord hath not done So here Is not thy evill great thy evill of punishment therefore thy iniquity is infinite But I rather fix it upon the former though the word sometimes
compassion towards them Isa 58.7 When thou seest the naked that thou cover him and that thou hide not thy selfe from thy owne flesh As richly cloathed as thou art and as naked as they are thine owne flesh they are When Eliphaz saith Thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother he takes in brethren under all distinctions This he adds to highten Jobs sin Thou tookest a pledge from thy brother Hence note That as it is unjust and uncharitable to wrong any man so most of all those that are neere to us To wrong a brother of any latitude or degree is sinfull and still the neerer the brother is the more sinfull it is to wrong him the sinne which a man commits against himselfe is therefore greatest of all because a man is neerest to himselfe so in proportion the neerer any one is to us in any relation the more we sinne in wronging him The Apostle puts it under that notion If a brother or a sister be naked and destitute of dayly food c. Jam. 2.15 And againe 1 Joh. 3.17 Whosoever hath this worlds good and seeth his brother have need and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him how dwelleth the love of God in him That is the love of God doth not at all dwell in him or at best it dwelleth very poorly and undiscernably in him To see strangers yea enemies destitute and not relieve them is uncharitable but to see a brother or a sister and chiefly a brother or a sister in spirituall relation for of such I conceive the Apostle speakes particularly in those places I say to see such destitute and not to releive them this is highest uncharitableness Againe Some render thus not thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother but Thou hast taken thy brother for a pledge This speakes yet louder and is a sin of a blacker colour then the former thou hast not onely taken thy brothers pledge but himselfe his very person for security or for payment But what is it to take a mans brother for a pledge In pignus accepisti fratres tuos Sept. or how was that done These â—wo things may be in it either first more generally thou hast imprisoned him As Mat. 1â— 28 't is sayd of the cruell Creditour that he took his brother and cast him into prison till he should pay the utmost farthing now though all kinde of imprisonment be not sinfull not onely as to the law of Nations but as to the Law of God yet cruell imprisonment is very sinfull Thou hast taken thy brother for a pledge Thou hast not spared his person when he had not a purse to pay thee Thou hast as it hath been sayd among us made dice of his bones Some would never pay were it not for feare of a prison but to put and detaine a poore man in prison when he hath nothing to pay is not onely unchristian but barbarous and inhumane Or secondly which was used in ancient times Thou hast taken thy brother for a pledge that is thou hast made him thy slave To be cast into prison is a slavery and a man may be made a slave yet not imprisoned And though it may be a duty when we have nothing else to satisfie it with to worke out a debt yet it is a very high severity to force a debter to pay with his worke We reade how the poore widdow came to Elisha the Prophet and bemoaned her case to him 2 King 4.1 Thy servant my husband is dead and thou knowest that thy servant did feare the Lord and the creditour is come to take unto him my two sonnes to be bondmen This is to take a brother for a pledge The Prophet seemes to ayme at this while he describes those hypocriticall fasts among the Jewes Isa 58.6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen to loose the bands of wickednesse to undoe the heavie burdens and to let the oppressed goe free and that yee breake every yoake To fast and not to reforme is to mocke God rathâ—r then to humble our selves Here are the true fruits of fasting And they all run into the poynt in hand the avoyding and turning from all injurious and vexatious dealings with our Brethren First the bands of wickednesse that is of oppressing Laws or pinching Contracts Secondly heavie burdens eyther of services or taxes From these the oppressed should be freed and every yoake imposed by these or any other way of grievance broken from off the neckes of our brethren There is yet one word more very considerable in the Text for the hightning of this sinne Thou hast taken a pledge of thy brother for nought or without cause This word was opened Chap. 1.9 where Satan suggests against Jobs sincerity doth Job serve God for nought And againe Chap. 2.3 where the Lord asserts and vindicates the sincerity of Job against Satans calumniations Thou movedst me against him to destroy him without cause That is thou hadst no cause to move me so against him he is no such mercenary servant as thou hast maliciously pretended Thus here Thou hast taken a pledge of thy brother for nought or without cause that is without any necessary cause there was no reason thou shouldest take a pledge from thy brother when thou tookest it thou mightest have trusted him but thou wouldest not any further then thou hadst full security put into thy hand or rather then thou didst take it into thy hand whether he would or no. As if he had sayd Thou wouldest not releive thy brothers poverty upon the promises which God makes to those who charitably releive the poore thou wouldest neyther take Gods word nor trust thy brother in any case further then thou didst see him unlesse he would put into thy hand thou wouldest not put into his True charity must and will make some ventures Cast thy bread upon the waters saith Solomon Eccl. 11.1 A good man is a Merchant and will trust his bread where he hath no more assurance of a safe returne then the Merchant hath of his Ship and Lading from the winds and waters Thou hast taken a pledge of thy brother Againe Without cause or for nought may have this meaning thou didst oblidge thy brother to restore that which really and indeed he never received from thee thou didst put a debt to thy brothers account which he never made by borrowing Solent divites fingere se creditores alioe debitores David complaines of such kinde of unkinde usage Psal 69.4 They that hate me without cause are moe then the hayres of my head They that would destroy me being mine enemies wrongfully are mighty then I restored that which I tooke not away That is which I tooke not away eyther as borrowed of them or as stolne from them I was neyther a debter nor a theife I had nothing of theirs in my hands yet I was forced to restore This is the worst sort of taking a pledge for nought Thirdly For nought That
they are sayd to take skin and all They who are so unmercifull that they will not leave a ragge to cover the skin are justly charged with that unmercifullness which will not leave so much as their skin to cover their flesh yea as it followes in the same place that they would gnaw their bones they will have all Cloaths skin and bones from another rather then not have enough for themselves Cruelty joyned with Covetousnesse knows no bounds Eliphaz having thus shewed some of those particular evills which he supposed Job had done proceeds to shew what Good he had not don Sins of omission render a man as foule and vile as sins of commission doe He that doth not the good which he ought and can doth evill Vers 7. Thou hast not given water to the weary to drinke thou hast withheld bread from the hungry Thou hast not given water to the weary Water is a very Common thing and the word which is here used takes in all naturall waters the whole Element of water Seing then water is not under lock key but lyes open to all commers how comes it to be any mans gift I answer first If we understand the words literally strictly yet somtimes especially in some places to give a cup of water to drinke or a bucket of water to wash in is no small charity to a wearied traveller But secondly I conceive Job is taxed with not giving water to shew his refusing to doe the smallest charity So wee finde it expressed Matth. 10.42 when Jesus Christ would assure us that the least office of love or respect which we doe to a distressed Saint to a Beleever upon that account as he is a Beleever Non inania in eos etiam levia quae sub frigidae aquae nomine designat officia esse decerint Hilar. shall be rewarded hee gives it in this language Whosoever shall give to drinke to one of these little ones a Cup of Cold water onely in the name of a Disciple verily I say unto you hee shall not lose his reward As by one of these little ones he meanes any the least of Beleevers or righteous Persons so by the gift that he speaks of water or Cold water a Cup of Cold water he meanes the least of favours Cold water is a cheape commodity and a little cold water onely a cup of it cannot as some things cannot because they are worth so much be prized because it is worth so little yet he that gives but this little thing this almost nothing in the name of a Disciple hee shall not lose his reward So here to set forth the hardness of Jobs heart as Eliphaz conceived he puts it in these termes Thou hast not given water no not cold water to those that are weary As if he had said thou hast not onely denyed a feast or a banquet of wine which might put thee to some cost and charges but thou hast denyed then water cold water which is not chargeable at all which doth not so much as put thee to the cost of a little fire to heat it or of any ingredient to mix with it thou hast denyed them this cheapest charity venit vilissima rerum Hîc aqua Horat Sat 1. An old Poet speaking of a place where water was sold saith That which is lowest prized a thing of no price water is sold here Thus farre hast thou O Job saith Eliphaz fallen below the Law of love Thou hast not given water And to whom did he not give it The next word answers that Querie To the weary That is thou hast not given water to them to whom it doth most properly belong or who had perfect need of it the weary the thirsty There are some to whom wee may very well refuse to give water or any other refreshment of nature they have enough if not too much already not onely in possession as the rich but in use or abuse rather as the intemperate and the drunken To give water to such is to powre water into the Sea but thou hast not given it to the weary not to those who are like the dry and parched ground In that the matter of charity is placed in water observe That charity is accepted and uncharitablenes condemned in the smallest matter It is not the quantity of the gift but the affection of the giver it is not the quantity of that which is denyed to be given but the heart of him that denyes it which the Lord takes notice of be it much or be it little that is given if it be given with an honest and willing minde the Lord accepts it and be it much or be it little that is denyed if it be denyed with a churlish and uncharitable spirit the Lord is displeased with it and the lesse that is which is denyed the more sinfull is the denyal the more is the Lord displeased with it When crusts or crums of bread which fall from our Table are denyed when a cup of cold water is denyed how cold is charity and is it not crumbled into a lesser nothing then those crums Wee should honour the Lord with our substance and our charity should not onely have cost in it but liberality in it how doe they honor God with their substance who will hardly give to him that is to his poor the shadow of their substance If the Lord should command us to give some great thing to testifie our charity should we not doe it how much more when he saith give but water to the weary for my sake and I account you charitable Secondly Note That Churlish and hard hearted Persons stick at small matters as well as at great It is supposed Acts 5.15 that the very shadow of Peter was healing to the sicke There are some so hard-hearted that they would hardly bestow their shadow upon the poore to doe them good It troubles them to part with the least Imaginable Benefit or to doe the least Imaginable courtesie not onely great things but small things even the smallest things the chippings of their loafe the parings of their apple yea the very huskes which their swine eate as the letter of the Parable concerning the prodigal intimates Luk. 15.16 are stuck at as too much for them who have nothing And thus the heart of a wicked man is stated to the whole businesse of obedience his heart is as much against obedience in a small matter as in a great he is so farre from swallowing the camell of holy duty that he straines at the very gnats of it and if a mans spirit be against obedience it selfe in its owne nature if his spirit be unsutable to it let it be a duty of the least or lowest degree he cannot but sticke at it The servants of Naaman the Assyrian sayd to him Had the Prophet bid thee doe some great matter wouldest thou not have done it how much more when he saith unto thee Wash in Jordan and be
cleane There is a reason why wee should rather doe small things then great as to the outward act but I say if the spirit of a man be crosse-grayn'd and lie against the duty he is as unfit and as back-ward to doe a little as to doe a great deale he will not so much as give water to God or man or if he doe give it he doth not give it with a heart let out in love to God or in compassion to the most needy man It is a hard matter with him to give or doe at all but it is an impossible matter for him to give or doe with a ready or chearefull minde Thus the Covetous man the hard-hearted worldling cannot give so much as water a worldly man never thinks that himselfe hath enough of the world and he never thinks that others have too little when he is full he thinks all others are full enough too Such narrow-hearted creatures the Prophet Isayah describes Chap. 32.6 7. who as they practise hypocrisie and utter error against the Lord so they practise oppression and utter cruelty against man to make empty the soule of the hungry and to cause the drinke of the thirsty to fayle The Instruments also of the Churle are evill What Instruments doth he meane Some say the instruments of his commerce his weights and measures he pincheth the poore there that 's true those instruments of the churlish Merchant or Tradsman are evill Yet wee may rather expound it more largely for all the meanes whether persons or things whether agents under-officers or courses and devices which the churlish man useth as instruments to compasse and bring about his purposes all these savour of himselfe they are evill that is false treacherous and lying in waite to deceive For as it followe He deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poore with lying words even when the needy speaketh right or as wee put in the margin when he speaketh against the poore in Judgement Thirdly Note That a little is much reckoned upon by those that are in need or have nothing Water is a welcome mercy to the thirsty to the weary to those who are ready to dye with heate and travell The rich man in hell would have been glad of a drop of water to coole his tongue Sicera the General of Jabins Army beggs of Jael to give him a little water for saith he I am thirsty Judg. 4.19 The full soule loathes the hony-Combe that which is sweet and delicious the full stomack loathes it but they that are weary hungry and thirsty a piece of bread a Cup of water how pleasant how sweet Such are glad of any thing who are in want of all things Much is little to them who have much a little is much to them who have but little The weary will thanke you more for water then the wanton will for wine The weary asked but for water to drinke and could not get it thou wouldest not give it Fourthly Eliphaz describing a wicked man fixes most upon this sinne his unmercifulnesse to the poore And there is a generall truth in it That to be without Compassion to the poore is the marke of a wicked man They who have found the compassion of God to their own soules as every godly man hath cannot shut up the bowels of their compassion towards the pined body of man The Apostle John puts the question 1 Ep 3.17 How dwelleth the love of God in him that doth so The love of God eyther as taken for the love of God to us or for our love to God dwelleth not in him in whom there dwells no love to man Now if the love of God dwell not in a man God dwelleth not in him and if God dwell not in him Satan doth and what can he be called but wicked in whom the wicked or the evill one dwelleth Thus the wicked Edomites dealt with the people of God when they were wearied in their March thorow the Wildernesse Wee read the children of Israel thus bespeaking the Edomites Numb 20.17 18 19. Let us pass I pray thee thorow thy Country wee will not pass thorow the fields or thorow the vineyards neither will wee drinke of the water of the wells c. wee will put you to no trouble no charge wee will be content with the common waters which we finde abroad this is all that wee desire when wee shall be weary and thirsty in our travells And Edom said unto him Thou shalt not pass by mee least I Cutt thee off with the sword And the Children of Israel sayd unto him wee will goe by the high way and if I and my Cattell drinke of thy water I will pay thee for it I will onely without doeing any thing else goe thorow on my feet See what a spirit Edom was of when Israel put it to the lowest wee will drinke none of the water of your wells or if we doe we will pay for it No Edom was so hard-hearted that he would neyther give nor sell them water they shall not have it eyther of free cost or for money thus uncompassionate was hee towards a People that were travelling that were weary and thirsty The Inhabitants of Tema are commended for their tendernes to men in distresse Isa 21. 14. They brought water to him that was thirsty they prevented with their bread him that fled They gave water and bread unasked The wants of the distressed moved them though they made no motion for the supply of their wants They act most like God who prevent us with their favours Even the light of nature leads to it How unnatural then are they who deny water to them who being weary and thirsty begge for it The mercy of God by Jesus Christ is highly Commended to us upon this Consideration that he gives it not onely in bounty but in Compassion there is not onely liberality but there is a pity in it therefore he saith Matth. 11.28 Come unto me all yee that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest To give ease and refreshment to those that are weary and heavy laden hath not onely bounty liberality but Pity and Compassion in it Psal 136.23 Thanks to God who hath remembred us in our low Estate It is an act of grace for God to remember us in our highest Estate in our most flourishing Estate but to remember us in our low Estate then to give us in refreshings and Comforts this is a clearer act of Grace As it is said Ps 68.9 Thou O God didst send a plentifull raine whereby thou didst confirme thine inheritance when it was weary As the goodnesse of God is most seene in giving water to the weary so is the wickednesse of man in denying it Eliphaz urgeth Job further with this uncharitablenesse And thou hast withholdden bread from the hungry He gave no water and he withheld bread The word is sometimes rendred to hide to deny Verbum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 significat
all religion placed in second Table worke in giving every man his due in compassion to the poore in helping the helplesse in feeding the hungry in cloathing the naked in comforting the sorrowfull and by name the fatherlesse and the widow This is pure religion to visit the fatherlesse and the widow That is this is the practicall part or the true practice of religion without which all religion is vaine Therefore when the Apostle had sayd v 21. Receive with meeknes the engraffed word Lest any man should stay there and think he had done enough when he had been a bearer he adds Be doers of the word That is looke to the practicall part of religion be diligent in the duties of love to men as wel as in those of the worship of God Take these two inferences from the whole verse First Seeing God taketh so much care of the widow and the fatherlesse Let the widow let the fatherlesse trust in God They who receive peculiar promises from God should put forth suitable acts of faith towards God Faith cannot worke without a word and where it hath a word it ought to worke Wee have both put together in the present case Jer. 49.11 Leave thy fatherlesse children I will preserve them alive and let the widows trust in mee As if God had sayd if none will take care of them I will I will take care of them I will be a father of the fatherlesse a husband to the widow leave that care to me Therefore let the widow and fatherlesse trust in God A word from God is a better a bigger portion then all the wealth of this world Secondly Seeing the Lord is so jealous over them and so ready to take their part against all their adversaries this should provoke them to be full of zeale for God God stands up for their protection therfore they should stand up for God their protector and patron How carefull should they be to please him who is so watchfull to preserve them Speciall promises call for speciall obedience as well as for speciall faith The more God engageth himselfe to doe for us the more should we engage our selves in his strength to doe for him None have more reason to be rich in faith and love to God then the poore and fatherlesse Thus farre wee have examined the Inditement or Charge which Eliphaz brought against Job now see what he inferres upon it here is thy sinne and there 's thy punishment JOB CHAP. 22. Vers 10 11. Therefore snares are round about thee and sudden feare troubleth thee Or darknesse that thou canst not see and abundance of waters cover thee THese two verses have variety of expressions but the intendment of all is one and the same Snares and feares and darknesse and abundance of waters signifie all manner of evills All these are upon thee because thou hast sent widows away empty and hast suffered the Armes of the fatherlesse to be broken because thou hast done these things therefore Snares are round about thee Some render the Originall Text to another sence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 non significat illationem aut convenientiam consoquentis ad antecedens sed convenientiam aptitudinemque antecedentis ad consequens Coc not as bearing an effect of the former words not as if hee had been punished with these evills for those sinnes but as if these evills had caused him to sinne and so the words are expounded as a kinde of scorne as if Eliphaz had sayd When thou didst those things no doubt snares or feares or darknes or waters came upon thee thou was forc't by suffering these evills to doe all this evill wast thou not was it not because thou wast prest with snares and feares and darknes and waters that thou didst oppresse the widow and the fatherlesse All which Questions are reducible to these plaine Negations Thou wast not pressed with any of these perplexities upon thy selfe to oppresse the poore there was no snare no nor any feare neere thee darknesse did not hinder thy sight nor did the waters of affliction cover thee Thou hast not been thrust upon sinne by these temptations nor constrained by the moral violence of any incumbent necessity but hast done it freely to sin even in this manner and at this hight hath not been thy refuge but thy choyce Thou hast not acted these iniquities by any instigation eyther from persons or providences but upon thine owne election This is a fayre sence and a mighty reproofe seeing as was lately noted every evill we doe is by so much the worse by how much wee have had the lesse provocation or solicitation to doe it But I rather take the words as wee render them to expresse the sad effects and fruits of his sinne As if Eliphaz had said Because thou hast taken a Pledge of thy brother for nought c. because thou hast sent widows away empty and the armes of the fatherlesse have been broken therefore snares are round about thee c. The words may have a threefold Allusion First To the besiedging of a City snares are round about thee Hostile aliquid obsidionale significat thou art now hemde in on every side with-troubles as Christ threatens Jerusalem Thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee c. A trench is but a great snare to catch men as men catch birds and vermine in snares Or Secondly The Allusion may be to Imprisonment thou art compassed with strong walles and shut in with gates thou art shackel'd with iron snares Thirdly The words may allude to hunting and fowling in such disports nets and snares are set to take the intended game Snares are often spoken of in Scripture to intimate or set forth the afflictions and sorrowes that entrap and hold the sons of men So that to say Snares are round about thee is no more but thus troubles are round about thee and these snares are sometimes set by the hand of man sometimes by the immediate hand of God Good things are often made a snare to the undoing of evill men and evill things are often made a snare to the troubling though not to the undoing of good men But I shall not prosecute this allusion having spoken of it at the 18th Chap v. 6 7 8. where Job complaines that God had taken him in his snare as also in the 19th Chapter at the 5th verse And sudden feare troubleth thee Wee may understand this feare first for the passion of feare or for feare within Secondly for the occasion of feare which is feare without Sudden feare troubleth thee that is the appearance or apprehension of some terrible thing causeth thee to feare Passio pro objecto materia suni in omni idiomate familiare Sanct. Feare is often put in Scripture for the thing feared for the object of feare or for that which causeth feare Thus also hope is put for the thing hoped for and vision for the thing seene or the object of the
people Stupidus esplanè nisi tua scelera harum tuarum calamitatū aquae more inundantium obruentium causam esse vides Merc heare ye indeed but understand not and see ye indeed but perceive not Make the heart of this people fat and make their eares heavy and shut their eyes What were these eyes and eares that were to be made heavy and shut Surely they are to be understood not of Organicall but of intellectuall eares and eyes But who was to shut these eyes A holy Prophet And how was hee to shut them By prophecying or speaking to them in the Name of the Lord. The proper worke of the Word is to open the eyes and enlighten the minde But when a people have long shut their owne eyes against or onely dallyed with that transcendent mercy the light then God which is the severest judgement shuts their eyes and darkens them with light Of this Judiciary darkness some interpre◠the present Text as if Eliphaz had sayd there is a worse plague upon thee then all those spoken of even blindness and confusion of minde so that thou canst neyther see what brought thee into them nor how to finde thy way out but art as a man under water or in the darke amuzed in these thy afflictions not knowing what to doe or which way to turne thy selfe Secondly Darkness taken improperly is Externall so a state of sorrow and affliction is a state of darkness As before snares so here darkness notes any troublesome condition or the trouble of any mans condition And when to darkness this is added Darkness that thou canst not see it may import the greatest degree of darkness even darkness in perfection or as the Scripture speaks thick darkness yea outer darkness There is a darknes in which wee may see a darknes which hath some kinde of light in it but when darknes is so thicke that we cannot see that is that we cannot see any thing in it as we commonly say of extreame darkness 't is so darke that a man cannot see his hand then 't is perfect darkness Light is not properly seene but 't is the medium or meanes by which wee see much lesse is darknes seene it being properly that which intercepts and hinders sight yet 't is rare to meete with darknes which hath not some mixture or tinctures of light or with such darknes as in which nothing at all can be seene yet such was this metaphoricall darknes with which he supposed Job was muffled up I have more then once in other passages of this Booke met with and explained this terme shewing how and why afflictions and troubles are expressed by it and therefore I shall not now stay upon it Onely here take notice Gentiles idem sentire gustiebant dum non eosdem in prosperis quos in adversis adibant deos In prosperis quidem solē Jovem opulentū Minervam Mercurium Apollinem hos omnes quasi lucis secundarum rerum largitores at in adversis tellurem Neptunum alios malorum depulsores nocte multum potentes quasi tenebrarum ipsi domini essent Bold That the old Heathens had such conceptions of darkness And therefore being in a prosperous state they had recourse to the Sunne to Jupiter Minerva Mercury their Idol-Deities as the dispensers of light and comfort but being under sufferings and sorrows they made their applications to the Earth to Neptune and others whom they vainely beleeved were Rulers of the Night and Lords of darkness as if these could command and chase away all evills from them Scripture Language is full of such Descriptions about men in sorrow Darkness that thou canst not see And abundance of waters cover thee * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quamvis multitudinē aut inundationē significat cum celeretate quadam strepitu The word rendred abundance signifies a company or troope of waters which meete and march together even as horses prepared for battell and ready to give the charge So the word is translated 2 Kings 9.17 A Watchman from the Tower sayd I see a company And that was Jehu with his troopes who came marching furiously with the revenge of God in his hand upon the house of Ahab And so Ezek. 26.10 By reason of the abundance of their horses their dust shall cover thee thy walls shall shake at the noyse of the Horsemen and of the Wheeles and of the Chariots Reade the same use of the word Isa 60.6 The multitude some read the inundation of Camels shall cover thee They shall come in such abundance that they shall come like a floud and shall be as the gathering of many waters Troopes of Horses and Camels rush together as many waters And waters rush and throng together even as many horses Thus here abundance or an Army of waters come in upon thee and cover thee Waters in Scripture frequently signifie afflictions Isa 43.2 When thou passest thorow the waters that is thorow great afflictions I will be with thee Psal 18.16 Hee drew me out of many waters That is out of many afflictions Psal 66.12 Wee went through fire and water but thou broughtest us forth into a wealthy place Fire and water note all sorts of afflictions hot and cold moyst and dry And some conceive that water in a metaphoricall sence is so often used in Scripture to signifie affliction because water in a proper sence did once afflict the whole world As the generall Judgement upon the world at the last day shall be by fire so the first generall Judgement upon the world was by water it was a floud of waters by which the Lord destroyed the old world Likewise Pharaoh and his Host of Aegyptians which was the second most Eminent Judgement that ever was in the world were overwhelmed by the waters of the red Sea Thus Moses sang Exo. 15.4 5. Pharaohs Chariot his host hath he cast into the Sea his chosen Captaines also are drowned in the red Sea The depths have covered them they sanke into the bottome as a stone And againe v. 10. The Sea covered them they sanke as Lead in the mighty waters Water being the Element and the Instrument which God hath so often used in his angry dispensations towards sinfull men it may emphatically expresse any dispensation of his anger Yet if we consider the very nature of the thing it selfe it carrieth significancy enough to be the Embleme of saddest and soarest affliction First There is in water a swallowing power as water is easily swallowed so it swallowes all up Man cannot subsist in it when it is most peaceable and he can hardly escape out of it when 't is enraged Sorrow and affliction are swallowers also unlesse mercy appeare and moderate them they drowne and overthrow all The Apostle useth that expression when he adviseth the Corinthians 2 Ep 2.7 To forgive and comfort the incestuous person whom according to his advice they had formerly Excommunicated or cast out from fellowship in the
godly or onely in name and outward profession are called raine floods winds So saith the Text The raine descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon the house and it fell and great was the fall of it While it stood it stood to no purpose but for a shew but when it fell it fell to purpose The fall thereof was great Thus it is more then evident from Scripture phrase that raines and floods signifie all sorts of afflicting evils and therefore we need not restraine the word flood in the Text to a Deluge of Elementary water or of water in a proper sence but wee may Enlarge it to any kinde of afflicting Evill or trouble whatsoever that falls upon man And the Scripture is I conceave so frequent in the use of this metaphor of a flood and of waters where great calamities are set forth for these two reasons First To note the swiftnes and suddennes of the judgements of God Floods come often very suddenly and rise not onely beyond expectation but before there is any the least expectation of them Noahs flood was long foretold before it came but when the time came wherein it should come it came at once Though God give long warning of his judgements yet most men are surprizâ—d with them they come like a flood Secondly To note the Irresistablenes of the Judgements of God who or what can stand before mighty waters Great floods doe not onely wash and overflow all but ruine and overthrow all there 's no resisting Such are the Judgements of God they are a flood both for their suddain rising and breaking in upon sinners and likewise for their Irresistible violence in breaking and ruining them Further It is not to be passed by That Eliphaz doth not onely say They were overflowne but Their foundation was overflowne with a flood He calls it the overflowing of their foundation to note that they were totally or utterly ruined overthrowne for when the foundation is destroyed all is destroyed destruction to the foundation is the worst of destructions The cruel enemies of the Jewes cryed Rase it rase it even to the foundation thereof Ps 137.7 but to rase the foundation it selfe is more cruel then rasing to the foundation When the Lord threatned a full and final destruction of those foolish Prophets who had seene vaine visions for his people he sayd Ezek. 13.14 I will breake downe the wall that ye have daubed with untempered morter and bring it downe to the ground so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered c. That is I will destroy it as farre as destruction it selfe can goe There shall not only not a stone be left upon a stone of this building above ground but even the under-ground stones shall not be left The very foundation shall be opened and discovered That which lyeth at the bottome or the bottome it selfe of those flattering prophecies all the wiles secret wayâ— of them shal be revealed David complaines of those irreparable breaches made upon the civill state in this stile Psal 11.3 If the foundations be destroyed what can the righteous doe The civill foundation of a Nation or people is their Lawes and Constitutions the order and power that is among them that 's the foundation of a People and when once this foundation is destroyed what can the righteous doe what can the best the wisest in the world doe in such a case what can any man doe if there be not a foundation of Government left among men There is no helpe nor answer in such a case but that which followes in the 4th verse of the same Psalme The Lord is in his holy Temple the Lords throane is in heaven his eyes behold his eyelids try the children of men As if he had sayd in the midst of these confusions when as it is sayd Psal 82.5 All the foundations of the earth are out of course yet God keepes his course still he is where he was and as he was without variablenes or shadow of turning Wee read in the vision of the fower Monarchyes Dan. 2.34 That The stone Cut out without hands smote the Image upon his feete that were of Iron and Clay and brake them to peeces The stone did not strike the Image upon the head or upon the breast the golden head the silver breast c. but upon the feete that were of Iron and Clay Now the feete are to a naturall body as the foundation is to an Artificiall body A mans feete are the foundation of his body if the feete be smitten and broken to pieces the body must needs fall And therefore as soone as ever it was sayd That the Stone brake the feete to peices The ruine of the whole Image is described in the immediately following words of the vision ver 35. Then was the Iron the Clay the brass the silver and the gold broken to peices together and became like the chaffe of the Summer threshing floore and the winde carried them away that no place was found for them The breaking of the feete was the breaking up of the foundation and so the breaking downe of all Whose foundation was overflowne with a flood Hence note First Wicked men thinke themselves very sure they have foundations they lay foundations The people of God are sometimes over-conceited about the strength and stability of their worldly foundations Holy David sayd In his prosperity I shall never be moved Lord by thy favour thou hast made my mountaine to stand strong Psal 30.6 7. And if a godly man may by the strength of temptation thus over-reckon the strength of an Earthly state what may they doe whose state yea whose minds are altogether earthly How often doe they judge themselves wise and politique enough to lay for themselves an everlasting foundation in things which cannot last and that they are so surely bottom'd in the favour of men that they shall never be removed Babylon thinks her selfe setled at this day upon such everlasting mountaines upon such perpetuall hills of power and policy that certainly her foundation shall never be overflowne Thus shee spake her heart out while shee sayd in her heart Rev. 18.7 I sit a Queene and am no widdow and shall see no sorrow Babylon is bottom'd foundation'd upoÌ„ so many hils that is upon so many Interests advantages of strength as render her to her selfe impregnable and unremoveable And as this vaine confidence beares up the Spirit of that Man of sin so of very many sinfull men who presume they are upon a sure foundation when indeed none but the godly mans foundation is sure Prov. 10.25 As the whirlewinde passeth so is the wicked no more but the righteous is an everlasting foundation The wicked man supposeth himselfe founded as on a Rock of ages an everlasting strength such as the righteous man hath in God or such as God is to a righteous man Esay 26.3 Yet as the whirlewinde bee passeth away but the righteous is an
of God when he puts the mighty from their seates when the Oaks and the Cedars when the high walls and mountaines are shaken and removed by his blowes and batteries When Pharoah and his Egyptian hoast were drowned in the red Sea Then Moses magnified God in his power Exod. 15.2 The Lord is my strength and song that is I will sing of the strength of the Lord not of the strength of man he is my God and I will prepare him an habitation my fathers God and I will exalt him In these three attributes Justice truth and power God is honoured when the wicked are destroyed and therfore it cannot be uncomly for the Saints to rejoyce when they are destroyed The Lord by his Prophet assures the Church his Jacob that all the enemies thereof shall be scattered Is 41.15 Behold I will make thee a new sharpe threshing instrument having teeth thou shalt thresh the Nations beat them smal shalt make the hills as chaffe c. The mountains thâ—â—â—lls to be threshed were the mighty ones of the earth setting themselves against the wayes and designes of heaven The Instrument or flayle wherewith they were to be threshed was the worme Jacob ver 14. God did not so much make an Instrument for the worme Jacob as he made the worme Jacob his Instrument Behold I will make thee not for thee a new threshing Instrument But when the worme hath done this great worke when he hath threshed the mountaines and made the hills as chaffe What must he doe then The 16th verse tells Thou shalt rejoyce in the Lord Gaudebunt de eorum exitio non vindictae cupiditate sed zelo dei accensi qui hoc modo declarabit sibi curae esse res humanas Drus and shalt glory in the holy One of Israel Glorying is more then rejoycing Glorying is a kinde of rapture or extasie of the soule As there is an extasie of Infatuation so there is an extasie of Gratious admiration Fooles and madmen are besides themselves for want of reason the wisest and best of men are besides themselves through the aboundance of the Grace of God in them and the aboundance of the goodness of God towards them When the goodness of God acted mightily towards us meetes with the Grace of God acting mightily in us we are lifted up so farre out of our selves that we can see nothing in our selves and then in whom or in what can our rejoycing be but in the Lord the holy one of Israel This joy is not First the joy of the Epicure A sensuall joy in wine and belly-cheare in eating the fat and drinking the sweete in carnal merriments musicke nor is this secondly a cruel joy in the ruine and destruction of men which the Prophet rebukes Obad. v. 12. Thou shouldest not have rejoyced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction Nor is this thirdly a proud joy or a joy of ostentation when men spread their plumes and publish their owne wisdome greatnes and power nor is it fourthly a covetous joy such as theirs is who are glad because they have fill'd their purses enriched their familyes and their hand hath gotten much Nor is it lastly a secure joy because when evill men are cast downe we hope to fit warme and well safe and quiet upon their ruines But this joy consists first in high thoughts and valuations of God Whom have I in heaven but thee c. Psal 73.25 Who is like unto thee O Lord among the Gods Exod. 15.11 It consists secondly in a sweete rest or complacency in God Returne unto thy rest O my soule that is turâ—â—â—n to God live neerer him saith a Godly man to his soule a such a case Psal 116.7 This joy is the rest of the soule in God He who is rest to himselfe as God is may be so infinitely more to us Thus The righteous see it and are Glad And the innocent laugh them to scorne This heightens the sence of the former part of the verse not onely are the righteous glad when the wicked are destroyed but they laugh them to scorne The righteous in the former part of the verse are the same with the innocent here yet we may distinguish them The innocent are taken two wayes in Scripture first the innocent are they who are pure from sinne secondly the innocent are they who are pure or free from punishment or from trouble freedome from sin and freedome from trouble are so dependent upon one another that one word may well expresse both Thus the word is used 2 Sam. 14.9 The woman of Tekoah said to the king My Lord O king the iniquity be on me Innocens in Scriptura sumitur non solùm activè pro eo qui nemini nocet sed etiam passivè pro eo cuâ— nemo nocet and my fathers house and the king and his throne be guiltlesse or innocent that is free from all evill and trouble While she saith The iniquity be upon me her meaning is let the punishment of the iniquity be upon me let the king and his throne be guiltlesse let no punishment of iniquity fall eyther upon the king in person or upon his government In the same sense the word is read Exod. 19.21 If he that hath been smitten rise againe and walke abroad upon a staffe then he that smote him shall be quitt the Hebrew is then shall he be innocent that is free from punishment he shall not have any censure or judgement for it We have the like use of the word Numb 5.19 in the case of the woman suspected by her husband for disloyalty in breaking her marriage vow she being for her purgation to drinke the bitter water Innocens eris ab aquis istis amarissimis Heb. the Priest was to bespeake her in this manner If no man hath lien with thee and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanenes with another in stead of thy husband be thou free or innocent from this bitter water that causeth the curse that is let the water doe thee no harme as if he had sayd thou shalt feele no evill of paine by it if thou art not guilty of the evill of sinne Thus some expound the word here The innocent shall laugh them to scorne that is they who are free from those troubles with which the wicked are over-taken and undone those particular righteous men who escape the storme untouched laugh the wicked to scorne Many of the Hebrew writers fix upon a speciall person and by the Innocent understand Noah as if it were a report of what was done upon the old world Then the righteous that is as the Chaldee Paraphrase explaines it the sonnes of righteous Noah saw the flood and were glad Videbant filij Noë justi et laetabuntur Noe innocens subsaâ—nabit ees Targ and innocent Noah laught the prophane old world to scorne When Noah and his sonnes were building the Arke the old world in stead of
come to such so to stay and abide with them As good comes so good continues according to the command and commission which it hath from God Thus he promised in the Prophet Isa 48.18 in case his people had harkned to his commandements Then had thy peace been as a River and thy prosperity as the waves of the Sea Thy peace and prosperity had not been as a Land flood or Brooks of water which faile in summer when we have most need of them all worldly things are apt to doe so but they should have flowed perpetually as a river doth which is fed by a constant Spring or as the Sea doth which is the feeder of all Springs A godly man gets not onely a large portion of good things but a lasting portion yea a portion of those good things which are everlasting by acquainting himselfe with God And because by acquaintance with God so much good comes to us Therefore Eliphaz presseth Job further to it in the next verse Vers 22. Receive I pray thee the Law from his mouth and lay up his words in thine heart Receive that is learne from his mouth he that teaches gives Dat Magister quando docet capit discipulus quando discit Drus and he that learnes receives and the Hebrew word which we render here to Receive signifies not ordinary receiving but receiving with an earnest desire yea it implyeth a kinde of violence in desire such as they have who take spoyles in warre They fly upon the spoyle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 verbum hoc ad praedam quae cum violentia tollitur referri potest and catch it with as much eargernes as they wonne it with courage So Receive the Law from his mouth David saith I have rejoyced in thy word more then they that finde great spoyles Psal 119.162 O how strongly did his heart run out to the word And there is an Elegancy also in it that this word which signifies to receive the Law Ex hac radice dicitur doctrina 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quase accepta vel accipienda quia sc lex debet accipi grato lubenti animo doth also signifie the Law or doctrine to be received Prov. 4.2 I give you good doctrine forsake you not my Law The word which is there used for doctrine is the same that â—s here rendred to receive the reason is because wholsome doctrine â—s worthy to be received and ought to be received willingly chearfully and gladly and therefore the Gospel which is the highest and most precious doctrine is called an Acceptable doctrine This is a faithfull saying and worthy of all Acceptation 1 Tim. 1.11 The Gospel is worthy not onely of Acceptation or of great but of all Acceptation and that from all men even from the Greatest And so also is the Law for as shall be opened further afterwards the Law in this place comprehends the Gospel also Receive the Law at his mouth Further The word which we expresse Receive is rendred by some to buy we may connect both sences here Receive the Law as a thing bought and carry it home with thee That of Solomon Prov. 23.23 suites it well Buy the truth and sell it not Truth is a Commodity the trade whereof goes but one way all Civill Trades and Merchandizes are continued by buying and selling but this spirituall trade is continued by buying onely without selling it will be our profit to have this Commodity alwayes upon our hands or rather alwayes in our hands Thus here Receive the Law at a price buy it and keepe it not that the Lord doth expect any price from us or that vve can bring any thing to him valuable for it We buy it when vve take paines for it vvhen vve doe our utmost endeavour to receive the truth vvhen vve receive the truth not onely as it is offered and brought home to us but vvhen we goe out for it and seeke after it in all the meanes vvhich God hath appoynted as conveyances of it that 's buying the Law of truth Receive the Law Againe We may profitably consider a double derivation of that word vvhich vve trenslate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a radice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 explorare aut circumquaque lustrare quia lex universa est diligentèr observanda ne qâ—is in uno offendat Law Some say it is from a roote that signifies to behold or Contemplate to Consider to looke about and the Lavv is vvell exprest by a word of that sence because the vvhole Law is diligently to be observed and considered looked into and meditated upon vvee are alwayes to behold it and that in every part For the vvhole Lavv is copulative and he that offends in one part offends in all David speaking of the righteous man Psal 1.2 saith hee meditates in the law of the Lord day and night What 's meditation but the Inward view of a thing or the beholding it with an Intellectuall eye meditation is the continuall turning of things over in the minde to behold the excellencies and perfections that are in them A radice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod est pâ—uere irrigare quare commune fere idem est nomen pluviae Doctoris legislatoris Secondly Say others it proceeds from another radicall vvord that signifies to raine and that not onely some small drissling dewing raine but full showers or as we say to powre downe and in the Hebrew the same vvord signifies to raine and to teach because teaching by the vvord is like raining or the sending dovvne of raine The Apostle Heb. 6.7 alludes to it For the earth which drinketh in the raine that commeth oft upon it c. by the earth he meanes those vvho heare the vvord or doctrine vvhich comes dovvne upon them like raine to soften their hearts and make them fruitfull There are tvvo other Texts of Scripture very suitable to this Exposition Esay 30.20 Though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction yet shall not thy teachers be removed into Corners any more but thine eye shall see thy teachers Thy teachers shall not be removed so wee render but strictly from the letter of the Hebrew we may read it thus 〈◊〉 elongabit â—â—viam Though the Lord give thee the bread of adversitie c. yet shall not thy raine be removed from thee It may seeme strange that they should have the bread of adversity and the vvater of Affliction and yet have also raine vvhich naturally causeth the earth to bring forth bread and fills the pooles vvith vvater But the Prophet vvho speakes of corporall bread and vvater in the former part of the verse speakes of spirituall raine in the latter making this so full a compensation to the people of God for the want of other tvvo that they should have no cause to complain of it As if the Prophet had said Though you are cut short in outward things yet you shall not
dust of the earth or sand of the Sea are used frequently to signifie abundance or the exceeding numerousnesse of things or persons Who can count the dust of Jacob and the number of the fourth part of Israel Numb 23.10 that is they are as the dust that cannot be counted or numbred that was the promise made to Abraham Gen. 13.16 I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth So here Thou shalt lay up gold as the dust that is gold more then thou canst tell or cast up Thou shalt have not onely enough but even more then enough Job was very rich before now saith Eliphaz Thou shalt have gold as the dust thy riches shall be encreased thou shalt have a greater store and stocke then ever Thou shalt lay up gold as the dust And as it followeth The Gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooke 'T is the same thing in another tenour of words the Hebrew is Thou shalt lay up Ophir as the stones of the brooke The word gold is not expressed in the Originall yet it may wel be understood Ophir Nomen insula unde auâ—uâ— primae noâ—ae adferebatur quod inde Ophir appellatum hoc est ut quidam opinantur Obrysum quasi Ophirisum Drus Ophir is put for the Gold of Ophir because Ophir was the place of Gold yea of the richest Gold 1 Kings 9.27 28. They came to Ophir and fet from thence gold foure hundred and twenty tallents and brought it to king Solomon Ophir was a noted place in those times for gold both in reference to the plenty and purity of it 'T is a question much controverted where Ophir is some making it to be an Iland in Africa others place it in India since the discovery of America or the West Indyes many contend that Ophir is now called Peru and they have as they conceive a probable ground for this opinion from that place in the Holy Story 2 Chron. 3.6 Where 't is sayd He that is Vid Bold in hunc locum Jobi Solomon garnished the house with pretious stones for beauty and the gold was gold of Paruaim which is neere in sound to the name of that Gold-abounding Country in America called Peru. I shall not undertake to decide this Geographicall Controversie about Ophir That which is agreed on all hands is enough for my purpose and the explication of this Text that Ophir was a Country famous in ancient times both for the plenty and excellency of the Gold found there and brought from thence Therefore sayd Eliphaz Thou shalt lay up Ophir that is the Gold of Ophir pure and pretious Gold As the stones of the brooke That is thou shalt have abundance of gold to lay up gold 〈◊〉 the dust and to lay it up as the stones of the brooke or as the stones of the valley are paralel expressions for plenty of Gold suteable to those hyperbole's 2 Chron. 1.15 The king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones c. And Chap. 9 of the same booke v. 27. The king made silver in Jerusalem as stones and Cedar trees made he as the Siccamore trees that are in the low plaine in abundance Thus in the text Job is promised to lay up the Gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooke The Vulgar translation reads differently He shall givâ— Thee for earth a Rocke Dabit pro terra silicem pro silice torrentes aureos Vulg. and for a Rocke streames of Gold which is a proverbiall speech implying a change for the better as if he said thou before who hadst a sandy foundation shall now build upon a rock as Math. 7.27 And we finde such language in the Prophet Isa 60.17 where the Lord promiseth for brasse I will bring gold for Iron silver for wood brasse c. So here For earth I will give thee stone and for stone Golden brookes or brookes of Gold that is those brookes where gold is or I will give thee much Gold out of those brookes Idque ponendo pro pulvere lectissimum aurum pro rupe Ophirinâ—m stuviatile Jun. Junius seemes to favour this translation most of all rendring the whole verse thus connexing it with the former Thou shalt be built up c. and that by giving thee for dust the choicest gold and for the rocke the river gold of Ophir By all assuring Job of a happines in his civil state in case he did change or mend in his spirituall state Then he who had so great a change in his worldly estate for the worse should have a greater change in his worldly state for the better The next verse is a continuation of the promise much to the same intent and almost in the same words and therefore I shall open that also before I give any observations Vers 25. Yea the Allmighty shall be thy defence and thou shalt have plenty of silver There is some difference in the reading of this verse for the word which we translate defence is the same which we translate gold in the former verse And hence some translate thus thy gold shall be mighty Making the word Shaddai which is one of the names of God and usually rendred Almighty to be as an Epithite to the word Gold Thy Gold shall be strong or mighty And thus some translations render the word Shaddai Ezek. 1.24 where the Prophet saith I heard the noise of their wings like the noise of great waters as the voice of the Allmighty so we render but others thus As a mighty voice So in the present text whereas we say The Almighty shall be thy defence or according to the strictnes of the word The Almighty shall be thy Gold others give it thus Thy Gold shall be mighty And this answers the latter clause of the verse where we reade Thou shalt have plenty of silver yet put in the Margin Thou shalt have silver of strength or strong silver These readings have an elegancy in them But I shall keepe to our owne which is profitable to us and sutable to the text Yea the Almighty shall be thy defence the particle yea shewth that this is a hâ—gher step of mercy then the former as if he had said Thou shalt not onely have gold which is a defence but better then gold even the Almighty for thy defence or God who is better then Gold will be thy defence and the defence of thy Gold The Hebrew word is plural Defences which intimates first all sorts of defence secondly strong defence The Almighty shall be thy defences All manner of defence and a strong defence unto thee Hence note God himselfe is pleased to be the Lord protector of his people who repent and turne to him both in their persons and estates There are many in the world who have gold but there are few who have this defence for it The Prophet Haggai speakes of those who earned money but put it into a bag with holes that is they could
highest in grace are censured as acting and speaking below nature And as these whose graces are â—oving aloft are often suspected of madnesse So secondly they who lye below complaining under the pressures of nature by affliction are as often suspected of and charged with impatience A troubled spirit can hardly judge aright of it selfe and is seldome rightly judged by others I will end this poynt with two Cautions The first to all concerning those that are afflicted The second to all that are afflicted To the former I say judge charitably of those who complaine bitterly for as a man in a low condition knoweth not what himselfe would eyther be or doe were he advanced to the heights of honour and power so he that is at ease and wel knoweth not what himselfe would eyther be or doe were he in paine or overwhelmed with sorrows Extreames in any â—â—ate are rarely borne with a wel or duely tempered moderation Secondly To the latter I say let them expect to heare themselves hardly censured and learne to beare it let not such thinke strange of their sufferings eyther under the hand of God or by the tongues of men Great sufferers speake often unbecommingly and are as often so spoken of Thirdly Forasmuch as the matter of this suggestion against Job tumultuous and rebellious speeches at least speeches savouring strongly of rebellion are incident to any Godly man in Jobs condition Observe There may be rebellion against God in a good mans complainings under the afflicting hand of God An unquiet spirit is not onely a great burden to man but a dishonour to God Our dissatisfaction with the dealings of God carrieth in it at least an implicit accusation of him or that God hath not done well because it is ill to sence with us There is a rebellion against the rod as wel as against the word of God For as our strugling and striving with the word of God and the unquietnesse of our hearts under any truth when it takes hold of us is rebellion against God so to strive and struggle with the rod of God or with the crosse that he layes upon us is rebellion against him also God speakes to us by his rod as wel as by his word and we spurne at God in wrangling with his rod as wel as in wrangling with his word Yea to have hard thoughts of God as that he is severe and rigourous that he hath put off his bowells of compassion towards us and forgotten to be gratious such thoughts as these of God under affliction are rebellious thoughts And as there is a rebellion in the thoughts against God in case of affliction so also in the Tongue Thus to murmur is to rebell I doe not say that all complaining is rebelling but all murmuring is we may complaine and tell the Lord how sad it is with us how much our soules our bodies our estates our relations bleed and smart We may complaine and make great complaints without sin but the least murmuring is sinfull yea in the very nature of it so full of sin that it usually and deservedly passeth under the name of Rebellion The children of Israel were as often charged with rebellion as with murmuring And therefore when they murmured for want of Water Moses sayd unto them Heare now ye rebels must we fetch you water out of this Rocke Numb 20.10 And againe Moses chargeth this upon them with his last breath as it were Deut. 31.27 I know thy rebellion and thy stiffe necke behold while I am yet alive with you this day ye have been rebellious against the Lord and how much more after my death yea the Lord himselfe chargeth rebellion upon that unparalleld payre of Brethren Moses and Aaron themselves because they had not so fully as they ought at all times and in all things submitted unto his divine dispensations among that people Numb 24. The Lord spake to Moses saying Aaron shall be gathered unto his people for he shall not enter into the Land which I have given unto the children of Israel because yee the Lord puts them both together in the sin rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah Fourthly whereas Job sayth Even to day my complaint is bitter Observe The Afflictions and sorrows of some eminently Godly sticke by them or continue long upon them It is with afflictions as with diseases there are some acute diseases sharpe and feirce for a while but they last not they are over in a few dayes for eyther the disease departs from the man or the man departs out of the world by the feircenes of his disease There are also Chronicall diseases lasting lingring diseases that hang about a man many dayes yea moneths and yeares and will not be gone while he lives but lye downe in the grave with him Such a difference we finde among thosâ— other afflictions and troubles which are not seated as diseases in the body but reach the whole estate of man Some are acute and sharpe like the fierce fitts of a feavor but they last not or like Summers sudden stormes which are soone followed with a succession of faire weather But there are also chronicall afflictions tuffe and unmoveable troubles which abide by us which dwell with us day after day yeare after yeare and never leave us while we live or till we leave the world Many a good man hath carryed his affliction with him to the grave If any shall object how then is that of David true Psal 30.5 Weeping may endure for a night â—â—t joy commeth in the morning I answer First That Scripture speakes of that which is often experienced but not alwayes secondly It is most true also that all our weeping is but for a night yea but for a Moment as the Apostle speakes 2 Cor. 4.17 compared with that morning of joy when the day of our blessed eternity shall begin Thirdly the Psalme hath this scope cheifely to shew that the troubles of the Saints are not everlasting not that they are never lasting or to shew that the night of weeping shall at last conclude in a morning of joy to the Godly not that their night of weeping shall presently conclude For as some have onely a Summers night or a short night of sorrow so others have a winters night or a long night of sorrow And this night of sorrow may be as long not onely as many natural dayes or as somes yeares but as long as all the naturall dayes and yeares of this present life The morning of joy is not to be understood of the next morrow after the sorrow began for how long soever our weeping continues it is night with us and whensoever joy comes though at midnight 't is morning with us For sure enough as those sonnes of pleasure are described Isa 56.12 promising themselves the continuance of their joyes To morrow shall be as this day and much more abundant therefore come fetch wine and let us drinke to day there will be wine enough
is that when God comes to plead with Beleevers he pleads not against them with his power and righteousnesse seing Christ with both pleads for them He pleads for them not onely as he is Jesus Christ the righteous but as he is the mighty the All-powerfull God This is the chiefest ground of a beleevers confidence that God as Job here saith will not plead against him with his great power What then did Job beleeve would God doe with him the next words enforme us what his faith was in that particular But he would put strength in mee So we render the Hebrew is onely thus He will put in mee Veruntatem ille pones in me Heb. what he would put is not expressed in the Original which hath caused some variety of opinion what it should be that the Lord would put into him and I finde a threefold conjecture in the poynt First The supplement is made thus He would produce arguments or reasons against me and this is conceived most suitable to the context and scope of the place as also to the action of pleading before spoken of Poneret afferret in me suas rationes Merc. Ipse poneret coÌ„tentioneÌ„ in me id est non robore mecum ageret sed verborum contentione Ch would he plead with or against me with his great power no but he would shew me the reason of his dealings with me he would not proceed against me in a martiall but in a legal way not in a prerogative but in a discoursive argumentative way he would shew me the cause why he thus contendeth with me and hath so sorely afflicted me God would condescend so farre to my weaknes as to give me an account though I dare not presume to call him to an account and though he hath both power and right to deale with me as he pleaseth yet I am much assured that he would be pleased to tell me why he deals thus with me This interpretation is cleare to the generall scope of the context and argues nothing unbecoming that holy confidence which the Grace of the Gospel alloweth a beleever in yea encourageth him unto when in any distresse he approacheth unto God for the reliefe and comfort of his troubled Spirit Secondly Another thus Will he plead against me with his great power Fonet in me sc cor suum i e. compleâ—eretur me favoure Pisc no but he would put his heart upon me that is he would imbrace me with his favour and lay me in his bosome Though his hand hath been exceeding heavy upon me yet I believe his heart is towards me though he hath smitten me with the wound of an enemy yet he will receive me as a friend and give me signal testimonies of his love I should not feele the weight of his hand but see the tendernes of his bowels and his heart moving towards me This also is an interpretation full of truth and as full of comfort to a wearied soule Thirdly The supplement made in our translation reacheth both the former and suites also to the former branch of the Text with much elegancy Alij sub audiuÌ„t repetuÌ„t 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in me robur poneret ad consistendum coram sâ— â—e infiâ—mum fulciens roborans Merc. Would he plead against me with his great power no but he would put power or strength into me he will be so farre from putting out his strength against me that he will put his strength into me he knoweth my weaknesse how unable I am to contend with or beare up against his power and therefore he would put power into me Mr Broughton renders clearely to this sense Would he by his great power plead against me no but he would helpe me helpe is power and he that helpeth another administers power to him he either puts new strength into him or joynes his strength with him So then Job was assured that God would put strength into him or be his strength to helpe and carry him through all the difficulties that lay before him Hence Observe First A beleiver hath no opinion of his owne strength or that he can doe any thing in his owne strength He trusts no more to his owne strength or power then to his owne righteousnesse or worthinesse As our Justification before God is purely founded in the righteousnesse of Christ so all the actings of our sanctification are maintained by the strength of Christ Holy Job spake nothing of his owne strength yea he spake as having no strength of his owne A Godly man knows his owne strength is but weaknesse and that when he prevailes with God it is with a power which he hath from God Paul useth a forme of speech which we may call a divine riddle 2 Cor. 12.10 When I am weake then I am strong he predicates or affirmes one contrary of another weaknesse is contrary to strength how a weake man should be strong and then especially strong when he is weake is hard to conceive by those who are spirituall and is unconceivable by those who are carnal This assertion is enough to pose and puzle nature He that is weake is strong or the readiest way to get strength is to be weake The truth and the Apostle Pauls meaning is plainly this When I am weake in my owne sense and opinion when I am convinced that I have no power of my owne then I feele power coming in then Christ strengthens me and I am strong then I experience that word My grace is sufficient for thee When I finde the waters of my owne cisterne low and fayling then I have a supply from the Spirit So the Apostle spake Phil. 1.19 I know that this also shall turne to my salvation through your prayers and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ The first Adam received all his strength at once we now receive our strength by dayly fresh supplyes from the second Adam The word there used by the Apostle which we render supply signifieth an under-supply implying thus much that as the naturall body and each particular member of it is supplyed with sence and motion together with a suitable strength and ability from the head so beleevers who are altogether the mysticall body of Christ and each of them members in particular are supplyed from Christ their head by the Spirit with spirituall life motion and strength of Grace for every duty to which they are called or which is required of them And because as this is so in its selfe so beleevers are instructed in it therfore they disclaime and goe out of their own strength that the power of Christ may rest upon them Christ fills none but the hungry nor doth he strengthen any but the weake They who thinke they have any thing of their owne shall receive nothing from him unlesse Christ be all in all to us he will not be any thing at all to us Secondly Observe God himselfe puts strength into humbled sinners that they
and fruit growing or rising up from a wicked heart Secondly Violence riseth up into a rod of wickednes when violence punisherh wickednesse they who have afflicted others by violence often finde violence turned into a rod to afflict themselves And we may give that sence of Solomons Proverbs Pro. 13.2 The soule of the transgressour shall eate violence The words are a threat As wicked men eate violence that is what they have gotten by violence so they shall have violence to eate that is they shall be violently dealt with eyther violence shall compel them to doe their duty or violence shall punish them for not doing it or as they lived by violence so they shall die by violence The soules of transgressours shall eate violence as a punishment because as it followes in the next clause they eate violence as their portion They violently take away flocks And feed thereof The Original words are rendred two wayes First as we They feede thereof that is they feed themselves with the flocks which they have taken away Secondly They fed them that is they feede the flocks which they have violently taken away According to our translation the sence is this when they have taken away flocks violently they sit downe quietly and feed themselves with these flocks they and their families are maintained by the spoyle And I conceave Job adds this not onely to shew another or a second act of their sin but to shew the resolvednes and setlednes of these men in the wayes of sin Hence note Then a wicked man is hardned in sinne when he feeds and filleth himselfe with what he hath sinfully gotten They not onely act evill but delight in evill who take away any thing by violence and feede thereon Solomon speakes of some Pro. 4.17 Who eate the bread of wickednes that is bread by which is meant all the necessaryes of this life gotten by wickednes and they drinke the wine of violence that is the wine which they have gained by violence or suppose what they have violently gained be not wine in specie or that liquor which we call wine yet they drinke it as wine like sweete and pleasant wine This is a signe of a heart setled in sin when the sinner eates his sinne as bread and drinks it as wine What stomacks have they who can digest such hard-meates and though now they seeme to make a good digestion of it yet unlesse they vomit up such morsels and draughts by true repentance they will lye heavie upon their stomacks and make them heart-sick to Eternity The Prophet threatens Isa 3.14 That the Lord will enter into judgement with the antients of his people and the Princes thereof for sayth he ye have eaten up the vineyard the spoyle of the poore is in your houses that is ye maintaine your houses by that which is not yours even by the spoyles and vineyards of the poore When Jezabel had got Naboth slaine she presently sayd to Ahab Arise take possession of the vineyard of Naboth and Ahab did so 1 Kings 21.15 16. But the Lord sent Eliah to him with this Message ver 19. Hast thou killed and also taken possession As if he had sayd Art thou indeed so hardned in sin that thou canst goe downe and please thy selfe in the use and possession of what thou hast gotten sinfully how wicked art thou who art so farre from having thy heart to smite thee with sorrow for smiting a faithfull subject of thine to death by thy Authority that now thou canst delight thy selfe in eating up the vineyard of the dead man Sometimes a godly man sins by inordinate desires after the creature but 't is very rare that his stomacke doth not turne before he comes to eate his sinne David 2 Sam. 23.16 had a longing desire to the waters of Bethlem and upon the making knowne of his desire three mighty men broke through the hoast of the Philistims and fetched him the water but ver 16. when the water was brought him his stomacke turned he would not drinke because it was gotten by the hazzard of three mens lives For though David did not speake those words O that one would give me drinke of the water of the well of Bethlem with an intent to put any of his Souldiers upon that dangerous enterprise in fetching it for him yet that he might declare how farre he was from indulging himselfe in such inordinate desires to engage any mans life for the pleasing of his appetite or satisfying of his present though probably a very urgent thirst therefore he would not drinke it but powr'd it out unto the Lord saying Farre be it from me O Lord that I should doe this is not this the bloud of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives Thus it is with tender consciences who though they sometimes speake and doe rashly and sinfully yet before they come to eate their sinne that is what they have sinfully desiered or attained they repent and cannot make eyther meate or drinke of it Ungodly men can drinke blood not onely that which as in Davids case others have gotten for them with the danger of their lives but even that which themselves have gotten with the unjust spoyle sometimes of other mens lives but often of their livelyhoods They violently take away flocks and feed thereof Againe I shall touch a little upon the second reading They violently take away flocks and feed them that is they doe not onely drive other mens flocks away but keepe them openly in their pastures and feed them so Mr Broughton Vix vel Hebraeum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vel latinum pascere pro comedere usu panâ—ur sed saepe pro pastoris instar pascere Pinedâ— They rob away herds and feed them The Originall word in the Hebrew as also the Latine is seldome used to signifie mans feeding upon dead flesh but often to signifie mans feeding of living flesh or cattel A Shepheard is sayd to feed his flocke Thus first they play the theeves violently taking away their neighbours flocks next they turne Shepheards and Grasiers and feed them openly This implyes three things concerning these oppressours of whom Job speakes First That they were great men not petty robbers who when they have got cattle away hide them or sell them off as soone as they can they dare not put them in their owne pastures and usually they have none to put them in But these Nimrods these mighty Hunters take them violently and then owne it broadly they care not who sees what they have done Thus the Prophet Isaiah reproves the Princes of Israel Chap. 1.23 Thy Princes are rebellious and companions of theeves that is they doe like theeves they oppresse and vex and violently take away They are so farre which is the duty of Princes from repressing theeves that they encourage and countenance them and not onely so but are actually Theeves themselves Theeves in Authority and power are the vilest theeves who shall deliver from
so cares not who sees him some are ambitious to be seene while they doe so and though any should be so modest that they doe not desire to be seene while they doe so yet no man that doth so is affrayd to be seene and usually such come to the light to the light of other mens knowledge and they would come further into the light of their own knowledg such are free to come to light of all sorts that their deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God when a man comes to the light he gives a fayre evidence that his workes are wrought in God how ever it argues both that he desires they should be such as are wrought in God as also that he is willing they should come to the tryall whether they are wrought in God or no that is whether they be so wrought as if God did worke in him or whether there be any appearance in them that he hath wrought them in the light and love in the strength and helpe of God Now as when a man comes willingly to the light it shewes that he hath an honest perswasion in his breast that his workes are good So when we see any seeking corners and shunning the light by which others may see them or that light by which they may see themselves this shews that they have a troublesome conviction upon their consciences that their workes are so farre from being wrought in God that they are wrought against God that is against his mind and will This the Apostle teacheth in the example of the old Gentiles Rom. 2.15 They shew the worke of the Law written in their hearts their conscience bearing them witnesse and their thoughts in the meane while accusing or excusing one another Were there not an unextinguishable light in nature by which even a natural man may have some glimmerings of and discernings between good and evill he would no more avoyd the sight of others when he doth evill then when he doth good And seeing he thus naturally avoydes the view and sight of all men when he doth evill This doth more then intimate that there is a Judge above nature who without respect of persons will reward every man according to his workes Conscience is Gods Deputy in man and what that being rightly enformed doth in man God will doe too Wee are so assured by the Apostle John 1 Joh. 3.21 If our heart condemne us God is greater then our heart and knoweth all things As if he had sayd this is an argument that there is a God to condemn because the heart condemnes For God is greater then the heart God is the supreame Judge the infallible Judge the heart is but an under-officer unto him Why should the heart of a man smite him why should he be troubled when he hath done evill why should he be so troubled to be seene in doing evill were it not that there is a God who judgeth both the hearts and wayes of men While the foole saith in his heart there is no God Psal 14.1 the heart of a foole sayth there is a God while he saith in his heart there is no God to see my sin his heart saith to him cover thy sin that it may not be seene and what English can we make of this saying of his heart but this There is a God For though Job spake here of such grosse sinners as have reason enough to hide themselves and their doings from the eyes of men lest they should bring them both to shame and punishment yet even those sinners are fearefull to have their sins discovered who need not feare any punishment but from the hand of God Secondly Observe Sin befools the sinner or sinners are very foolish They are glad if they can escape the eye of man when as their sins are alwayes under the eye of God What is the eye from which darknesse can hide us to that eye which seeth through darkenes If one see them saith the text they are in the terrors of the shadow of death and yet they are not terrifyed that One seeth them That One seeth them alwayes who is more then all men and yet they are satisfyed if they are not seene of men That which they would not doe if a little childe did see them they dare doe though the Great God of heaven and earth see them What the Prophet speakes of feare in reference to suffering wee may say much more of feare in reference to sinning Isa 51.12 13. Who art thou that thou shouldst be afraid of a man that shall dye and forgettest the Lord thy Creator Who art thou surely thou art so far from being a Godly man that thou art lesse then a man in this thing even a foole and a beast What doest thou feare to sin in the presence of a man or when a man who shall dye seeth thee and forgettest that the Lord thy maker seeth thee that he seeth thee who hath stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth Well might the Apostle 2 Thes 3.2 joyne these two together unreasonable and wicked men and give the reason of both in the words which follow for all men have not faith Where there is no faith there is much wickednesse and he who is much in wickednesse is nothing in reason Faith is above reason but not against it wickednesse is not onely below reason but quite against it They who act against that rule which is given by God to man act also against that reasō which is given by God to man No man acts so much against faith as he who doth not beleeve that God seeth him in all his actings nor doth any man act more against reason then he who beleeveth that God seeth him and yet is more afraid to be seene of men then he is to be seene of God JOB CHAP. 24. Vers 18. He is swift as the waters his portion is Cursed in the earth he beholdeth not the way of the Vineyards THere are foure Apprehensions concerning the general scope of these words First Job is conceived here describing a fourth sort of wicked men or the same men acting a fourth sort of wickednes for having as hath been shewed from the former words first drawne out the doings of the murtherer and secondly of the Adulterer and thirdly of the theife at land digging through houses he in the fourth place as some Interpret the text proceeds to discover the Pyrate who is a theife upon the water a Sea-theife He is swift as the waters or he is swift upon the waters The letter of the Hebrew is He is swift upon the faces of the waters he moves in and upon all waters It is usuall in Scripture to call the outward part of any thing the face of it as the face of the heavens is that part of the heavens which doth outwardly appeare to us or is next to our eye O ye hypocrites sayth Christ Math. 16.3 ye can discerne the face of
the skie So the face of the earth is the superficies or upper part of the earth and the face of the waters is the upper part of the waters The word in the text is plural faces he is swift upon the faces of the water that is when he hath murtherd committed Adultery and robbed at land when the Earth is weary of him then he betakes himselfe to the Sea and turnes Pyrate There is a truth in this Velocitêr manâ— se ad mare recipiunt Vatab Levis est ad nâ—tandum sive remiganduÌ„ super faciens aquae Targ some men make such a progresse in wickednesse they try all trades of sin upon the earth and then trade sinfully upon the water defileing both earth and water both sea and shoare polluting all the Elements with their abominations And in pursuance of this exposition the two other Clauses of the verse are thus expounded Their portion is Cursed in the earth that is they who live at land Curse them when they are gone to Sea fearing lest they should take their ships spoyl them of their goods by pyracy And then he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards that is he will come no more on shoare he will not live at land vineyards by a synecdoche of the part for the whole being put for any kinde of home or land possession of which vineyards in many places are the chiefe he who lived by dressing and planting the earth now takes another course of life hee beholdeth not the way of the vineyards he will labour no more in a Country life he will not get his liveing by the sweat of his face but by the face of the waters What cares he to get wine by dressing of vineyards when he can get whole Shiploads of wine upon the waters And having got a smatch of the sweetnes of robbing at Sea he will worke no more aland We have too much experience of it that when a man hath once given himselfe up to stealing he cannot abide labouring He is better pleased with an easie life that is sinfull then with an honest life that is painefull and because ease pleaseth him more then honesty therefore he will not behold the way of the vineyards nor the way of the Corne feilds nor of the pasture grounds Ad piratas referre divinare est ex proprio cerebro cum hic tantum de infesâ—â—toribus agâ—orum mentio fiat non navium aut maris Pined for all these are wayes of labour But I shall not Insist upon this Interpretation it may suffice onely to name it And though as to the thing it selfe as also to the practice of many this be a truth yet it is scarsely probable that Job had that practice in his eye Secondly Wee may here conceave that Job is describing the miserable and unsetled Condition of the murtherer of the Adulterer and of the Theife hee is swift upon the waters or swift as the waters say wee Mr Broughton renders He is lighter then the face of the waters The Hebrew particle serves eyther reading as or upon He is swift or light upon the face of the waters that is he is as a light thing that swimmeth upon the face of the waters light things swim there things which are of no worth of no price as strawes or chips or feathers or the foame which is light and hoven swim upon the face of the water Mr Broughton translates thus He is lighter then the face of the waters The sence is the same for as those things which swim upon the face of the waters are light so also is the face of the waters Every blast or puffe of winde moves and tosseth up the face of the waters Levitas pro velocitate sumitur leve enim facile movetur quod facile movetur velox est He is swift or light upon the face of the waters The Hebrew word which we render swift in our translation signifieth also light because those things that are swift in motion are light wee say of one that is slow paced hee is heavie heel'd and that he is a heavy man or that a heavy beast which is slow of foot all swift things are light The meaning of this Interpretation is that a wicked man is a Contemptible Creature what is hee when he hath done all those mischiefes before specifyed and walked to wearynes in all those sinfull wayes Proverbialis loquutio ad exprimendum aliquid quod flocci penditur fere nihil est Bold Leves erunt ut res quae super aquas natant fluctuabunt abibant diffluent The best account which we can give of him is this Hee is light or as a light thing upon the face of the water which is a Proverbiall speech to Expresse that which is nothing worth Thus the destruction of the King of Samaria is expressed Hos 10.7 As for Samaria her King is cut off as the foame upon the water or as the Margin hath it upon the face of the water that is though he be a great King yet he shall perish as a very light and contemptible thing even as a little foame and froth or as a buble upon the water Hence observe Wickednes makes men Contemptible and vile they are but as light things upon the water In the 21th of this booke v. 18. the wicked are sayd to be as stubble before the fire and as Chaff before the whirle-winde So David Psal 1.4 speaking of the wicked in general saith They are like the chaffe which the wind driveth away Stubble and chaffe are light things and they are also worthles things what 's the stubble worth or what the chaffe What is the chaffe to the wheat such are wicked men in comparison of the Godly The Scripture doth even strive for Expressions as I may say to set forth the lightnes the vanity Indeed the nullity the non-entity the nothingnes of men given up to their lusts David Psal 62.9 speaking of them who trust in oppression and become vaine in robberie saith they are vanity and a lye and that to be layd in the ballance they are alltogether lighter then vanity And Solomon putting the tongue of a Godly man and the heart of a wicked man together into the ballance gives this determination between them Pro. 10.20 The tongue of the just is as choyce silver but the heart of the wicked is little worth The heart is there taken in the highest sence for the best thing that the wicked man hath for though where the heart is nought it is the worst thing that a man hath yet the sence of the proverbe is to shew that the best thing that a wicked man hath is of little worth and therefore the instance is made in that which he accounts his chiefest treasure his heart for by the heart all that man hath within him all the powers and faculties of the soule with their best and richest furniture are understood all these saith Solomon in a wicked man
are little worth so that take him at his best and in his best he is but trash or as a trifle Sin is a reproach both to persons and nations as honour is a mans weight in the esteeme of others so reproach abates his weight makes him light upon the balance Since thou wast precious in mine eyes thou wast honourable saith God Isa 43.4 holynes adds honour and weight to our persons sin makes us light and then we are lightest when we make light of sin sin is a weight that presseth us downe yet they who sin most weigh least in the esteeme of God and of all good men Sin will quickly sinke the soule like lead under water even to the bottome of the water yet the sinner is as a light thing that swims upon the top or face of the water This is a profitable sence of the words Thirdly Others expound these words as a description of the wicked mans shifting and running from place to place for feare of pursuers or that being conscious to himselfe or selfe-condemned in his owne conscience he is as the Lord threatned Cain Gen. 4.14 a fugitive and a vagabond upon the earth swift as the waters of a streame which glide along and never stay in one place or he is upon the earth as a light thing upon the waters continually moved and tossed up and downe But I passe from this And conclude Fourthly That wee may rather understand these words as a description of the spirit and temper of a wicked man in reference to his sinfull actings or the fulfilling of his lusts Hee is swift or light as the water or as the light things upon the water that is hee is a man very unsetled he is hurryed to and fro there is no stability eyther in his wayes or in his spirit He abides not in one place nor doth he abide in one minde He is full of Inconstancy he is constant in nothing but in his unconstancy and it must needs be so if we Consider First his lusts within How can he but be swift as the water who hath such windes blowing and striving in him A carnal man is hurryed with stormes and tempests rising in his owne minde as the winde tosseth and rolleth the waters of the Sea or light things upon the water so the lusts of evill men toss and tumble them up and downe Pride tosseth some and Covetousnesse tosseth others luxury and wantonnes tosse thousands into a thousand vanities and sinful wayes as the windes tosse the waves of the Sea Lusts are strong and boysterous lusts are many and numerous he that serveth any one of them is a slave to them all and must goe upon their errand whethersoever they will send or rather hurry him Secondly Carnal men must needs be swift as the water or light upon the water very unconstant and unsetled if we Consider the temptations that blow upon them from without For though our owne lusts are temptations and every man as the Apostle James saith Chapter 1.14 is tempted when he is drawne away of his owne lust and enticed yet our lusts also are tempted or our lusts are drawne away and enticed by temptation Man is apt enough to sin of himselfe alone if once God leave him but he is seldome left to himselfe alone to sin by the Devill and most usually he is tempted with a kinde of violence unto sinne his lusts which are a fire are blowne and kindled by Satans breath and he is driven to doe evill by vehement blasts of temptation Temptations blow upon Saints they blow strongly upon them Satan breathes out a mighty wind to make them swift as the water unto sin but they have received a power to resist and stand fast They are founded upon the rocke Jesus Christ Though the winde moves the water yet it cannot move the rock they that are founded upon Christ are in their proporion firme as Christ himselfe is firme 'T is true Saints are many times grievously shaken with temptations but the wicked are tossed and overwhelmed by them They are swift as the water or as the lightest thing upon the face of the waters when strongly moved by temptation Dying Jacob called Reuben his first-borne unstable as water Gen. 49.4 though wee will not number him among the wicked yet hee did a very wicked act and in reference to that though he was a great man and a Patriarke the head of the Tribe yet in reference to that act he received this Character unstable as water And if he was so unstable when hurryed by passion and temptation how much more are meer wicked men so when they meet with such temptatioÌ„s For as they are not fixed in any thing that is good as was touched at the 13 â—h verse They know not the wayes of light nor doe they abide in the pathes of it if at any time they stumble upon the doing of that which is right yet they abide not in the doing of it they are light as the water unstable and unsetled in all good wayes So though they are fixed as to the subject in doing that which is evill yet they are extreamly tossed and swiftly moved both to and in and after the doing of it Againe As this similitude implyes The easines of evill men to be moved by temptation unto sinne even as easily as water or the lightest things upon the face of the water are moved by the winde So it implyeth also their speedyness and activity in sinning The water moves swiftly sinners are like swift ships upon the water they make speed to doe evill or to trade upon any forbidden coast but they are very sluggs to any thing that is good or to trade upon any coast where they are bidden A learned Interpreter insists much upon the emphasis of this Expression to shew not onely the swiftnes but the feircenes of a wicked mans spirit in sinning hee is swift upon the face of those waters and is carryed on with full sayles in sinning hee runs so swiftly and treads so lightly that he might run even upon the surface of the water and not sinke Those creatures which are very swift leave little Impression behinde them they that goe slowly tread heavy and unlesse they be upon firme land fall in It is sayd in the 8th of Daniel v. 5th Concerning the hee-goate who represented Alexander the Great That he touched not the ground Alexander was extreame swift in his Conquests hee Conquered the world in as little time as another could have traveld over it His motto was Without delay or I doe all by making no delay He was swift upon the face of the earth De facilitate peccandi atque velocitate ad castanduÌ„ quamcuÌ„que sceleris occasionem intelligi posse videtur Tam leviter in terra figunt pedem ut etiam super aquas incedere passe videantur Sanct Thus wicked men are light upon the face of the water that is they are swift and fierce for the attayning of their
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
will according to his measure carry him through a world of evills and incumbrances to the doing of that good which duty and conscience or the conscience of his duty calls him to Now as Godly men labour to approve themselves the Ministers or servants of God so ungodly men will approve themselves the servants of sin in much patience in afflictions in necessities and in distresses they will run all hazzards and venture through all extreamities rather then leave the law of a lust unfulfilled The Lord put the Jewes to much suffering for their sins yet sin they would Why should ye be stricken any more saith he Isa 1.5 Ye will revolt more and more while I have been striking ye have been revolting The same pertinacy is complained of Isa 57.17 I smote him and was wrath yet he went on frowardly in the way of his heart that is in a sinfull way The heart of man knowes no other way till himselfe is formed after the heart of God and in that sinfull way he will goe though God make his heart ake as he goes I smote him and was wroth yet he went on c. In drought and heate they rob and in the snow water Againe we may take drought heate and snow water not onely as importing their sufferings while they were doing in such times but also as importing the severall seasons of time as if he had sayd they will sin both winter and summer that is continually wee say of some they are never well neither full nor fasting As full and fasting imply all the conditions of man so hot and cold summer and winter imply all divisions of time Hence note Evill men will doe evill allwayes Sinning time is never out with them they doe not sin by fits or starts in an ill mood onely or through a stresse of temptation but they sin from a principle within they have a spring of wickednes within and that will ever be sending and flowing out A good man may be overtaken with sin at any time but he doth not sin at all times in winter and summer in heate and cold Corruption will be working where Grace is but where Grace is not nothing workes but corruption If wicked men be not doing evill in every moment of time it is not because they at any time would not doe evill but because at all times they cannot And therefore the translation now underhand speakes of their whole life as one continued act of sin They sin to the grave That is till they dye and so are caryed out to the grave So that this manner of speaking They sin to the Grave signifyes the utmost perseverance of wicked men in sinning as if it had not been enough to say they sin in heate and cold winter and summer but they sin out the last inch of time even till they come to the graves mouth Whence Note Wicked men will not cease to sin while they continue to live The Apostle Peter 2 Pet. 2.14 saith of that generation who have eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin sin is their nature it is not what they have acquired but what is implanted in them and borne with them And because sin is naturall to them therefore they cannot get it off untill their nature is changed And hence it is that conversion or regeneration is the change of our nature as well as of our actions A man unregenerate sins as naturally as he lives he sins as naturally as he sees or heares or exerciseth any of those naturall faculties so naturally doth he sin and therefore he sins to the grave And this is a rational demonstration of the Justice of God in awarding eternall punishment for sin committed in time or in a short time the whole time of a mans life in which sin is committed is but a short time a nothing to eternity wherein sin shall be punished This I say is a demonstration of the Justice of God in punishing wicked men because if they could have lived to eternity they would have done evill to eternity they doe evill as they can and as long as they can Seeing then there is a principle in man to sin eternally it is but just with God if he punish sinners eternally did not the grave stop him his heart would never stop him from sin In heate and cold they rob they sin to the grave Further as these words are put into a similitude they intimate the easinesse and naturallnesse of their sinning as well as the continuance of it Like as the hot earth drinketh up the snow water so wicked men sin to the grave they sin to death and they sin with as much ease and naturalnes as the earth when dry and thirsty drinks up the snow water Sinners are sayd to drinke iniquity as water Job 15.16 They are sayd to draw iniquity with cords of vanity and sin as it were with cart ropes Isa 5.18 The last of these comparisons notes their strength and grossenesse in sinning The second notes their wit and cunning in sinning The third which suites with the present text notes their readynes and easynes to sinne They can doe it as easyly as drinke as easyly as the hot earth drinketh up the snow water So much of that translation I come now to consider our owne Drought and heate consume the snow waters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 siccitas propriè ariditatem terrae significat unde pro terra arida inculta sumitur Drought or drinesse The word notes the drinesse of the earth and is often put for dry earth as also for earth undrest or for a desert place because in such places the earth is usually parcht with heate and over-dry And hence the word Tsijm in the plural number signifyes a people that dwell in a wildernesse or in a desert So the people of Israel were called while they marched slowly throught it to Canaan Psal 74.14 Thou brakest the head of the Leviathan 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 populo soâ—itudâ—nicolis aut de serta incolenti and gavest him to be meate for the people who dwelt in the wildernesse And as men so those wild beasts that dwelt in deserts or solitary places are called Tsijm Isa 34.14 The wilde beasts of the desert shall also meete with the wilde beasts of the land and the Satyre shall cry to his fellow the Shrich-Owle also shall rest there and finde for her selfe a place of rest Tsijm are such uncouth creatures as inhabit Tsijah dry and desert places Drought And heate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 caluit Hebâ—aeis Cham calidum et chum nigrum sonat hinc chami nomen a calore vel nigredine Jupiter Hammon C ham the originall word signifyes both to be hot and to be blacke The second sonne of Noah who mocked his father was named Cham and it is supposed that the posterity of Cham inhabited Africa which is also called Ammonia being a hot Countrey and the people of it blacke And
from this Hebrew word it is conceaved the Heathens also called the Sun Jupiter Hammon and they had Sun-Images called Chammamin Levit. 26.30 which they worshipped Drought and heate consume the snow water The word as many other in the Hebrew hath a neernesse of sound as well as in sence with our English word gussell and wee say of Great drinkers They are Guzzlers The dry earth and heate gussell or drinke in the snow water as the intemperate person gussels and drinks downe his liquor Thus drought and heate consume the snow water that is the snow when melted into water So doth the grave those that have sinned There is a wonderfull concisenes in the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 intra breviâ—as quae obscuritatem parit non dubium est similitudinem esse Merc we finde there no particle of likenes nor is there any expression of those that as appeares by the different letter in our translation yet there is no doubt but the words carry in them the force of a similitude therefore we may safely supply them according to our reading So doth the grave those that have sinned The same word is used indifferently in the Original both for the grave and hell both significations are made use of by Interpreters in this place First the grave or death secondly Hell which is the second death and everlasting death consumeth those that have sinned But why doth he say the grave consumeth those that have sinned Can he meane any speciall sort of men by this forasmuch as all men have sinned and sin dayly I answer It is a truth the grave consumeth and death reigneth over all for that all have sinned Wheresoever sin hath to doe death hath to doe the terretories of death are as large as the terretories of sin And had it not been for sin death had never had any dominion in the world nor can the grave consume any but those who have sinned The Body of man had never come into the graves mouth and it had been too hard a morsel for the stomacke of the grave to digest had it not been for sin For though the body of man in its materialls and constitution was mortall that is was under a possibility of dying before he sinned yet if sin had not brought him under the threat of death God had never subjected him under that decree of dying in pursuance of both which the grave now consumeth all those that have sinned The grave consumes Godly men because they have sinned and the grave consumes wicked men because they have sinned yet there is a great difference among these sinners who dye and a greater difference among these sinners when they are dead And therefore Job speakes here destinctively for though it be a truth that all whether Godly or wicked have sinned and that the grave consumeth all who have sinned yet Job doth not here intend all men by Those who have sinned For by them Job meanes grosse presumptuous and impoenitent sinners he meanes it not of those who sin according to common fraylety but of those who sin with a high hand obstinately Such he meanes even oppressours adulterers murtherers of whom he spake by name before these and such as these are the sinners whom he intends while he saith so doth the grave those that have sinned And it be said so doth the grave those that in this sence have not sinned I answer The Grave is sayd in a speciall manner to consume those who have thus sinned First Because such sinners doe more subject and lay themselves open to death by their wicked courses and intemperate living Such sinners spoyle their bodyes and corrupt their blood they fill themselves with diseases which bring them early to the Grave Secondly Because God doth often cut the thread of such mens lives when they are strong and healthy and tumbles them into the graves mouth to be consumed before they have lived out halfe their dayes The words being thus opened fall under a twofold interpretation First As implying the felicity such as it is of wicked men in dying or the easinesse of their death as they live in pleasure so they dye without paine That 's a poynt insisted upon at the 13th verse of the 21th Chapter They spend their dayes in wealth and in a moment or with ease they goe downe to the grave Moriuntur facillimè suavissime ita ut nihil doloris aut cruciatus senti ant non lenta morte contabescunt ut magna ex parte probi Merc Ex Hebraeis aliqui putant indicari lenissimam mortem in piorum qua lenitur et insensibiltâ—è◠liqu fiant c. Pined And againe ver 32 33. Hee shall be brought to the grave the clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him Where Job shews that wicked men have as much ease in death as others and many times a great deale more They dye in a moment not tyred out with the torture of chronical diseases but having a quicke and speedy passage out of the world are dissolved even as the snow is by the heate and warmth of the Sunne This sence some of note insist chiefly upon as most suiteable to Jobs scope in describing the corporall and temporall felicity of wicked men even in death which carryes the greatest appearance of terror and trouble in it But I rather take these words as a description of the miserable end and sad conclusion of a wicked man For the word which we render to consume signifies a forceable swallowing downe a kinde of devouring which doth not consist with that other explication Drought and heate consume the snow-snow-waters so doth the grave those that have sinned Hence observe First Some sin so as if they were the onely sinners or as if they onely had sinned All men sin but some goe away with the name as if they onely were worthy to be called sinners In which sence the Evangelist sayth Luke 7.37 And behold a woman in the City which was a sinner when she knew that Jesus sat in the Pharisees house brought an albaster box of ointment c. But were not all the women in the City sinners They were so but this woman had a common fame for a sinner that is for an uncleane wanton woman shee was a sinner of sinners the chiefe of sinners in that City So Luk. 19.7 when Christ went to the house of Zacheus the Pharisees were vexed and murmured saying that he was gone to be guest with a man which was a sinner As if they had sayd he is gon to the house of a notorious sinner a man so sinfull and guilty that all men seeme innocent and sinlesse in comparison of him So they accounted That Zacheus the Publican and doubtlesse he was as noted a man for sin before his conversion as he was for grace after it As they who are borne of God doe not commit sin yea cannot sin because they are borne of God 1 Joh. 3.9 that is their sinning
should thinke that this is meant of the resurrection of the body Christ speakes of that distinctly ver 28. Marvel not at this for the houre is coming he doth not say as before and now is in the which all that are in the Graves dead bodyes shall heare his voyce and come forth they that have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evill unto the resurrection of damnation As if Christ had sayd That powerfull voyce and a voyce lesse powerfull then that will not doe it which is able to rayse dead bodyes bodyes mouldered into dust from the earth and cause them to live againe that voyce I say is able to rayse a dead soule from a state of sin to newnes of life The Apostle saith as much while he calleth the preaching of the Word a savour of life unto life in them that are saved 2 Cor 2.16 They smel and tast life even eternal life at the receaving of the Word And as it is the meanes of conveighing life to those who are dead in sinne so of recovering and renewing life to those who are dead in sorrow Worldly sorrow or the sorrow of the world worketh death 2 Cor. 7.10 and extreame spirituall sorrow or the extreame sorrow of the soule about spiritualls puts us into a kinde of death Thus Heman spake of himselfe in that case Ps 88.4 5. I am counted with them that goe downe into the pit I am as a man that hath no strength free among the dead like the slaine that lie in the grave whom thou remembrest no more and they are cut off from thy hand As Heman was counted among the dead by others so he was like a dead man in his owne account too as he speakes at the 15th verse I am afflicted and ready to dye from my youth up while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted He was not ready to dye of bodyly diseases but of soule terrours nor could any thing revive him or fetch him backe from that death but the favour of God shining to him in the word of promise how glorious is the word by the workings of the Spirit which causeth the spirit to come forth and maketh them who were free among the dead become free among the living This effect and fruit of the word Job expected from his friends before and now from Bildad but all in vaine As their so his discourse with Job was fruitlesse and ineffectuall Much hath been spoken but I have got nothing I have got no spirit no refreshing my heart is no whit cheared nor my soule comforted both you and the rest of your brethren have proved miserable comforters to me To whom hast thou uttered words I am no better then if you had sayd nothing And whose spirit came from thee not mine for as yet notwithstanding all your reasonings my spirit is not returned to me I am as deepe in sorrow as ever I was There is yet another reading of this last clause of the verse given by Mr Broughton And whose soule admired thee The same word may signifie to admire and to come forth because the soule or spirit of a man comes forth as it were to gaze upon those things and persons which he admireth As if Job had sayd Possibly O Bildad thou presumest that thou hast spoken like an Oracle of Wisdome even much beyond the rate and proportion of ordinary men or of what is common to man and therefore doest expect to be applauded yea to be admired But whose soule is come forth by reason of thee who hath admired thee not I nor doe I know that any man hath reason so to doe unlesse it be because thou hast so much mistaken my meaning and intention in what I sayd and hast sayd things so improper to my condition Some have the persons of men in admiration because of advantage Jude v. 16. and others desire no other advantage but to be cryed up and had in admiration I dare not say that Bildad was a man of such a spirit though this translation whose soule admired thee seemes to charge him with such a folly JOB CHAP. 26. Vers 5 6 7. Dead things are formed from under the waters and the inhabitants thereof Hell is naked before him and destruction hath no covering He stretcheth out the North over the empty place and hangeth the earth upon nothing IN the former part of this Chapter Job reproved the last discourse of Bildad as unprofitable not that it was so in it selfe for that was true and a great truth which he spake of the greatnesse of God but the method which he used and the application of it to his case made it so How hast thou helped him that is without power c. In this Context and the subsequent part of the Chapter Job enters upon or reassumes the same argument or subject which Bildad had handled before The power soveraigntie and dreadfullnes of God in his workes both of Creation and providence all the world over Job would let Bildad understand that he was not unacquainted with the doctrine that he had prest upon him in the former Chapter As if he had sayd Doest thou thinke that I know not these things surely I can tell thee as much yea more of the power of God then thou hast spoken and thereby thou shalt see that I am not to learne nor to seeke in this matter yea I will point and paint out the power of God not onely in the visible heavens but in those things which lye unseene I will goe downe to the deepes to the bottome of the mighty waters I can tell thee that he is not onely admirable above but beneath in so much as nothing is bred or brought forth whether animate or inanimate in the vast Ocean but it is by his power and at his disposing Yea I will goe as low as hell and search the power of God there I will also ascend up to heaven and speake of the great things that God doth in the ayre and in the clouds and among the starrs whereby you may see that I am no stranger to such divine Philosophy and therefore this was not the poynt you should have insisted upon or that I needed to be informed in That 's the general scope and aime of Job in these words I shall now touch upon the particulars Dead things are formed from under the waters Jobs first instance concerning the power of God is about things under the waters Dead livelesse inanimate things are formed there Properly that onely is a dead thing which hath sometime lived wee cannot say a stone is a dead thing because it never had any life neither can wee say that water or earth are dead things for they never had any life but those things that have had life whether vegetative or sensitive or rationall as man or beasts or plants when once that life is withdrawne from any of them that is properly called a dead thing Yet in a generall
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
out the call of God but God hath chosen foolish things to confound the wise and God hath chosen the weake things of the world to confound the things which are mighty and base things of the world and things which are dispised hath God chosen yea and things which are not to bring to nought things that are that is those things which are so foolish and weake and base and despised they seeme to have no being or are accounted as nothing even these non-entityes these poore tooles doth God chuse and take up to doe great things by and to nullifie or bring those things to nought which are all in all among or in the estimations of men Therefore so God owne the worke the matter is not much I speake not in regard of lawfullnes but likelynes I say the matter is not much what the meanes is God can over-wit wise men by fooles he can over-power mighty men by those who are weake Thus God trivmphs over humane improbabilityes yea impossibilityes and would have no flesh eyther despayre because of the smalnes of meanes or glory in his sight because of the greatnes of it How glorious was Abrahams faith in the former Chapter who was so farre from despayring that he was strong in faith giving glory to God though he saw nothing but death upon all the meanes which tended to attaine the blessing promised Rom. 4.17 18 19. As it is written I have made thee a father of many Nations before him whom he beleeved even God who was it that Abraham beleeved it was God And under what notion did his faith eye God even as he who quickeneth the dead when God is closed with under this notion as quickning the dead what can be too hard for faith but there is more in it Abrahams faith eyed God not onely as quickning the dead but as he that calleth those things which be not as though they were that is as he who maketh something of nothing when once Abraham had these apprehensions of God then nothing stucke with him his faith could digest iron and therefore as it followeth he against hope beleeved in hope c. and being not weake in faith he considered not his owne body being now dead as to the procreation of children when he was about an hundred yeares old neyther yet the deadnesse as to conception of Sarahs wombe He staggered not at the promise of God through unbeliefe that is he never made any scruples or queries how the promise should be accomplished but was strong in faith giving glory to God that is gloryfying God by beleeving that he was able to make good the promise or that it was as easie for God to create a performance as to make the promise Thirdly Then feare not when God is a working but he will cary on his worke deficiencyes in the creature are no stop to his actings his immediate or sole power is enough who hangeth the earth upno nothing Where are the pillars that sustaine this mighty masse It hangeth fast by no fastning but the order of God And his order is strong enough to hang the greatest busienes that ever was in the world upon The Jewes have a saying in reverence of the written word of God That upon or at every Iota or the least title of the Law there hangeth a mountaine of sence and 't is as true in reference to his doings as his sayings God can hang mountaines upon mole-hils and turne mountaines into mole-hils for his peoples sake and safety It is rare that we are put to the actings of faith at so high a rate There is usually somewhat in sight to encourage the actings of our faith and dependance upon God they that are in the lowest condition have somewhat to looke to but if there be nothing to be seene then doe but remember that God hangeth the earth upon nothing and faith will say I have all Although the meale in the Barrell and the oyle in the Cruse should fayle Although the fig-tree shall not blossome neyther shall there be fruit in the Vines Although the labour of the Olive shall fayle and the fields shall yeild no meate c. yet the Lord fayleth not eyther in his power for us or compassions towards us and therefore the beleever can even then rejoyce in the Lord and joy in the God of his salvation For while there is nothing in appearance there is not onely some thing but all things are that are for our good in the promise Faith may make all sorts of comfortable Conclusions to and for it selfe and not build Castles in the ayre from this one Assertion That The earth hangeth in the ayre or to give it in the words of the text That God hangeth the earth upon nothing The Constitution or syntaxe of Nature wel considered is no small advantage to our hightning and strengthning in grace JOB CHAP. 26. Vers 8 9 10. He bindeth up the waters in his thicke clouds and the cloud is not broken under him He holdeth backe the face of his throane and spreadeth his cloud upon it He hath compassed the waters with bounds untill the day and night come to an end JOB having shewed how wonderfully God upholdeth the earth which is under us goeth on to shew no lesse a wonder in his binding up those waters in clouds which are above us Whatsoever God hath done or doth in heaven above or upon the earth beneath eyther as to creation and the first constitution of tâ—ings or as to providence and the continuall motion of things is wonderfull and glorious Vers 8. He bindeth up the waters in his thicke clouds As our English word Bind 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Colligavit vinxit compressit so the Original implyeth a force upon the waters to keepe them within the cloud Water would not stay there but that it must whether it will or no It would rush downe presently and disorderly to the ruine of all below but God bindeth it to its good behaviour As the mouth of a sacke is tyed or bound about that the corne put into it fall not out Or which allusion comes neerest the text as barrels are bound with hoopes lest the liquor put into them should leake out thus God bindeth up the waters What waters There are two sorts of waters first upper waters or waters in the ayre of which the Psalmist speaketh when he sayth Psal 104.3 Hee layeth the beames of his chambers in the waters that is in those upper waters which are neerest the heaven called in Scripture The habitation of his holynes and of his glory Earthly Architects must have strong walls to lay the beames of their chambers upon but the Lord who made heaven and earth can make fluid waters beare up the beames of his chambers for ever Secondly theâ—e are lower waters or waters on the earth Which distinction Moses gave long before Aristotle Gen. 1.7 And God made the firmament and it divided the waters which were under the firmament
till God unlocke it Thirdly This also is wonderfull that when at the word of God the cloud rents yet the waters doe not gush out like a violent flood all at once which would quickly drowne the earth as it did Gen 7.11 When the windowes of heaven were opened but the water descends in sweete moderate showers as water through a Cullender drop by drop and streame by streame for the moystning and refreshing of the earth And God caryeth the clouds up and downe the world as the keeper of a Garden doth his watering pot and bids them distill upon this or that place as himselfe directeth The clouds are compared to bottles in the 38th Chapter of this booke v. 37th these God stops or unstops usually as our need requireth and sometime as our sin deserveth Amos 4.7 I have withholden the raine from you and he can withhold it till the heavens over us shall be as brasse and the earth under us as iron I sayth the Lord of his vineyard Isa 5.6 will also command the clouds that they raine no raine upon it The Reader may finde further discoveryes about this poynt at the 5â—h Chapter v. 10th Onely here I shall adde First That we depend upon God not onely for grace and pardon of sinne but for raine and fruitfull seasons Secondly When we have raine let us acknowledge that God hath rent the cloud and given it us that he hath loosed the Garment wherein he had bound the waters Pro. 30.4 that they may issue downe upon us Thirdly When the cloud rents not let us goe to God to doe it Are there any among the vanities of the Heathen that can cause raine Surely there are none Jer 14.22 And therefore the Prophet Zech 10.1 sends the people of God to him for it Aske ye of the Lord raine in the time of the latter raine so the Lord shall make bright clouds and give them showers of raine to every one grasse in the feild Onely he who bindeth up the waters in his clouds can unbinde the clouds and cause them to send out their waters Job having thus shewed the power of God among the clouds and upper waters riseth yet higher in his discourse and from these waters wherein as was toucht before God layeth the beames of his chambers he ascendeth to the chambers themselves even to the throane of God there Vers 9. He holdeth backe the face of his Throane and spreadeth his cloud upon it There are three things to be enquired into for the explication of the former part of this verse First What is here meant by the Throane of God Secondly What by the face of his Throane Thirdly What by holding it backe To the first Querie I answer That according to Scripture Heaven or that place above in opposition to the earth or this sublunary world is called the throne of God and that not the inferior heaven or ayre which in Scripture is more then once called heaven but the supreame or highest heavens Thus the Lord speaketh by the Prophet Isa 66.1 The heaven is my throne and the earth is my footestrole where is the house that ye build unto me c. Thus also our Saviour in his admonition against swearing Math 5.34 saith Sweare not at all that is rashly neyther by heaven for it is Gods throne nor by the earth for it is his footestoole Againe Mat 23.22 Hee that sweareth by heaven sweareth by the throne of God The reason why heaven is called the throne of God is because there he manifests himselfe as Princes doe upon their thrones in greatest glory and majesty as also because there he is more fully enjoyed by glorifyed Saints and Angels God fills heaven and earth with his presence yet he declares his presence more in heaven then here upon the earth Heaven is the throne of God but Quidam faciem esse hominis putant os tantum oculos et genas quod Graeci prosopon dicunt quando facies sit forma omnis et modus et factura quaedam totius corporis a faciendo dicta sic mentis coeli Maris facies probe dicitur Gel libâ— 13. c. 28. Secondly What is the face of his Throne I answer The face of a thing is taken for the whole outward appearance or for the appearing state of it As the face of a mans body is not onely that fore-part of the head which we strictly call so but the forme and structure of the whole body is the face of it And in that sence the word is applyed both to those great naturall bodyes the Heaven and the earth as also to a civill body or to the Body-politicke of a Citie and Common-wealth Thus whereas we render Isa 24.1 Behold the Lord maketh the earth empty and maketh it wast and turneth it upside downe c. The Hebrew is and so our translaters put it in the margin he perverteth the face thereof that is he changeth the state and outward forme of things and putteth them into a new mould or model respecting order and Government And so we commonly speake after great publicke changes The very face of things is altered or things have a new face And thus the Psalmist expresseth the gratious and favourable changes which God maketh in the things of this world Psal 104.30 Thou sendest forth thy Spirit they are created Coeli vultus est coeli superficies concavastellata quae nos respâ—cit Albert and thou renewest the face of the earth that is all things appeare in another hiew and fashion then before So then the Face of the Throane of God is that part of heaven say some which looketh towards us or which we looke upon All that Greatnes and beauty of heaven which our eye reacheth unto and which appeares to us as a vast Canopy set with spangles or studs of Gold such are the Starrs to our sight But I rather conceave The face of the throne of God to be the visible and full demonstration of that infinite light and glory wherein God dwelleth and which appeareth or is given forth to the blessed Saints and Angels who are sayd to be about his throne according to their measure and capability of receaving it The face of his throne taken thus he holdeth backe from us alwayes in this life and as the face of his throne is taken in the other sence he often holds it backe from us About which it remaines to be enquired Thirdly What is meant by holding backe the face of his throne To hold backe seemes to be the same as to hide cover Est tollere apparentiam coeli Cajet or conceale the face of his throne for when any thing is held backe it is concealed and hidden out of sight Thus God doth often hold backe or cover the face of his throne as the face of it notes the Appearances of heaven towards us with clouds as it is sayd in the report made of that terrible storme wherein Paul had almost suffered shipwracke
with a garment and that the waters stood above the mountaines and were in the progresse of the worke of creation sent downe by the valleyes into the place which God had appoynted for them having I say made this excellent description of the waters in creation he concludes with the poynt of providence now in hand v. 9. Thou hast set a bound that they may not passe over that they turne not againe to cover the earth In which words the Psalmist gives us three things clearely concerning the waters First that once he meanes it not of the deluge but of the chaos the waters did cover the whole earth till God by a word of command sent them into their proper channels that the dry Land might appeare secondly that the waters have a natural propension to returne backe and cover the earth againe Thirdly that the onely reason why they doe not returne backe and cover the whole earth is because God hath set a bound that they cannot passe They would be boundlesse and know no limits did not God bound and limit them Wisedome giveth us the like Elogium of the power of God in this Pro 8.29 He gave to the Sea his decree that the waters should not passe his commandement What cannot he command who sendeth his commandement to the Sea and is obeyed Some great Princes heated with rage and drunken with pride have cast shackles into the Sea as threatning it with imprisonment and bondage if it would not be quiet but the Sea would not be bound by them They have also awarded so many stroakes to be given the Sea as a punishment of its contumacy and rebellion against eyther their commands or their designes How ridiculously ambitious have they been who would needs pretend to such a Dominion Many Princes have had great power at and upon the Sea but there was never any Prince had any power over the Sea That 's a flower belonging to no Crowne but the Crowne of heaven There are two things which are more peculiarly under the command of God first the waves of the Sea secondly the heart of man And because God is able to rule the waves of the Sea take two or three inferences from it Thus First That he is able to rule and command the heart of man Solomon makes the paralel in this Pro. 21.1 The kings heart is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of waters he turneth it whether soever he will And as he turneth both whether soever he will so he stayeth both wheresoever he will Most men at some times some wicked men at all times are like the raging Sea when it canot rest whose waters cast up mire and dirt Isa 57.20 who could live by these raging Seas these raging waves of the Sea at once foaming out their owne shame and threatning to swallow up others in destruction did not God compasse them about with bounds did not he say here shall your proud waves be stayed If God did not bound the sea of some mens Spirits they would not know much lesse keepe any bounds they would neyther know nor keepe not onely the bounds of religion and piety but not the bounds of reason and civility Secondly God is able to rule and put a bound to the rage of the multitude who in Scripture are compared to Waters Rev 17.15 The waters which thou sawest where the Whore sitteth are peoples and multitudes and Nations and tongues And these are as apt to swel and be enraged with vaine passions and discontents as the sea is by windes and stormes Psal 2.1 Why doe the heathen rage rage as the sea and thus they will rage sometimes though they know neyther why nor wherefore So againe Psal 93.3 4. The flooods have lifted up O Lord the floods have lifted up their voyce the floods lift up their waves which as it is true literally and properly so it is as true and so I conceave there intended figuratively and improperly or mystically and spiritually that is peoples and nations like floods lift up their voyce they lift up their waves as if they would overwhelme all But what followeth v. 4. The Lord on high is mightier then the noyse of many waters yea then the mighty waves of the Sea that is the Lord can quickly check and stop the rage of a people when or though they swel like a furious boysterous Sea And we finde David putting both these together by way of Exposition Psal 65. where exalting the power of God as he is the confidence of all the ends of the earth and of them that are afarre off upon the Sea v. 5. He addeth v. 6 7. Which by his strength setteth fast the mountaines being girded with power Which stilleth the noyse of the Seas the noyse of their waves and the tumult of the people David joynes the noyse and waves of the Seas and the tumult of the people together eyther implying that he meant the tumult of the people by the noyse of the Sea or that it is an act of the same power to still the tumult of the people and the noyse of the Sea Thirdly God is able to stop those seas of error and give a bound to those floods of false doctrine which are ready to overflow the face of the world The Sea or Flood of the Arrian heresie which denyed the Deity of Christ or made him barely a Man by nature onely cloathed with wonderfull powers and priviledges this heresie I say like a sea or flood had almost over-whelm'd the whole world yet God compassed those Blacke waters with bounds and gave them a commandement which they could not passe and though in this Age they seeme to returne and strive to over-flow the earth againe yet both the waters of that heresie and of all other damnable heresies as the Apostle Peter calls them 2 Ep 2.1 which abound in these dayes and threaten us with a fearefull inundation are compassed with bounds which they shall not exceed The Apostle speaketh of some in his time 2 Tim 3.8 9. Who as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses so did they also resist the truth men of corrupt minds reprobate or as we put in the Margin of no Judgement concerning the truth But they shall proceed no further So the Apostle prophecyed of them as if he had sayd They have a mind to proceed further their will is to oppose truth and propagate error in infinitum without end But they have now gone to the utmost of their line they are come to their border to their bound they shall proceed no further for their folly shall be made manifest unto all men as theirs also was that is it shall appeare to all men that the doctrine which they stood up for was nothing else but a bundle of folly and that the doctrine which they withstood was the truth and wisedome of God Fourthly Then the Lord is able to stop and bound the floods the seas of affliction trouble and persecution which are ready to
swallow up his Church and people The Church blesseth God for her deliverance from troubles under this Allegorie of Waters Psal 124.2 3 4 5. If it had not been the Lord who was on our side when men rose up against us they had swallowed us up quicke when their wrath was kindled against us then the waters had overwhelmed us the streame had gone over our soule then the proud waters had gone over our soule Waters streames proud waters are nothing else but the persecuting spirit and proceedings of ungodly enemyes And why did not these lay all wast God would not suffer them When the Serpent Rev 12.15 16. cast out of his mouth waters as a flood after the woman that is stirred up many troubles that he might cause her to be carryed away that is utterly ruin'd of the flood The earth helped the woman saith the text that is as is conceaved God made earthly men by the use of earthly meanes and for the attaining of earthly ends as a bound to stop those waters or as a gulfe to swallow up those waters which should have swallowed up the Church All these things doth he and we may be fully assured he can doe all these things and many more who hath compassed the waters with bounds yea we may be assured that he will continue to them because as he hath so he will compasse the waters with bounds Vntill the day and night come to an end or as our Marginal reading hath it untill the end of light with darkenes This last clause of the verse is a proverbiall speech signifying perpetuity or that such a thing eyther shall not be at all or shall be as long as the world lasteth But shall day and night light and darkenes end when the world or this frame or constitution of things endeth Will there not be day and light or an eternal day of light in the heavenly Glory is not that called An inheritance among the Saints in light Col. 1.12 And will there not be night and darkenes or an eternal night of darkenes in hellish misery is not that called outer darkenes How then is it sayd here that day and night shall come to an end I answer Though after the end of this world there shall be both day and night light and darkenes yet there shall be no vicissitude of day and night as there is in this present world and as 't is promised there shall be to the end of this world Gen 8.22 While the earth remaineth seed-time and harvest and cold and heate and summer and winter and day and night shall not cease These are called the Ordinances of the day and of the night and the stability of them is made the shadow of that stability of God to his gracious promise that the seed of Israel should not cease from being a nation before him for ever Jer. 31.35 36. In this world light and darkenes day and night are comming and going departing and returning continually And in this sence day and night shall come to an end at the worlds end Job speakes of day and night in course and succession not of day and night in being or constitution when he sayth he hath compassed the waters with bounds untill the day and night come to an end The Hebrew strictly translated makes this resolution of the doubt more cleare and doubtlesse for that doth not say absolutely that day and night light or darkenes shall come to an end but that there shall be an end of light with darkenes that is of the intercourse or change between day and night between light and darkenes Ad consummationeÌ„ lucis cum tenebris Jun or untill the consummation of light with darkenes that is untill light and darkenes have consummated or fulfilled their course one with another Hence observe First Beyond this world there are no changes of times or seasons In the world to come all is day and light to the Godly to those who dye in the Lord and all is night and darkenes to the wicked to those who dye out of the Lord. Heaven and hell a state of eternal Blessednes or wretchednes have no changes in them nor any thing that is Heterogeneall or of another kinde Heaven which hath light and joy in it hath no darkenes no sorrow at all in it Hell which hath darkenes and sorrow in it hath no light nor joy at all in it The mixtures and changes of light and darkenes of joy and sorrow of paine and pleasure are made here on earth The wine of the wrath of God and the wine of the love and consolations of God shall be powred out without any the least contrary tincture or mixture in the life which is to come Light with darkenes shall no more be heard of They who goe into light shall never see darkenes and they who goe into darkenes shall never see light Wee are now as Job speakes in the 14th Chapter of this Booke v. 14. Waiting all the dayes of our appoynted time untill our change come and when that change is once fully come we shall goe beyond all changes Day with night will then be at an end Secondly Observe What God doth he can alwayes doe As he hath hitherto compassed the waters with bounds so he can compasse them with bounds untill the day and night come to an end Men can doe that to day which they are so farre from being able to doe untill the end of dayes that possibly they cannot doe it the next day The hand of man is continually shortning in regard of naturall strength or activity and it seldome keepes long at the same length in regard of civil strength or Authority As there are many things which man cannot nor ever could doe so there are many things which once a man could doe but now he cannot He is changed or the times are changed eyther he hath not the same power in himselfe or the same powers are not continued unto him That man may be found shaking and trembling who a while before as it is sayd of the Assyrian Isa 14.16 made the earth to tremble and did shake kingdomes insomuch that all as 't is at the 10â—h verse of the same Chapter shall speake and say unto him Art thou also become weake as we art thou become like unto us Thus we see the mightiest men cannot doe what they have done they who have compassed the rage and fury of men with bounds can bound them no more bat they breake in upon them like a wide breaking in of the Sea and beare downe all before them But the power of God knowes no abatings nor his hand any shortnings as he hath bounded both the natural and mysticall waters so he can and will bound them and none shall hinder untill the day and night come to an end The Lord sayth David Psal 29.10 sitteth upon the flood yea the Lord sitteth king for ever As if he had sayd The Lord doth not onely sit upon that is
heaven proper and the pillars of heaven in a figure tremble at or are astonished at these loud reproofes Hence observe The greatest strength of the creature trembleth at the angry dispensations and appearances of God As the lifting up of the light of Gods countenance puts joy into the heart more then corn wine the best things of this world so the darkenes of Gods countenance puts more trouble and sorrow into our hearts then gall and wormewood the worst of the world can doe David describes at large in what a kinde of hudle and hurry the world was in such a day Psal 18.13 14 15. Then the earth shooke and trembled the foundations also of the hils moved and were shaken because he was wroth The Lord also thundered in the heavens and the highest gave his voyce hailestones and coales of fire he sent out his arrows and scattered them and he shot out lightnings and discomfited them then the channels of waters were seene and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke O Lord at the blast of the breath of thy nostrills What David there spake of thunder and lightning and hayle-stones hath been visibly effected for the destruction of the enemyes of the people of God and for the deliverance of his children The history of Joshuah gives us a famous instance at the 10th Chapter and though it be not recorded that David obtained victoryes by such immediate helpes from heaven yet it is not improbable considering the tenour of this Psalme that he did And we have a notable instance of a victory obtained by Thunder and lightning in the History of the Church whence that Christian Legion of Souldiers who had earnestly prayed that God would appeare for their help was called The Thundering Legion But whether we expound this context in the Psalme literally and strictly as expressing what God did for David in this kinde Or figuratively as expressing onely thus much that God did wonderfull things in one kinde or other in helping David against his enemyes or whether we understand it mystically of what God doth to and for the soules and spirituall estates of men yet it holds forth in all the utter inability of man to beare up when the Lord shewes himselfe in any terrible demonstrations of his presence Againe Psal 104.32 He looketh on the earth and it trembleth he toucheth the hills and they smoake There is a twofold looke of God First there is the looke of Gods favour and thus Saints often pray that God will looke downe from heaven upon them this looke is the releiving yea the reviving of the soule secondly there is a looke of displeasure an angry a frowning looke when clouds and stormes are seene in the brow Thus in the Psalme God is sayd to looke on the earth frowningly childingly and then it trembled he toucheth the hills and they smoak that is they are as all on-fire The natural hils smoake at Gods touch and so doe the metaphoricall hills when God toucheth the great men of the earth they smoake presently they fret and fume till they breake out into a flame of rage heating and vexing both themselves and all that are neere them Isa 50.2 Behold at my rebuke I dry up or I can dry up the Sea I am as able to doe it now with a word of my mouth as I once did it for the deliverance of your forefathers Exo 14.21.29 I make or I can make when I will with my rebuke the rivers a wildernesse that is as dry as a desert or wildernes useth to be their fish stinketh because there is no water and dyeth for thirst What strange worke doth the rebuke of God make By that he drieth the sea by that he maketh the river a wildernes and as he doth this by the power of his reproofes upon the sea and rivers natural so upon the sea and rivers mysticall He can dry up those worldly helpes which seeme as inexhaustible as the sea and as lasting and constant to us as a river which is fed with a continuall spring And when any power riseth up against us as deepe and dangerous as the sea as wel supplyed and seconded as a river yet we need not feare for God can presently dry it up and make us a passage over it or through it Yea they who are as well bottom'd and foundation'd as the earth shall quickly feele the effects of his power Psal 114.7 Tremble thou earth at the presence of the Lord at the presence of the God of Jacob. But some may say if the earth trembleth at the presence of God then the earth must alwayes tremble for God is alwayes present or what is the presence of God there spoken of I answer as there is a presence of God that maketh all those that enjoy it to sing for joy In thy presence is fullnesse of joy and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore Psal 16.11 so there is a presence of God that is very terrible to the creature yea that presence of God which is comfortable to his people is terrible to his enemyes for when the Psalmist had sayd ver 2. Judah was his Sanctuary and Israel his dominion that is a people sanctifyed to him and governed and protected by him presently it followeth The sea saw it and fled Jordan was driven backe The mountaines skipped like rams and the litle hils like lambs The Psalmist perceaving all things in such a trembling fit and confusion seemes to wonder what the matter was and therefore puts the question What ayled thee O thou sea that thou fleddest yea mountaines that ye skipped c And presently maketh answer Tremble thou earth at the presence of the Lord As if he had sayd the cause of all this terrour and trouble among the creatures was nothing else but the presence of God And if the very sence-lesse creatures were sencible of his wrathfull presence how much more must man both be sencible of it and stoop unto it This the Lord insinuates by a cutting question Ezek. 22.14 Can thy heart indure or can thy hands be strong in the day that I shall deale with thee I the Lord have spoken it and will doe it The Lord by his Prophet speakes there to a people that had a double strength they were strong hearted and they were strong handed they had much force or outward power and they had much courage or inward power but neyther hand-strength nor heart-strength neyther force nor courage shall avayle you in that day saith the Lord that I shall deale with you after the dealings of an enemy in wrath and Judgement God strengthens the hands of his servants and encourageth their hearts to endure his severest dealings with them But when he commeth to deale severely with those who are rebellious and wicked their hearts who are stoutest among them shall not be able to endure nor can they strengthen their hands They who have strengthned their hearts and hands most to commit sin shall be
doe so no more how much more should all that see feare and doe so no more Thirdly What shall we say of those who not onely heare and see the reproofes of God but feele them also and yet tremble not when the rod is upon their backs a sword in their bowels judgements round about them and death climbing up at their windowes yet they are not astonished they are not onely word proofe but judgement proofe they are not sencible of what they feele they are smiteen yet not sicke sorrow and griefe of heart toucheth them not though they are smitten for their sins and peirced with many sorrows They are so farre from being troubled at the remembrance of former sins while they smart under present afflictions that with wicked King Ahaz they sin yet more against God in the time of their affliction They are so farre from turning as wisedome counselleth us Pro 1.23 at the verbal reproofes of God or at the reproofes of his mouth that they will not returne while he reproves them with his hand Surely at last the trembling pillars of heaven shall reprove them who tremble not nor are astonished at the reproofes of God Vers 12. He divideth the sea by his power and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud The generall scope and sense of this verse is an illustration of the power and wisedome of God by a twofold effect first by dividing and vexing the mighty waters of the sea with boystrous winds and stormes secondly by stopping and appeasing them when they are in their highest rage and proudest fury as if they were smitten to death First He divideth the sea by his power 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 movit commovit volvit per Antiphrasin quievit The word which we render to divide hath a twofold signification in a contrariety as is frequent in the Hebrew First to move and roule to stirre up and trouble as the waters and waves of the Sea are by the winds which doe so move and stirre them as that they seeme to divide and cut them asunder and cause them to dash one against another and so it is applicable to the Sea in a storme secondly Virtute sedavit mare Sept Virtute ejus quiescit mare Vatabl it signifyes to quiet and appease and so it is applicable to the Sea in a calme The seventy render it so here He hath appeased the Sea by his power and a learned Hebrician gives the same sence By his power the Sea is quiet And 't is indeed an act of the same power to quiet the Sea to hush the winds and command a calme as to rayse stormes upon the sea or to put the sea into a storme but I shall not prosecute that sense in this first part of the verse because the latter part of it speakes rather of that poynt as will appeare in the opening of it And so the whole verse giveth us a compleate description of the mighty power of God upon the mighty waters first in causing their rage and fury secondly in causing them to be still and quiet The exercise of which two powers cary a compleate Empire and Dominion over the Seas He divideth the sea There is a generall interpretation of the verse which I shall touch before I pitch upon that which I conceave most proper This division of the Sea and smiting through the proud is supposed to be a description of Gods dealing with Pharaoh and his Aegyptians when he brought the people of Israel out of Aegypt at which time the History telleth us that he divided the sea by his power and by his understanding he smote through the proud or through Rahab The division of the Sea is unquestionable Exod. 14.21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the Sea and the Lord caused the Sea to goe backe by a strong East-winde all that night and made the Sea dry land and the waters were divided The latter part of the verse is as cleare in the plaine signification of it to the same worke of providence for then By his understanding did God smite through the proud And the word Rahab which we translate proud is often used in Scripture to signifie Aegypt Thus Psal 87.4 I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me that is of Aegypt and Babylon as if he had sayd those places which have been the greatest enemyes to the people of God shall desire to joyne with the people of God Sion shall have converts from Aegypt and Babylon And the reason why Aegypt is expressed in Scripture under this word ariseth from both significations of it first strength for Aegypt was a very strong Nation and therefore the Israelites were reproved for going to them for helpe and relying upon their strength which though great in it selfe yet should be to them but a broken reed secondly as it signifyeth pride or the proud men are usually proud of strength and Aegypt being a strong Nation was also a very proud Nation yet this Aegypt this Rahab strong and proud shall fall downe and humble her selfe before the Lord. And though now Aegyptians be strangers from the Common-wealth of Israel yet of them it shall be sayd that they were borne by a second or new spirituall birth in Sion We have the like sence of the word and almost the same phrase of speech with this in Job Ps 89.9 10. Thou rulest the raging of the sea when the waves thereof arise thou stillest them then followeth in the next words Thou hast broken Rahab as one that is slaine that is Aegypt thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arme And againe Isa 51.9 Awake awake ô arme of the Lord put on strength The Psalmist sayth Thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arme the Prophet prayeth Awake awake ô arme of the Lord As in the ancient dayes in the generations of old art thou not it that hath cut Rahab and wounded the Dragon art not thou it which hath dryed the Sea c. Which plainly hints the destruction of Pharaoh and his host in the red Sea Job also seemes to ayme at that noble and notable act of divine power and understanding And the words of the text as all must grant without any straine or trouble are applicable to it The onely difficulty lyeth in this because it is not agreed upon by any Chronologers who have searched strictly and critically into those times that Job lived after the departure of the people of Israel out of Egypt Haec accipere de decem plagis Egypti vix permittit aetas Jobi quem moâ—tuum putâ—nâ— eo anno quum Iâ—aelitae egâ—essi sunt ex Egypto Drus Non plaet haec referre ad divisionem maris rubri in Egypto Isâ—aelita ingratia quia ante illud eÌ„pus credimus fuisse J b generalitèr potius loquitur de dei operibus Merc yea some affirme that Job dyed that very yeare when the Israelites departed out of Egypt and if so then
in man to desire God to strike through his pride and it is a great act of mercy to man when God doth so The more God smiteth our sins the more he declares his love to and his care of our soules The remainders of pride in the Saints shall be smitten through but sinners who remaine in their pride shall be smitten through themselves God whose power and understanding are made known by smiting through the proud waves of the Sea will at last make his Justice and his holynes knowne by smiting through the proud hearts of men or rather men of proud hearts Proud men strike at God yea kicke against him no wonder then if he strike and kicke them All the sufferings of Christ are wrapt up under that one word His humiliation implying that as he was smitten for all our sins so most of all for our pride That man whose pride is not smitten to death or mortifyed by the death of Christ shall surely be smitten to death even to eternall death for his pride As God understandeth thoroughly who are proud so by his understanding he will smite through the proud JOB CHAP. 26. Vers 13 14. By his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens his hand hath formed the crooked Serpent Lo these are parts of his wayes but how little a portion is heard of him but the thunder of his power who can understand JOB hath given us a particular of many illustrious works of God what he doth in the depths below Et ut in opere ipsius pulcherrimo desinam hic ille est qui coelos illa enarrabili pulchritudine exornavit spherae illae suis giris undique coelos serpeÌ„tium instar percurreÌ„tes sunt opus manibus ipsius tornatum Bez and what in the hights above in this verse he gives another instance and that a very choyce one upon the same subject As if he had sayd After all this large discourse which I have made of the workes of God I will conclude with that which is the most remarkeable peice of them all This is he who hath adorn'd the heavens with that unutterable beauty wherewith they shine and the spheares which wind and turne round about the heavens like Serpents are smoothed and polished by his hand Vers 13. By his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens The Spirit of God is taken two wayes in Scripture First q. d. visua voluntate ut nomen spiritus saepius in scriptura usurpatur sed malo ipsum dei spiritum almum accipere quo omnia deus fecit Merc for the power of God Secondly and so here for God the power as distinct from the Father and the Son By whom God wrought all things in the creation of the world Gen 1.2 The Earth was without forme and voyd and darkenes was upon the face of the deepe and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters It is a rule in Divinity That the external workes of the Trinity are undevided and so the Three Persons concurred in the making of the world God the Father created and is called Father in Scripture not onely in relation to the Eternall ineffable Generation of God the Son but also in reference to the production of the creature God the Son or the Eternal Word created Joh. 1.1 2 3. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God All things were made by him and without him was nothing made that was made God the Spirit or Holy-Ghost he likewise created and He onely is mentioned by Moses distinctly or by name as the Agent in the original constitution of all things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 non simplicem motionem denotat sed qualem columba perficit cum evis ad excludendum pullos incubat Rab Selom Verbum â—ranslatum ab avibus pullitiei suae incubantibus Jun. And the Hebrew word rendred in our translatioÌ„ moved the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters by which the Agency of the Spirit in that Great worke is expressed caryeth in it a very accurate significancy of that formative vertue or power which the Spirit put forth about it For it is a metaphor taken from birds who sit upon their eggs to hatch and bring forth their young ones and so importeth the effectual working of the Spirit whereby that confused masse or heape was drawne out and formed up into those severall creatures specifyed by Moses in the Historie of the Creation Among which we find the Garnishing of the heavens spoken of here by Job is reported by Moses for the worke of the fourth day Further we may consider the heavens first in their matter and being secondly in their beauty and ornaments Job speakes of the latter By his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 adornavit decoravit pulchrè fecit God hath not onely created but pollished and as it were painted or embroydered the heavens The originall word implyeth the making of them beautifull contentfull and pleasant unto the eye this is the Lords worke And therefore as the whole world because of the excellent order and beauty of it is exprest in the Greeke by a word that signifies beautifull 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so some parts of the world have a speciall beauty and lustre put upon them beyond the rest The heavens are not like a plaine garment as we say without welt or guard but they are laced and trimmed they are enamel'd and spangled they glister and sparkle in our eyes with rayes and beames of light By his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens If it be asked what is this garnishing of the heavens I answer the setting or placing in of those excellent lights Sunne Moone and Starres in the heavens are the garnishing of them Light is beautifull and the more light any thing hath the more beauty it hath Precious stones have much light in them those lights the Starres are as so many stones of beauty and glory set or moving in the heavens Light as diffused and shed abroad in the ayre is exceeding delightfull and beautifull but light as it is contracted and drawne together into the Sunne Moone and Starres is farre more beautifull light in the ayre pleaseth the eye but light in the Sunne conquers and dazzel's the eye by the excessive beauty and brightnesse of it In the first day of the Creation God sayd Let there be light and there was light but in the fourth day he sayd let there be lights that is let there be severall vessells to receave hold and containe light and then to issue it out among the inhabitants of the earth Gen. 1.14 And God sayd let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night and let them be for signes and for seasons and for dayes and for yeares and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth and it was so And