Commentary on the Old Testament Volume 2-4

CHAP. VI.

THen Job answered and said, O! that my greifes were thoroughly weighed and my calamity laid in the balances together. Having heard his friend Eliphaz charging him for his seeming impatient under his sufferings, to be a wicked man, and one, who though he had formerly seemed most righteous, yet appeared to God to be an hypocrite, doing otherewise then he made profession, or else God would not have dealt so severely by him, as he did; having I say heard all this to his greater vexation, Job now answereth, as if he had said, I confess indeed that I have shown much impatience in the speeches, that I have uttered, if they be looked at, as they sound, which I ought not to have done. But O! that ye could see how I am afflicted, even much more then appeareth outwardly to the eye in my soul and inward parts, because that here I feel nothing to make me look up to God as a merciful Father unto me, but a severe Judge against me; so that I feel in my soul as it were, the terrors of Hel upon earth: And these being thus weighed, would seem heavier then the sands of the sea shore, and therefore importable by any creature, so that I want words to express my miseries, which he meaneth by saying, My words are swallowed up. For that he meaneth, his inward sufferings, besides his outward, the next words do declare, V. 4. The arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison thereof drinketh up my spirit, the terrors thereof set themselves in array against me. That is, I feel the effects of God's wrath in my heart, as arrows pei • cing and galling it, yea poisoned arrows, which are most mortal: And are shot by most cruel enemies, desiring that none who are thus wounded, should escape, [Note.] but die a tormenting death, and whilst it is thus with me, I am beset as it were, with an army; from which there is none escaping, but I must needs perish forever: Whence note, How great the severity of God's wrath is, and shall be towards the wicked: for if Job so just a man be thus dealt [Note.] with, and being under it but for a time, judgeth the burden thereof intolerable, what shall become of the wicked who shall bear the burden of his most heavy wrath forever and ever: And therefore let us all repent and serve the Lord with reverence, that we may never feel the weight of this burden: And because Job was for a time in this desperate estate, but [Note.] at length delivered and comforted, let no faithful fervant of God, if he be under such temptations, utterly despair, but looking to his example, certainly expect by faith a joyful issue; the rather now, because Job, who is propounded to us for a pattern, had: There was no example before this, from whence he could take the like comfort; but we have both this and Christ's, and diverse more, whereby we may be comforted: But because [Note.] there is so great danger of falling into desperation, under such grievous temptations, let us pray to God, as Christ hath taught us, saying, Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. And let it terrify us from every gross sin, as that of Cain and Judas; and the like; being assured that if Job were so pressed down by despair, who lived in no such sin, but most righteously in all things: We shall fall into a desperate most doleful condition in the end, and never be delivered, but perish everlastingly; as the wicked men before named did: Pray we then with David both, Keep me Lord from presumptuons sinning; and again if we have so sinned: Purge me from this heinous and bloody fact; And enter not into Judgment with me. And correct me, but not in thy fury. Which who is able to bear? The allegorical exposition made hereupon by Gregory, that by the balance Christ is to be understood, and that weighing the sins of all men, in whose person he speaketh, in this balance, is, by his suffering death • for them, whereby their weightiness appeared; this I say seemeth not to me so solid, and therefore I pass it over: For that which he objecteth against those that will not receive a mystical sense here, if these things be not mystically to be understood, what sense shall we give of these words, V. 7. The things which my soul refused to touch, are my sorrowful meat. If his friends galling speeches shall be thought to be meant hereby, we must condemn him for a very proud man in his prosperity; therefore no literal sense will hold good, but we must seek out a mystical, which is, That the Apostles, who before the coming of Christ, and by his death bringing salvation to the Gentiles, would have nothing to do with them, nor before they were better instructed in the person of Peter; yet after this should make them as it were, their mear, filling them by preaching repentance unto them, and eating them by baptizing them, and giving the Communion to them, believing in Christ, being incorporated into the same body with them, as the meat is, when it is eaten and digested into our bodies: But this expounded, saith he, it agreeth very well, and aptly followeth that of meat to be eaten without salt, and the white of an egg having no taste in it; for so the Gentiles before grace coming into their hearts, set forth by salt, were as meat without a taste, and not to be eaten; but now well tasted meat, and it is called sorrowful meat, because the Jews being rejected, when they were called, made the Apostles sorrowful, as Paul showeth, whom we may hear speaking for them all, I have continual heaviness for the Jews. And by the Ass an unclean beast, he meaneth the Gentiles, and by the Ox, a clean beast, the Jews: But Ferus hath an exposition, making the sense good, without any allegory thus. O, that my grief were thoroughly weighed, and my cal amity laid in the balances. In saying which, he doth not as it may seem by the Vulg. lat. O, that my sins were laid in the balance. Complain as if his sufferings were greater then his sins; for the most righteous man cannot say so, because the least sins that he comitteth, are greater then the greatest sufferings that God layeth upon him in this world; for which David in the name of the faithful acknowledgeth: That God rewardeth us not according to our sins, but even in judging us here, showeth us mercy. His meaning therefore is, I may seem to you, yea I perceive by the greatness of my sufferings, that thou Eliphaz gatherest, that I am no ordinary, but a greater sinner, then thou art, and that I have hidden my wickedness under the vayl of hypocrisy: But O! That thou couldest see into my heart, and there thou shouldest find, that I have served God in sincerity, and therefore, although I acknowledge myself to be a sinner, yet thou wouldest not measure my sins by my calamities, but wouldest think upon some other course, whereas by doing otherwise, thou puttest not my sins and my miseries into an equal balance, judging of them by the heavy weight of my sufferings, whereas thou wouldest if thou knewest me thoroughly, judge so hardly of my case: Whence note, that they put the calamities of godly [Note.] men into an unequal balance, that judged them to have sinned so foully, as they may seem by the greatness hereof to have done, that we may beware of this rash judging, that we be not Judged. For these words, Doth the wild Ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the Ox over his fodder? His meaning in thus saying, is, ye know that if an Ass brayeth or an Ox loweth, they want somewhat, and are ready to look what it may be, to supply them herewith, but to me, although ye come in the name of friends, ye are not so loving, ye search not into the cause of my complaints; but presently hearing me cry out for anguish of spirit ye condemn me for a wicked man.

Can that which is unsavory, be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

The things which my Soul refused to touch, are now my sorrowful meat. That is, i • a man cannot eat stinking meat, as that is, which is not salted, or the white of an egg without it, in which for the freshness there is no taste; How do ye think, that I wanting inward consolation, how that I am thus outwardly pressed with misery should bear it, especially, yea instead of comforting me, upon discerning my case aright, laying more load upon me by your most uncharitable censures: But now it is my meat which I would not touch, that is, now ye feed me with such meat, such sorrowcausing fruit cometh from your mouth, as is most distasteful unto me, and hereby my trouble is yet more increased, for honey of which I have most [Note.] need, ye giving me gall and poison, which not only I, but all men so much abhor from, that they will not touch it with their hands; and herein he goeth on in his similitude, from an Ox; whom when his Master feedeth with good fodder, when he heareth him low, Eliphaz by his tart invective against him fed him with most distasteful and pernicious food. A warning to all men, when they see a good man in distress, of whom by his works they can judge none otherwise, to take heed how they judge and censure him, for in so doing, they give him poison, as it were for meat, breeding of dangerous distempers in him prejudicial to the life of soul, although no such effect was hereby wrought in patient Job, yet such sin in an high degree against love.

That it would please God to destroy me, that he would loose his hand and cut me off. Here Ferus layeth some impatience upon Job, in that after the manner of other men in despair, that God would now never be reconciled unto him again, or take off his judgments, he prayeth that he would not lingeringly destroy him, but soon dispatch him and rid him out of this mortal life, and so of all his miseries at once: And God left Job thus to speak, that we might know how little our strength is, when we are pressed with miseries and feel no comfort, and therefore not judge others, who seem to be more [Note.] impatient then we think; that we, if we were in the like case, would be; For even holy Job now seeketh, as despairing to be cut off. Gregory better, Job prayeth thus to God, fearing least if he should be spared, and live still and enjoy prosperity again, he should by the temptation hereof be brought into worse case for his soul, then now by all his afflictions he was: He doth therefore as a patient to the Surgeon, having his soars launched, but not all the corrupt matter yet come out, bidding him, cut me deeper, leave no corruption behind, although goeth away withal: And that this is his meaning, the next words show. Then should I yet have comfort, I would harden myself in sorrow, let him not spare, for I have not concealed the words of the holy one. Gregory: Neither will I contradict the words of the holy. And because he saith, Let him loose his hand and cut me off. For hereby he intimateth, that he was still held in life by God's hand having fast hold, as it were upon him, that he could not by all his sufferings, be deprived of his bodily life, and by this hand he had been upheld in so prosperous an estate formerly, but now he desireth that it might be loosed, and he might be let fall into the grave, rather then to be restored into the dangerous estate of prosperity anymore: For what comfort is there to a man, that dieth in despair? Or is this the voice of one despairing, that saith, He concealed not God's word ctc? that is, Behaved not himself so, as if casting God's words behind his back, he made no use of them, to live and speak according to the same; as the man, that had one Talent, and hid it in a napkin, made no use of it: For which it was both taken from him, and he was cast into utter darkness; For the rendering of the words by Contradicted, I see no reason for that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifying nothing but to conceal, or to hide, yet there is the same sense, because to hear God's words, and to do contrary, is to contradict them; for there is a denying of God and his word in our deeds, although in our speeches we confess and deny him not. But Job meaneth not, that he did not speak or do, as if no such words had come to his ears only, but that he brought them forth for the instruction and edification of others; as Eliphaz before testified of him, and it appeareth both in the first and second chapters: for what were the words which he there in his greatest sufferings brought forth? but the words of the most holy God to his great praise, when he smarted fore. Is my strength as the strength of stones, or my flesh as brass? Having spoken of his strength, V. 11. What is my strength that I should hope? Now he compareth it with that of stones and of brass, upon which if heavy burdens be laid, they can bear them; but man's weakness is such, that he being loaden with a load, like the sands of the Sea shore, as he said before, that he cannot, but must be crushed hereby in pieces and die: and therefore having such load laid upon him, what hope could he have of living any longer here? and therefore he desireth, that he may not be spared, but be soon dispatched out of this life, but for the reason before spoken of: Here Gregory giveth no other sense, but this allegorical. My strength is not as the strength of those men, that be stupid as stones feeling nothing; or of those that under afflictions are sonorous as [Note.] brass, the one sort not being brought by any sufferings to speak by confessing their sins, but their hearts are so hardened, that they lie and say nothing this way, howsoever they hardly cry out of their pain; others sound out loud cries unto God for mercy and pardon, and profess themselves very sorrowful for their sins, and make serious promises of amending their lives; but being delivered, they appear to have been but as sounding brass: Of which the Apostle speaketh, saying, I were as a sounding brass or a tinkling Cymball. As the Prophet doth of the other, where he saith. I will take away their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. And this sense he approveth by the words following. Is not my help in me, is wisdom driven quite from me? Vulg. My help is not me. Lo here saith Gregory, he spake not before that he was not hard hearted, as some others who be like stones, or a man that made a sound of words only, as a man of brass; as ascribing anything to himself, for this had been pride and vainglory, and so enough to make him to be left of God and so to have his grace turned into sin; but he acknowledgeth that he was therein holpen by God, and had it not of himself, as we must all acknowledge, if we see any difference betwixt ourselves and others, we must think upon that of the Apostle. Who made thee to differ? And of the Psalmist saying. Our help cometh from the Lord. And this reading is favored by the Hebrew, which is word for word. And if no help in me, which may be thus supplied, and if it be thus as I have said, V. 12. there is no help in me, whereby I am made not to be such, then the help whereby cometh from God, and so the wisdom required in those that shall be saved, is not gone away from me: But the words being also rendered, Help is not in me, agree well to the literal exposition first made, if I be weak, and have not so great strength, I confess, that I have no help in myself to stand under this heavy weight, neither am I wise enough to know how to stand, being shaken with so terrible temptations, yet the allegory of Gregory is of good use for instruction, which made me not to pass it over in silence.

To him that is afflicted pity should be shown from his friend, but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty. Now Job cometh to complain of Eliphaz, who did not by him like a friend and therefore not as one that feared almighty God, for such are not ready to censure their Brethren in misery as wicked; in whom they saw no such thing before, but all signs of piety, as could not but be seen in Job; for in this case it is the part of a true friend, and one that feareth God, to judge the best, that such a man is not made a spectacle of misery, because he is a greater sinner, but either to try his patience, or [Note.] that others might see in him, the uncertainty of worldly things, even in the best, when they abound with them, and therefore make no other account of them whether they be riches, or health, or comelyness; and not to think themselves happy in having these, or glory in them, but account this only their happiness, that they know God to serve and obey him, because he hath far greater riches in store for those, that do so, according to that Come and follow me and thou shalt have riches in Heaven. He that doth otherwise feareth not God, and his wrath, that shall be upon him, when he shall judge all those, that uncharitably judge others. Gregory saith, That he is the friend here spoken of who feareth not God, that acknowledgeth not any benefit, to be an afflicted one, and therefore despiseth the afflicted, and he calleth the same sort of men, Brethren like brooks that pass away. V. 15. Because brooks are made of waters, running down hills into valeys, where the heat of the Sun coming, they are soon dried up; so they that despise the afflicted, are but false Brethren; who for a time are as a brook running full by prosperity, but by the heat of God's judgments this their prosperity is made to vanish all away, and they are in misery forever.

Which are blackish by reason of the Ice, &c. Vulg. They that fear the hoary frost, the snow shall fall upon them, Heb. The obscured from the frost or ice, upon them the snow shall fall. The meaning being, that hide themselves for fear of sufferings upon earth, upon them judgments shall come from above, that shall be worse for them by far, because the froast is upon the earth by the coldness of the air here below, and snow falleth from above, and herein he goeth on in the allegory of Brookes, that run away; they that are such, with whom all friendship is gone, when they see their Brethren in misery, they seeking as it were through a worldly fear to obscure themselves, judging such sufferings to be arguments of God's wrath against the wicked, they do but hide themselves from lesser evils, and the greater shall fall upon them, they fear sufferings by men below; but judgments shall come upon them from God above, and this is the same in effect with that, which followeth V. 17. 18. Of their dissolving when they wax hot, and vanishing out of their place, whereby it is meant, that as the snow aforesaid, these men that are so wedded to worldly things by the foresaid heat of God's wrath, shall utterly perish.

The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them. Vulg. Consider the paths of Teman, the journeys of Saba and wait a little. Which is by Gregory expounded by the south, as Teman signifieth, and a net as Saba thus; consider the ways of them that are in prosperity, upon whom none but the warm and favorable South-wind bloweth: and if ye expect a while, ye shall find them entangled and taken in a net, that is, ensnared by their wicked deeds, which by their prosperous going on, they have been made bold to commit. And what shall be the issue hereof? verily nothing but confusion and shame in the end, as verse. 20. Ferus expoundeth the whole passage thus: Ye (O my friends haply fear, that if ye should show yourselves friendly to me, it would prove some cost unto you to relieve me in my want, and therefore to award the detriment that thus might come unto you, ye take occasion from my sufferings to censure me as a most wicked man, and unworthy to have anything done for me; but know, that in being moved by this fear, ye do but put yourselves upon a greater danger, viz. of God's judgments from above, against which no unmerciful person shall be able to stand, Who seeth his brother in want, and relieveth him not. Or according to another rendering more agreeable to the Hebrew, whereby they are compared to the ice covered with snow, such men are as ice covered with snow, for the present hard and firm, so that a man may go upon it; but the heat of the Sun coming, all this firmness goeth away and cometh to nothing: so the unmerciful rich man seemeth to have a firm and durable estate, to which he may trust, but his wealth melteth, and then he that trusted to it, sinketh, and is drowned. For the next words, verse. 19. he saith, according to the Heb. it is, They looked on the troops of Tema, and the comings out of Seba, that is, the doings of the Chaldeans and Sabaeans against Job, in taking away his Cattle, and slaying his servants, as a judgment of God coming upon me for my wickedness, thinking them rather to be justified then me; but this he showeth, Vers. 20. should be to their confusion. So they that are lead by the present condition wherein they see the wicked and the righteous, these prosperous and merry, them crying and lamenting, judge them therefore worst, and [Note.] these better, shall in the end go to confusion, as the Egyptians in Pharaoh's Army, pursuing the Israelites, crying and sorrowing, were drowned in the red Sea, and they passed through upon dry land: And the old world of wicked unbelievers looking upon their own prosperity, when Noah entered into the Ark, and at his foolish fearfulnes in their judgment, condemned him as ridiculous and contemptible, and those that believing God, went in with him, but these were saved, and they all drowned. If the N. Tr. be followed, The troops of Tema looked, I know not how a good sense may be given of these words, but being rendered, They looked, meaning these his censorious friends the sense given is very good; for the Chaldeans, that before were said to make out 3. Bands, dwelt south, as Tema signifieth.

For now ye are nothing, ye see my casting down, and are afraid. Heb. Now ye are not. These words co-hering so with the former, as that they cannot well be expounded apart, give me occasion to look back again to them, ver. 19. 20. which some expound, as if the allegory from a brook begun, verse. 15. were still proceeded in, and not any new matter were laid to their charge, as if they justified the Chaldees, and Sabaeans, and condemned him, but would have them to consider how it was with those people's travelling upon the way, when they came at places where brooks used to run, hoping to find water, they found none, the sandy dryness of the ground being such, that all the rain that fell was seen drunk up and consumed, this they seeing, were confounded. And likewise ye, when I hoped that upon your coming to me, being my friends, that I should have comfort from you, instead whereof ye were ashamed to own me anymore as a friend, for which in this Vers. 21. he addeth, Now ye are not. That is, the men which I expected ye would be unto me; but seeing me thus impoverish'd, ye feared that your coming might turn to some prejudice unto you, I taking this opportunity to ask something for the supply of my wants; to prevent which, ye have behaved yourselves so strangely towards me in your detracting and reproachful words against me. And this sense is confirmed, verse. 22. Did I say bring unto me, or give a reward of your substance, or deliver me from the enemies hand, or redeem me from the hand of the mighty. He neither in this his great poverty begged for sustenance, or that they would take upon them the charge of setting forth men to help him to his goods taken away again.

Teach me, and I will hold my peace, &c. That is, whereas ye object wickedness to me, be plain with me, and tell me, if ye know any evil by me in word or deed, tell me what it is, help my ignorance herein, who know nothing by myself for which ye speak so bitterly against me.

How forcible are right words, but what doth your arguing reprove? Ye imagine to reprove words, the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind. Vulg. Why have ye detracted from the words of truth, when as there is none of you that can reprove me? And the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth either to strengthen, or to speak evil, and the next words are, Heb. Which of you in reproving, can reprove me? And thus the meaning is plain, instead of making me by your speeches to see any sin, for which the Lord should be so severe against me, ye have done nothing but corrupted the truth, and the words by me spoken according to the same: If it be otherwise, speak any o • you, and prove that I have not spoken rightly. Vers. 26. Ye frame speeches only to reprove, and bring forth words against the wind. Heb. And against the wind words of despair: For it is, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 coming of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 to despair. Job thereforefore meaneth not, that he had spoken desperately, but reproveth the desperate speaking of Elihu, devising words against that which he had said to no purpose in truth, and therefore he herein reproveth him, and vilifyeth his sayings, as if they were but disputings against the wind, a beating of the empty air.

Ye over-whelm the fatherless, and dig a pit for your friend. He setteth forth himself by the name of the fatherless, because he was now as the fatherless, without any to protect him; and they combine together so to lade him with calumnies, as that they did hereby, as it were, undermine him, that he might fall into despair, and perish. Vers. 28, 29, 30. He exhorteth them to be more considerate in their speeches, and to lay nothing to his charge, but what they were able to make good, promising, that he for his part would speak no lie, but the truth in all things, and he dissuadeth them from going on in the way of contention, which hindereth from seeing into the truth.

CHAP. VII.

IS there not an appointed time to man upon earth, are not his days as the days of an hireling?

Having by the words before going prepared his friends to attend patiently, and to judge righteously of his words, now he approveth that which he had said before, Chap. 3. touching his desire to die, and not to have his miserable life still prolonged. And to this he compareth himself, and man, leading his life in misery here, to an hireling, whose labor is great and soar, and there-he desireth the coming on of the night, as also doth every poor servant, that he may rest his weary body, and the hireling have his wages paid him. So it must not be thought unreasonable and wicked for a man living in misery, to come to the night of death, being to such, if he feareth God, as Job did, far more comfortable then life, for the happy remuneration which he shall then have in the kingdom of heaven, although not out of merit but mercy, verse. 3. In way of declaring his own miseries, he saith, I am made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed unto me. As if he had said, I am in worse case then the poorest hireling; for when he after the toil and pains of the day, goeth to rest at night, he sleepeth quietly, but my nights are no better to me then my days, they are wearisome and tiring also.

My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust, my skin broken and become loathsome: Which he speaketh for the filthy and sore disease that was upon him: For the words of verse. 1. Is there not an appointed time to man? The Vulg. hath it, The life of man is a warfare upon earth. Heb. Is there not a warfare to man? or an appointed time? For 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth both, but it is most commonly expounded by warfare, and take it to be a description of man's life in general, which is set forth by three comparisons.

1. To a Soldier, who is in continual danger.

2. To an Hireling, that laboreth and toyleth in all weathers. 3. To a servant, a slave, whose life is most miserable of all others, and therefore as good [Note.] Soldiers let us fight manfully against all our spiritual enemies, the World, the Flesh, & the Devil, and let us labor faithfully in our places and callings, whilst life and strength lasteth, and not stand idle; and let us with all diligence serve the Lord, because although servants, by so doing we are made his free-men: and as valiant Soldiers, when we have overcome, we shall be crowned, and as faithful laborers in God's vineyard, at the end of the day of this life we shall have our hire, as those laborers in the Vineyard, and as good servants be bidden to enter into our Masters joy, and in the midst of the greatest heat of all • adversities, we patiently bearing the burdens laid upon us shall be under the shadow of the Almighty, and have refreshing hereby. Thus for the general; but howsoever this be true touching all men, yet more in Job, who is to be thought more particularly thus to lament his own most afflicted condition: for he, as a Soldier, did bear the piercing of God's arrows, as he spake before, and as an hireling or servant, had a greater weight laid upon him then he was able to bear, a weight heavier then the sands of the Sea shore. And to him in particular agree the complaints following, verse. 3, 4, 5. And whereas he speaks of man in the third person, this is not unusual in holy Scripture, when one speaketh of himself, as 2 Cor. 12. And Job beginneth his Book in like manner, Chap. 1. As for verse. 3, 4, 5. Ferus applieth them also to man in general, thus: He passeth months in vanity, because oft times he laboreth, and his labor taketh not effect: And he saith at night, when will it be morning, because he is uncertain, when he goeth to bed, whether he shall live to the morning, or in the morning, whether he shall live till night, upon such uncertainties he goeth. And well may every man say, that he is clothed with dustand worms, &c. For so shall it be with him, when death cometh, if he escapeth coming into the like condition before. And whereas verse. 6. it is said, My days are swifter then a Weavers shuttle, my life is spent without hope. This was true, as he conceived in him, there was no hope, but that he must die of this grievous disease, and that soon; and it is true of every mortal man, he is but of short continuance in this life, but his glass runneth out a pace every day. Vers. 7. Having made his apology in respect of that, which he was judged to have spoken rashly, Chap. 3. Now he maketh his complaint and prayer to God, from whom he acknowledged all his misery to come.

O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good. From hence to the 11. verse. he in effect prayeth to God for mercy to be shown unto him, to bring him again out of the misery wherein he was, moving for this in consideration, that if he were once gone out of this world, the time would be too late to do anything for him in this world anymore, since, that after death he should be but like a cloud dissolved, which now is nothing, and as the wind past and gone; for so it is with him that is departed hence, he shall here be seen no more: As also David saith, Psa. 39. That we may not think it strange, that so righteous a man as Job should speak thus despairingly, as if he thought that all happiness was at an end, when his mortal life was ended. Gregory speaketh excellently upon those words, Vers. 6. My days are spent without hope. This is indeed the case of wicked carnal men, when this life is gone, all is gone from them; because although they hear of the happiness of the life to come, yet they believe it not, and so it is as nothing to them; but Job and other faithful persons, who have pleaded so much to have their lives spared upon the same grounds, as it may seem by their words, spoke in a far divers sense, for their minds being ever upon the life to come, •• regard of which they set light by this life, and the things hereof, say they shall die without hope of any happiness here to be attained, where even in prosperity they have seen and counted all worldly things vain and transitory, and overcoming have trodden them under their feet. And to the same effect are the next words, wherein he turneth himself to God, saying, Remember th •• my life is as a wind, &c. I so account it, and therefore set not my heart upon it, as worldlings do, who imagine it to be a stable thing, and are affected to it accordingly, but the Elect see it, and to be as it is, as a wind that passeth away, and returneth nowhere, and to the same effect he speaketh on, V. 8. 9. 10. And hereupon he concludeth, saying,

Therefore I will not refrain my mouth, but I will speak in the bitterness of my spirit. That is, with sorrow and anguish of heart I will confess my sins; Wicked Reprobates also, sometimes confess their Sins, but it is with godly Sorrow for them, and so they are he that openeth his wound, but layeth on no plaster, and by this means the wounds made by sin are more putrefied and grow more dangerous; but he that confesseth, and lamenteth them in a godly manner, openeth them, and applieth a medicine to them to heal them: And I say, In a godly manner, in the phrase of the Apostle, because Ahab and Judas were sorrowful, but it was in regard of the punishment, not of the sins committed by them, they that have anguish and vexation for their sins shall have comfort, as our Lord saith, Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Am I a sea, or a Whale that thou settest a watch over me? Vulg. That thou campassest me with a prison: Whereby Gregory understandeth, that which keepeth a man strait, that he cannot so freely fight against all his sins, as he would, or be enlarged more in virtue, to run the race of God's Commandments, so David prayeth also, Bring my Soul out of prison to confess to thy name. And to a sea are the wicked compared, such as Job was not, because fleshly and rebellious notions are continually rising in their carnal minds; To a whale the Devil, who maketh his habitation in them, making them more dangerously to arise to overturn the ship of the Church, and drown it amidst the waves thereof: But both they and he are straightened as it were by imprisoning, so that they cannot do against the faithful always as they would, which oft times appeareth, when God by his judgments represseth them, so that of what strength soever they be, and what preparations soever they make, they cannot prevail, but are confounded in their enterprises; as Pharaoh pursuing the Children of Israel into the red sea was drowned, and Sanacherib coming against Hezekiah, was miraculously [Note.] smitten in his host, and perished, a great comfort to the people of God in all straits by their enemies coming to fight against them, remember we in this case that we have a God that is able to restrain the most potent Whale, the powerful Devils, and the sea of the wicked, their great multitudes from overflowing, to drown and destroy his Servants, that we may put our trust in him. Now Job in speaking thus of himself, meaneth; that seeing that he was not as a sea or whale, having motions rising in his mind, putting him on to do mischief, but his motions were good and godly, to proceed further in virtue; The Lord should not by restraining him from greater increases herein any way discourage or hinder him by dealing hardly by him: That the wicked are as a sea, as hath been said, See Isaiah 57. ult. and the Leviathan or whale, both in this book and elsewhere spoken of, set for the Devil, and the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth prison as well as custody, or a watch to keep a man. When I say my bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint.

Then thou scarest me with dreams, &c. What is meant here by bed or couch, saith Gregory, but a man's receding from things outwardly suffered or enjoyed into his own heart and inward meditations. For s in the song of Solomon it is said, I sought him in my bed whom my Soul loveth: Job then meaneth, that being pressed with misery as he was, he retired to inward meditations, touching God and himself, and doing so, when he thought to find comfort, he perceived the severity of God to be so great against sin, and that he will come at the last day in such a terrible manner to punish it, that this proved to him as fearful dreams and visions in the night, so that instead of being comforted he was deterred, as men commonly are by fearful dreams and apparitions, because the Judge then will proceed most strictly against sin, and punish it most severely, without respect of persons; for when a godly man thinketh with himself of his sins, they all come to his mind, that ever he hath done, and then the devil is at hand to aggravat them against him, and hereby he is greatly terified. For as other be dreams, that come from God, as the dreams of Pharaoh his chief Butler and Baker, and of Pharaoh, which Joseph interpreted, so there be delusory dreams, that come from the Devil, for which it is forbidden to regard, as Divinations, so dreams, and dreams are said to make many to err. Some dreams also come of much business, and some of thought and care taking about things to come. As Daniel saith of Nebuchadnezzar, that when the thoughts of his head troubled him, he saw an image, &c. And by delusory dreams, it was that Job was terrified, which come from the Devil, God permitting it; and therefore he saith, Thou scarest me with dreams, when he speaketh to the Lord: For the literal sense it is plain, he meaneth that he took no rest night or day, as he partly touched before, Vers. 4. and his terrors by night were in respect of the arrows of God spoken of, Chap. 6. that pierced him within For the allegorical sense given by Gregory it is very good, and showeth the fears that come by sin [Note.] for which when a man suffereth outwardly, and thinketh to have comfort inwardly from God against them, shall be more increased, so that the sinner if he well considereth it, can have no rest or comfort in his affliction outwardly or inwardly, and therefore is in a most miserable condition; For if Job a most holy man found rerrour within, where he thought to have had rest, what shall gross sinners that are spots and blots amongst Christians do.

So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather then life.

The vulg. Suspension, or hanging for strangling, whereupon Gregory, the soul is suspended when it is elevated or lifted up above these worldly things, And my bones choose death, so the vulg. for these words; And death rather then life; and that rightly, for the word is, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth my bones, and hereby strength of the body or flesh is meant, the mortification whereof having the mind lifted up to things above, he here intimateth that he desired, and indeed it is, for by being heavenly minded, the flesh or members are brought to have the lesser strength, yea to such weakness as if they were dead; a good allegory, but the literal meaning is, that being in this misery [Note.] within and without, he preferred the taking away of his breath by the prevailing of his Boils, and consequently death before the savity of his Body, and strengthening of it again, by having of his Disease healed.

I loath it, I would not live always, let me alone, for my days are vaniry.

What is man that thou shouldst magnify him, &c. Man being elevated in his mind, as was before said, although he hath temporal goods, yet he vilifieth them in comparison of heavenly things, not desiring to live in pleasure by them, or to have his life prolonged, that he might enjoy them more time, for he looks upon the days of this life, as vanity and vexation of spirit, for which he desireth God to let him alone, as the vulg. hath it, not to spare him in respect of life and prosperity, and then V. 7. he argueth to this purpose.

What is man that thou shouldst magnify him? that thou shouldst set thine heart upon him, and visit him every morning, and try him every moment? That man being so vain a thing and this his life, why is he so set up, as thy favourite in respect of worldly things, having wealth, honor, & dignity here: Yea thou visitest him every morning: What is the morning but the light, which riseth after the dark night, so God visiteth his elect every morning, when he enlighteneth them by his Grace, who were before in the darkness of unrighteousness and sin, but now by his grace are brought into the light of Righteousness, faith, and holiness: But because God by coming to us by his grace promotes virtue in us, and by receding suffereth us to be shaken by temptation, and therefore after visiting every morning spoken of, he saith, Thou tryest bim every moment; For if we were not after grace entering into our hearts, shaken by temptations, we would be ready to think that we had this of ourselves, and not of the gift of God, and so to be proud, but by being thus shaken we are humbled, as Paul saith of himself, 2 Cor. 12. For in temptation finding our own weakness, we see what need we have of God's help, and so flee to him in prayer.

How long wilt thou not depart from me? nor let me alone till I swallow my spittle? Here letting pass that of Gregory as over curious about his spittle. I, with others, take the meaning to be, as if he had said, spare me from my pains, which make me even like unto one that is ready to dy, who cannot get his spittle either to go down or to come up, wherein he desireth some liberty again; to which effect also David speaketh, saying, O spare me that I may recover strength. And of God's setting his heart upon man, and magnifying him V. 8. Using the same interrogation.

I have sinned, what shall I do to thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark unto thee, so that I am a burden to myself. Now Job to show that he did not in all his sayings before justify himself, confesseth, I have sinned; The word rendered Preserver is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 by vulg. rendered Keeper, as it signifieth properly such a keeping, as of a watchman standing upon a Tower to look unto, and to observe all things hostily attempted, or done, that there may be an opposition made there against in due time, and to this do the next words most aptly agree: Why hast thou set me as a mark; or as the vul. hath it, an Adversary: Hebr. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 one coming against, that is, an Enemy. The meaning is, I acknowledge myself to be a sinner, and therefore worthy of the judgments which have befallen me; but what wouldst thou have me to do, that hast and dost so diligently look at the sins of men, that I have not done, for I have patiently born thy judgments, justified thy proceedings against me in so great severity, given thee praise in the midst of all my grievous sufferings, and my heart hath always been to serve thee in truth, and to flee all sin, & now I confess myself yet to be a sinner, what wouldst thou have me Lord to do more? or what can I do more to procure thy favor again towards me even as a poor debtor, that not being able to satisfy his Creditor, but humbleth himself unto him, & is ready to do what in him lieth to the uttermost, in way of satisfying him, as that Debtor, Matt. 18. So Job pleadeth before the Lord, as the master, who is kind to his servant indebted; that although in 10000. Talents is to him, so he would be pleased to show honor to him, and not to deal by him as an enemy, persisting still by his Judgments to make out against him, for if he should so do, he had no joy in living any longer here, but his life was a great and importable burden to him, that made him to complain insuch bitterness as before. The Talmudists make bold here to change the sentence thus. I am a burden to thee; And the Sept. Tr. likewise; which Aug. following saith, why hast thou set me against thee, that I should against thee and so be a burden to thee, greiving thee so with my speeches, speak that thou canst not bear them, but the word is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 to me.

Why dost not thou pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? For now I shall sleep in the dust, thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be Having confessed his sins, he now craveth pardon, and useth this as an argument to move the Lord hereunto, and that speedily removing his grievous sufferings from him, whereby he was now ready to sink and die, least if he did not, it would be too late; For if death once cometh, although it be set forth by sleep, yet herein it is not like unto natural sleep, which although it be all night, yet a man waketh in the morning, and so from morning to morning again, but he being once dead, waketh so no more to live in this world, and therefore if the Lord will save him alive, he must do it without delay, before that death striketh him, if not, but he be once departed, he is not to be found here anymore, how diligently soever sought for; he meaneth not, that he shall never be found, or come forth from the dust again, for at the last day he shall, and so Job believed, for he saith, I know that my Redeemer liveth, &c. To conclude, in that he speaketh of God as a watchman, diligently observing our sins, to come against us, therefore note. First, That we are nowhere hid from his sight, as is also taught, Psal. 139. [Note.] That we may always walk as in his presence. Secondly, That we ought to flee sin, as making God our enemy, and to count us his enemies. Thirdly, Not only grosser but even lesser sins in the best livers are marked by God, and therefore we have all need to confess and crave pardon of our sins, as being otherwise liable to death. Fourthly, That we may come into favor and be p • rdoned, we must do as Job did, suffer affliction with patience, justify God in all our sufferings, and even therefore bless his holy name, &c. as it is said before.

CHAP. VIII.

HOW long wilt thou speak these things? and how long shall thy words be as a strong wind? Now Bildad the second of the three friends of Job, that came to visit him, speaketh, being according to his name a wicked kinsman, for 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 from whence cometh 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is wicked, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is an uncle. He begineth with accusing Job for his using so many words, as he did in the two Chapters before going, to justify himself, as if he thought, that by his speech he were able, like a blustering strong wind, to bear down all others, that should speak against him,

Doth God pervert judgment? and doth the Almighty pervert justice? if thy Children have sinned against him, &c,

He consenteth with Eliphaz, who spake first, in laying to Jobs charge and to his children's, some great sin although to other men unknown, for which they being now cut off, he complained as if he were wronged, and for other plagues of God upon him; That which Bildad saith here is true; God will not pervert Judgment or justice, but constantly execute both, and although Job could not be found fault withal for his muttering out anything against God's just proceedings, yet many there are that may and ought to be reproved therefore, viz. All wicked men who although they be worthily plagued for their foul sins, yet being smitten, murmur against God and cry out of his severity: [Note.] For Job is approved by God himself to have been a most just man, and therefore not one now judged for his sins but only tried in his patience, so that whatsoever he spake it is justifiable, as coming from one full of grace and virtue, but not in others who are wicked: Bildad then and his fellows erred in speaking thus to Job, all the things spoken by them are most true, and are written for our instruction. Touching Jobs children spoken of, Vers. 4. He mentioneth their example to them, that by it he might be stirred up to repent, and that speedily, which is a most pious admonition to wicked [Note.] men indeed, but misapplied to Job; For by the example of the Galileans slain in sacrificing and of the men upon whom the Tower of Siloam fell, Christ, also admonisheth the Jews, to repent speedily, threatening that otherwise they should all likewise perish: Jobs Children were eating and drinking, and thought little of dying when they did, yet by one blow of the house falling they were all slain; so it may be with others, and therefore to delay repentance is dangerous: And as for Job, he seemeth further to argue thus, they being taken away suddenly; thou hast been spared, and thy life heitherto saved, to what end is this: But that thou mightest be better prepared before thy death, and so much more every other man ought to [Note.] make this use of his life prolonged, when others are cut off suddenly, to fall presently to repenting and praying to God, for which he saith, (Betimes) thou wouldest seek to God betimes. And then showing, what the life of the penitent now henceforth is, he addeth, If thou wert pure and upright, he would awake for thee. For hereby it is shown, that penitent persons live purely; after that they turn by true repentance, how soever they have formerly lived: And such as do so if they be in misery, as they have betimes turned unto God, so he will soon turn their misery into prosperity again; which is set forth in his saying: Surely he would now awake for [Note.] thee, and make the habitation of the righteous prosperous. As thy habitation, whilst thou continuest in thy sin, was miserable; so being turned into righteousness, it shall be prosperous: Thou being blessed, both in thy house and in all that thou hast: Although thy beginning were small; yet thy latter end shall greatly increase, Wherein he speaketh as it were, prophetically, touching Jobs future great prosperity, for so it is shown to have fallen out to him, at the end of this book. As was noted before upon the speech of Eliphaz, the spirit guiding their tongues to speak thus truly, as afterwards the tongue of Caiaphas, to speak of Christ's death.

Inquire I pray thee of former ages, &c. here and V. 9. 10. Bildad appealeth to the experience of God's doings in most ancient times, for if this be looked unto, we shall find that God, with whom there is never any variableness or shadow of change, always blessed and shown mercy to such, as sought unto him, being pure and righteous, and therefore it is certainly to be hoped, that towards all penitent persons, he will do so still. Ferus upon these and the words before going, saith very well; Bildad reasoneth from worldly prosperity, to purity and righteousness of life, and contrariwise from adversity to wickedness and sinfulness, as if there were no true godly man that is in misery here, or wicked man in prosperity, and of this he seeks to bring proof from the experience of all most ancient times: As if he had said, believe it Job, no righteous man ever suffered, as thou dost; and if thou wilt not believe it for our sayings, yet believe it for the testimony of all Antiquity, wherein he well ascribeth authority to them ancient, for God commandeth to honor the anci • nts, and provoketh his people oftentimes to attend to the doings of their fathers, and the experience that they had of God's goodness towards them, that is, such of them as feared him, as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Noah and Enoch. He doth not yet hereby so commend the authority of ancientest or oldest of men unto us, as if their sayings were authentical always, for some old men are not so wise, as even children, witness the Preacher, who saith, A poor wise child is better then a foolish old King. But where antiquity and wisdom concur, such are to be preferred before child-hood, or men of few years, although wise also: But in appealing to the ancientest, he meaneth not so much those, that were of times more ancient then ourselves, although many hundreds of [Note.] years, but the first of the Church of God, that were in the world: For Quod primum verum. And the Roman Catholics of these times glory much in the Church of Rome, that was when Saint Peter sat Bishop there; upon this bearing themselves, as the only Catholic Church, and they allege, as a reason of the authority of their Church, the antiquity of it, pretending it to be as ancient as Peter, and the rest of the Apostles; and the very same that then it was, but when they come to prove it, they go no higher then to about a thousand years ago, the teachers of which antiquity are not of sufficient authority to confirm anything, but only of tohse that were first, sent out to preach the Gospel: For Bildads reasoning from the prosperity of the godly, and contrariwise, to righteousness or wickedness, it is a deceitful reasoning: For many times the wicked are in prosperity here, and the righteous in adversity; and adversity is good for them, and continual prosperity evil: But whereas he saith upon these words, If thou wouldst seek God betimes, and he would awake for thee, he noteth, That a man whilst he liveth in sin is a sleep; and then he must not expect, [Note.] but that God should be asleep to him; that is, not protect him from judgments and miseries: But when he awakes, from this sleep, according to that of the Apostle, Awake thou that sleepest. God will awake to him, to protect and save him, from misery and to advance him to felicity.

Can the rush grow up without mire? or the flag without water? Whilst it is yet in his greeness and is not cut down, it withereth, &c. So are the paths of all that forget God, and the hypocrites hope shall perish. After an argument from the experience of antiquity, Bildad here addeth another argument from a similitude taken from rushes and flags; to prove that wicked men shall not constantly enjoy prosperity, but soon fade away: And Jerome saith, That it was a thing, to which the Syrians and Phylistims were naturally much addicted, from natural things to illustrate the truth touching others, like unto them concerning men: The scope of this similitude is to show, that hypocrites, who cover over wickedness with an outward show of holiness; may for a time flourish in worldly prosperity, above and before others: But as the rush or flag being grown to a certain height, without ever yielding any fruit, wither again; so it is to be expected, that hypocrites should do; who forgetting God, and not out of conscience toward [Note.] him, practice piety, but for their own worldly ends, they wanting all solydity of grace, and shooting forth thus only as it were by means of mire and water, the base and transitory things of this life, their own nature and not grace putting them on herein. Ferus will have the force of the reason to lie in this: That as the rush and flag, grow not but in watery and miry places, in dry and firm Grounds, if they should be set therein, they would wither; so the wicked hypocrite, in prosperity, makes a great show of piety, but in adversity, or being hardly entreated therefore, he hath no courage, so much as to make a show anymore: But contrariwise by his impatience and murmuring against God, he breaketh our, making the hollowness of his heart to appear to all men; and herein he aimed at the making of Job's case odious, whom he thought now to be such: And he saith further, Whose hope shall be cut off, and his trust as a spiders web: he shall lean upon his house but it shall not stand, &c. For the spider makes his web in great and high houses, and that very curiously and artificially, but it is soon swept down, so the wicked working very subtly, all their works, both their wealth and piety soon vanisheth.

He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his Garden. In expounding this, and V. 17. 18. 19. There is great difference amongst Expositors; the ancients following the vulg. Lat. which hath Ortus for Hortus, rising for garden. Expound all of the wicked hitherto spoken of, thus: He is green and flourishing before the sun, with his burning and drying heat cometh; but this is only in his springing up at the first, as was touched before, V. 12. But now it is more at large declared, how being thus green as it were, by prosperity: He withereth, V. 17. His roots are wrapped about the heap, and he seeth the place of stones. Hereby he is made to wither; the mire or water wherein he grew, being dried up, towards the end of summer, and made hard as stony ground; he begineth to wither for want of moisture at his roots, V. 18. If he destroy him from his place, it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee; that is, The sun having thus made the flag to wither, shall bring it to that pass; that for the total making of it to die, and wither away: It saith, as it were, (speech by a Prosopopeia being ascribed to it) I have not seen thee anymore; the old rushes or flags come to be green no more, but others grow up in the room thereof: One generation passing and another succeeding; and this is the joy, that these natural things of so short a continuance have, as is said, V. 19. And so one wicked generation being cut off, yet another springeth up to the worlds end. Others that keep to the original, wherein it is a Garden, V. 16. Expound it of the righteous, as if Bildad having done speaking of the wicked hypocrite; came now to the true hearted just man, to make good either way his assertion, as touching the momentary prosperity of the wicked, so of the constant and enduring prosperity of the righteous: He groweth not as it were, in the mire or water of marrish ground, but as in a garden, in a fruitful soil, standing pleasantly in the sun, and by reason thereof prospering the better, and shooting forth his branches; his children that live and grow up with him, to his greater comfort, V. 17. His roots are wrapped about the heap, and he seeth the place of stones. that is, He is deeply rooted, as it were, his roots being multiplied into an heap, one infolded in another; a description of a tree that stands most firmly; then in saying, He seeth the place of stones. It is meant, seeing hardship to be endured, such a man is not hereby terrified, but patiently beareth it: And whereas V. 18. it is said. If he destroy him from his place, he shall say, I have not seen thee. It is meant, that the just may be as it were destroyed, either by having his boughs cut off, as it is done to a tree, or vine being pruned, or cut off by the, roots, yet in a short time, as a tree shooteth • ut branches again, from the body or root thereof, and groweth again; so shall he have children, and come to a prosperous estate again, as if he had never seen or felt any such strokes cutting him down, V. 19. This is the joy of his way, & out of the earth shall others grow, that is, Thus the just in his way, hath joy of prosperity restored again; and out of him thus cut down to the ground, by losses of goods and children, shall other children come; and of them more to make him flourish from Generation to Generation: A very apt exposition, and such, as then which, we shall need to seek none other; And so the next words agree very well, V. 20. Behold, God will not cast away the perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers; as if he had said, Hereby it appeareth, that although the righteous man may fall into adversity, as Job did; yet he if he be just may have hope of being restored, but the wicked being so proceeded against; are without all hope of ever being restored again, V. 21. Till he fill thy lips with laughing, &c. He will not cast away the perfect, but give him by his final prospering again, after affliction, cause of joy and gladness again forever: And then shame and confusion shall come to the wicked that hated, and spake despitefully against him in his misery: And his dwelling place or house shall come to naught. Wherein it is worth the considerring, how truly all this fell out, touching Job and these his friends; he was restored, and they by God's reproving them: Confounded and put to shame. As it appeareth, Chap. 42. 7.

CHAP. IX.

I Know it is so, but how should man be just with God? If he should contend with him, he were not able to answer him one of a thousand. Here Job to the last words of Bildad and those, Chap. 8. 3. Where he justified God in all his doings: The same now doth Job in a more ample manner, in saying, How should man be just with God? He meaneth not, that no man is just, even in God's account; for God himself had before testified of him, that he was a just man: But in comparison of the just God, whose justice is without any the least spot or stain, no man is just: But what meaneth this, Not answer him one of a thousand. Verily, that if God should put a thousand questions to him about his righteousness, in so many particulars, he could not in any one of these justify himself; so V. 12. and 14. He more expressly speaking of the same effect again, saith, I cannot answer him, therefore they err, that hereby understand God's answering man, as if he had said, Man is so much inferior to God, that if he would contend and question within him, he would contemn him, and not think him worthy of any answer, but to be severely censured for his audaciousness.

Who removeth mountains, and they know it not. Here Job to approve what he had said, V. 4. of God's power and wisdom, against which therefore there is no contending for man, beginneth to instance in some particulars, whereby it may appear to be infinite: And he beginneth with the mountains, which are so great and firmly set, that none but an Almighty power can remove them: For which Christ also speaketh hereof, as an act of the greatest power that is, saying, If ye have faith, and say to this mountain, be removed, &c. And Paul likewise, If I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains. For the doing of this mighty work, Dionisius thinketh, That in thus speaking, he aimeth at that which was done in the time of Noah his flood, when the waters with their mighty force galled and bare down many great mountains; others, because this is only conjectural, hold that it is spoken of those, that sometimes in earth-quakes have been removed, as sometime was done in this our Land, in Herefordshire; or by saying he removeth he meaneth, can remove, and will at the last day, when even the Heavens shall be dissolved and melt away with heat, and the whole earth and mountains thereof shall be burnt up.

Which commandeth the Sun and it riseth not, and sealeth up the stars. Here God's almighty power is further proved, by his ruling over the Sun and the Stars, which when he pseaseth, is stayed in the course thereof, as in the days of Joshua: And he can make the Stars also to stand still, as if sealed up; as he then did by the Moon, the Sun, Stand still in Gibeon, and the Moon in the valley of Ajalon, an whole day. Which alone spreadeth out the Heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the Sea. Here is another argument of the same, he made the Heavens by his power and wisdom; and the Seas most violently carried with irresistable force, the waves whereof are lifted up by most impeteous winds, he suppresseth and stayeth, as by treading them under his feet, so that they can pass no further, V. 9. Which maketh Arcturus, the Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the South: Acturus hath the name 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 from congregating or gathering together, because it is a constellation gathering the winds as it were together, when it ariseth and making great tempests. Orion hath the names 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifying inconstant: And from hence the ninth month amongst the Hebrews was called Araslen, which answered to our November; when this constellation ariseth making the weather very inconstant and windy: The Pleiades, by the Greeks called Hyades, from raining, by Pliny, or haedi, succulae, Heb. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 are a constellation, which when it ariseth, causeth much rain; it is which we commonly call the seven Stars, or Charleswain: And of these it is also spoken, Amos 5. 3. Which seems to be taken from hence, and of the spreading of the Heavens by his power, Ps. 104. And these constellations in particular, are spoken of as made by him, to prove his infinite power; there being none in the world, that can stop their influences upon earth, or know before of the violent tempests, or superabounding rains caused hereby, to save themselves herefrom: And the like is to be held, Of the chambers of the south: By Vulg. Interiora austri, the more inward parts of the south, where diverse other stars are, that appear not to us, and yet have their influences also: The scope of capitulating all this is, that infirm and wretched man, might not once mutter against God's doings, howsoever he dealeth by him; as if he were unjustly dealt withal, because this doth only provoke him more, as is not the way to stop the course of his judgments against us; for this is to be done, only by humbling ourselves before him, and confessing [Note.] our sins, and that he is just in all his ways, and righteous in all his works; because the most righteous man is a sinner: And we are worthy for our least sins, of all the judgments that can befall us in this world; and it is good for us, if we be afflicted and judged here, that we may not perish together with the world, such judgments being but fatherly chastisements, and tokens of God's love towards us. Loe he goeth by me and I see him not, he passeth by me and I perceive him not. Here after other arguments before going to make all men to fear God, for his almighty power and wisdom, another is added to strike such terror into us, as not to dare to quarrel with him about any of his doings towards us, for he is invisible: And therefore whether he be coming in love and favor in his judgments, or passing away in displeasure, we know not; for sometimes he judgeth severely, as I said before in great love and mercy, for the good of those that are judged; and sometime in wrath, his judging in this world being a forerunner and beginning of everlasting destruction▪ And whether he judgeth the one way [Note.] or the other; man commonly knoweth not, and therefore seeing our soarest afflictions may be effects of love, there is no cause why we should speak against God therefore, but patiently and humbly submit to his stroke; yea we have a promise of blessing by afflictions, if in time of affliction we do so. Prov. 3. 12. Whereas otherwise we may justly fear that he is passing away, and that we shall never enjoy his love or favor, but perish under his hand everlastingly; if it be taken as it is by some, for his being always nigh unto us, passing and repassing daily, but yet unseen: Nothing is hereby meant, but his invisibility; although he be always near to everyone of us: For in him we live, move, and have our being; and he is about all our paths, and about all our ways: If it be thus taken, he is to be understood, as proceeding from speaking of his power shown in the things aforesaid, to his omnipresence, although invisible, that we may take heed what we say of him, in any extremity or misery; for although we see him not, yet he both seeth and heareth us: As a circumspect Judge that goeth obscured under some disguise, and so heareth and seeth what is spoken or done, by those [Note.] that are to be judged by him: Wherefore neither in suffering, nor at any other time are we to think, we may in the dark or in seenet, do or speak what we will, but that the Judge is nere, even by us; that we may fear to speak or do any evil.

If he take away, who can hinder him, or say unto him what dost then. If God withdraweth not his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him. the Vulg. If he suddenly asketh, who can answer him. But the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 here used, signify to snatch away, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 from whence cometh the word rendered answer, signifieth, to turn; and so the meaning is: Who can repel or turn him back: Wherein Job plainly alludeth to the taking away of his Children, Servants, and Cattle; against which, being God's act, it was not fast for him to cavel or to object anything, as it is not for any other man. In his calling God's taking away, his snatching; he speaketh after the manner of natural men, who are ready, when they sustain great losses, to impute Lion-like, and tyrannical dealing to God, as if he were not led by justice, but by his own will without cause to vex men: But if there be any, that dare think or speak thus; or some being by his hand put to so great loss, think to provide for themselves, that they will not suffer the like, but hold up their estates better, those proud ones, called here proud helpers, shall be made to stoop, this their insolency shall cause their ruin: To which effect Calvin speaketh the Vulg. For proud helpers, hath it, Qui portant orbem, That bear up the world, but the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth, Latus broad, and so it is, Helpers of latitude: That is, of the largest extent, either in power, or by an elate mind, and so the meaning is, none are so mighty, or so high conceited of their own ability, but if he be angry he will make them to stoop under him, as not being able to bear his wrath. Or by these mighty helpers we may understand the mountains, Earth and Heaven before spoken of, which may be called helps of Latitude for their large extent, and ones helping another, the Heavens the Earth, with the influences thereof making it fruitful, and the earth men with the fruits thereof, for even these shall stoop in the day of God's anger, at the day of judgment, when all shall be dissolved: Therefore he inferreth, that he much more must needs be unable to deal with him, or to plead against him, to make his plea good, alhtough he should use the choicest words that might be devised. Whereupon he concludeth, that if he were righteous, he would not thus answer by way of pleading his own righteousness, but make his supplication to his Judge. Herein teaching us to do likewise, accounting our own righteousness nothing, but his grace in all, for salvation and deliverance from all evil.

If I had called and he had answered me, ye • would I not believe that he had hearkened to my voice. Some think these words to have been spoken despairingly; but others better, that this is spoken in way of answer to that of Bildad, Chap. 8. 5. If thou wouldst make thy supplication to him; If thou wert pure; Now to this he saith, If trusting hereunto I had prayed, and he had answered me, I should not have believed that he had hearkened unto me, the reason whereof was given before: That neither he, nor any man living, can thus plead in prayer with him, but trusting only to his goodness and mercy. For a man may pray, having some trust in his own righteousness, and be heard for some worldly thing, of which he standeth in need, and yet he cannot hereby gather, that the Lord beareth a favor to him, because both he denieth these things sometimes to his favorites, and granteth them to such as are out of favor with him, and soon after teareth him, as it were with a tempest, as here followeth,

He breaketh me with a tempost, and multiply th • my wounds without cause. Vulg. He will break, and so it is Heb. that is, If I should plead before him as pure, although I might temporally, or for a time be delivered, yet I should not finally escape destruction, although I should give him none other cause. Whereby we may see upon what danger of being torn in pieces by God's [Note.] judgments they put themselves, that justify themselves, ascribing perfect righteousness to themselves, how holy soever they be, as the proud Pharisee, Luk. 18. Olympiod understandeth these words of God's multiplying his wounds without cause in the same sense, that the same words were spoken by God to Satan, when he charged him against Jobs first sufferings, that he had stirred him up against him in vain, or without cause, Ch. 2. That is, thou multiplyest my wounds to try me and prove me, when thou needest not so to do, for without thus trying my patience, thou knowest me very well: So that in saying thus, Philip gathereth, that Job now perceived that the Lord was thus rerrible to him in his judgments, for naught also, but to try his patience. Howsoever, it was certainly a great measure of humility in Job, to extenuate his own worth so much, being by God's own testimony a perfect man, to whom no man upon earth then was equal, and to ascribe all goodness to God alone, wholly and only depending hereupon, and not as the Papists do, partly upon grace, and partly upon works.

Although I were perfect, I would not know my soul, but would despise my own life. The 18, 19, 20. verses need no explication, considering the premises, and what hath been said upon the like: Only verse. 20. in saying, if I should justify myself, my own mouth would condemn me, is as if he had said, I should in speaking show myself proud by speaking in my own praise, and detracting from God's justice. For these words, having in the former disclaimed perfection in himself, now he saith, If I were perfect, I would not look at that, or regard it, being in the midst of those miseries, as thinking therefore to be delivered and preserved alive in this world, or have anything that I desire: Yea, I rather hate this life, that I may be rid of it, and through God's goodness, to which alone I trust, attain to everlasting life.

This is one thing, therefore I said it, he destroyeth the perfect and the wicked. That is, that which I have said already is one thing, God only is just, every man in comparison of him unrighteous, or imperfect; therefore in destroying, that is, laying his judgments upon the good, as well as the bad, in this world, he cannot be spoken against. He meaneth not, as Isidorus conceiveth, that he hath no more regard to keep the Just from destruction then the wicked, as not caring whether men be just and reighteous in their lives and dealings, or not: for which to clear Job, he saith, that he speaks in the person of a natural man. But there needs no such shift here, for it is no more in effect then that which is said, Chap. 9. 1. All things fall out alike unto all. And by Ezek. I will destroy the righteous, together with the wicked. Although for divers ends, them for correction, and that they may be more sanctified, these that being by no means reformed, they may be the more justly condemned forever, as desperate sinners.

If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent. The Vul. If he scourgeth, let him kill at once, and not laugh at the punishments of the innocent: But here is no word signifying Not, and the word rendered scourge, is, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 a Scourge: Not to leave this then, and to hold us to N. Tr. the meaning is, when as the scourge or judgment of God slay the wicked suddenly, but the innocent, that is, they that are of an unblameable life, are by God's judgments brought under killing miseries, and there long held for their trial, but their lives are spared: He, that is, the wicked, derideth them for their suffering of these things, as men no more, or less accounted of by God, then they be, and thus these words answer most aptly to those before going, ver. 22. He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked: But when as the perfect or innocent man, who is innocent in comparison of him, is under fore affliction a long time; and the wicked man, who for the present escapeth, yet shall certainly be destroyed, and that upon the sudden, if not sooner; yet at the day of Judgment, the wicked, that looketh only at things present, derideth him, as hath been before said. Some by the Scourge understand the Devil, who is God's instrument to slay the wicked, and to afflict the righteous, as he did Job for his trial, and that a long time, this is matter of mirth and derision to him: And some understanding it of God, of whom Job speaketh hitherto, expound these words, as if Job prayed herein, that for so much as it was his will to destroy both the righteous and the wicked, that he would not put this difference, destroying the bodily life of the wicked suddenly, without prolonging their pain and misery here, and contrariwise keep the Just under suffering so long, as that the wicked thinking them now utterly forsaken by God, should take occasion to laugh at, and deride them. But forsomuch as here no word implying a prayer, and the wicked and not the Devil were spoken of in the words before going, the first Exposition is to be preferred as most genuine.

The earth is given into the hands of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the Judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he? This is spoken against Jobs friends, who were Princes and Judges of the earth, in whose hands the earth, that is, earthly things▪ being in abundance when he was in want, and suffered so grievously; they as men blinded by God, judged unjustly of him: For in saying, He covereth the faces of the Judges thereof, the blind-folding of them is meant, that they being in prosperity could not judge aright of others, the servants of God being in misery & he puteth it to them to answer, if they can, if they shall deny this, who it is, by whom they, and others like unto them are continued in prosperity, whereupon they take occasion to insult and censure so injuriously, them that be in misery: And thus understood, it aptly followeth after the complaint against the wicked, deriding the righteous in their sufferings, verse. 23. As if he had said, they laugh at them indeed, but it is because God that dealeth so favourably with them in the mean season, hath thus put a covering upon their eyes, as it were, not to see how to judge aright of the miserable.

Now my days are swifter then a Post, they flee away, &c. That is, although I deny not, but assert the equity and justice of God in all his doings, and ascribe no righteousness to myself, yet give me leave to lament my miseries, and some-what to ease myself whilst I live, by complaining of the shortness of my worldly felicity. He had before compared the life of man for the swift passing of it away, to a Weavers Shuttle, now he compareth to one riding Post, the fleeing of an Eagle, and the Ships sailing most swiftly upon the Sea.

If I say I will make my complaint, &c. I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know thou wilt not hold me innocent. That is, when I think to suppress my grief, and not to speak anymore, I am not able to contain myself; for even so doing I fear, lest by the continuation of my sorrows, and God's hand upon me, I should be yet rather thought by other men not to be innocent, but a most wicked man, they being hereby more confirmed in this opinion touching me, and I also fear myself to be able to hold out in my faith, and not to have it turned into desperation hereby.

If I be wicked, why then labor I in vain? This is by Vatablus referred to laboring with God in Prayer, as Bildad persuaded him, as if he had said, Why should I apply myself to God in prayer, seeing this would be but vain, for so much as he heareth not the wicked, but the righteous only. Cajetan referreth it to his assiduity formerly used from time to time, by sacrificing and praying, even to sanctify his children; for this had been vain for him to have done, his person not being accepted; as it could not be, if he were wicked. But against this it may be excepted; thou (O Job) didst then indeed labor in vain, witness the judgment that fell upon all thy children: And against the former, that Bildad did not only persuade him to pray, but also to be pure; and against both, because he speaketh of something present, not past: Why do I labor in vain? Olympiod. therefore best saith; Why do I labor under my sufferings, being so great and grievous so long, and am not suddenly cut off, as is used to be done to the wicked and reprobates? Seeing this is a course which God taketh with his Elect, who are accepted before him, thus trying and purifying, and making them to shine more; but for wicked reprobates it is Labor irrictus, to deal thus with them who are unreformable by any sufferings. A thing to be noted by God's servants for their comfort in all [Note.] their miseries, when they are most tedious, by their long continuance unto them, being patiently born, and righteous dealing still being ascribed to God, together with praise even when he taketh away; for this certainly argueth that they are not wicked, but such as are precious in his sight, as gold, which he will not finally loose.

If I wash me with snow water, and make my hands never so clean, &c. Here again Job by another comparison showeth, that all thoughts of justifying himself to God in any of his speeches before used, were far from him; For let a man be as clean as possibly he can, yet God seeth foulness still in him, as in one that lieth in a duty ditch, if he looketh upon him with the eye of justice, although in his mercy he seeth none iniquity in Jacob, nor sin in Israel; that is, in such as humbly confess their sins, as is expressed by the Prophet David, Psal. 32. 1, 2, 3. The Vulg. to express the meaning of these words, Thou shalt plunge me in the ditch, hath it, Sordibus intinges me, according to that which I have already said. By the ditch also we may understand the Grave, where men wear no clothes anymore; yea clothes are said by a Prosopopeia, to abhor to touch them, so that it is the greatest expression of filthiness that can be, even as of a dead corps, that lieth rotting in the Grave, of which our Lord, speaking of whited Sepulchers, saith, Within they are full of rottenness and dead men's bones. To which effect also the Prophet saith, Our righteousness is as filthy rags.

He is not a man as I am, that I should answer him: Nor is there any days-man, &c. After other reasons, proving that it was not for him to contend with God, here he reasoneth further from hence, that God was not as a man, but so high and excellent above man, that who so shall think to hold any Plea against him, shall be sure to be over-matched.

Let him take away his rod from me, and let not his fear terrify me. So would I speak and not fear him, but it is not so with me. That is, I am now under his rod, which makes me that I dare not speak anything by way of pleading with him, I am so terrified hereby, and astonished at it, through a conscience of my own vileness in his sight; but oh, that it would please him to deliver me from this my misery, then I should hence gather, that he accepteth of me, and should be confident and bold to speak unto him by my prayers and praises, as I have formerly done; but yet it is not so with me, and therefore I fear and tremble to speak unto him. But to you if I speak, I hope that he will not be offended with me, to justify myself against your foul calumnies, as a Judge, when men contend by words before him, some laying wickedness to another's charge, and the other defending his innocence against them. Whence note, that the judgments of God and temptations do so work upon the spirits of his most righteous servants, that their faith is much shaken [Note.] hereby, and their hope to Godward is not so firm, but they are inclining to despair, yet being here-from again delivered, they take unto them their wonted confidence and boldness again, as being now fully persuaded of his grace towards them: and therefore trusting to this, let us not utterly despair for any trials or temptations, but certainly expect to be restored. Allegorically by the mountains and earth removed, saith Gregory, understand the Apostles rejected, and gone from amongst the Jews, and by the earth removed their expulsion out of their country, and by the Sun restrained from the course, their spiritual darkness; all light of the Sun and Stars, that is, of the truth hidden from their eyes. By the stretching out of the heavens, the stretching out of the heavenly light of the Gospel to all Countries and Nations, when as before the light was straightened, shining in Judea only: And by his treading upon the Sea, which is raging, God repressing and curbing of the violent motions, both of Jews and Heathens, against his Church, so that although she were hereby endangered as a ship upon the Sea, yet they could not drown her. Touching Arcturus, Orion, the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south, we are not to think, that Job spake of God's making these to confirm the imaginations of Astrologers, who devised these names, and tell fabulous thing, of them; but hereby are other things concerning the Church to be understood, by Arcturus, or the bright seven stars arising in Autumn, whereupon variable weather and winds follow; The seven Churches, called Seven golden Candlesticks, Rev. 1. which shone most brightly; by Orion, causing tempests in the midst of Winter, persecutions by Heathens raised, making many Martyrs, who were by them violently shaken and destroyed, when they remained yet frozen hard, as it were, by the hardness of their hearts in sin and infidelity. But after this in the spring arise the Hyades, or Pleyades, when a flourishing time like the Spring followed to the Church, persecutions being appeased, and peace enjoyed.

Then lastly, he mentioneth his making of the chambers of the South, or the inner parts thereof; by the South, meaning Heaven, because it is warm and comfortable, from the inner parts whereof cometh down the holy Ghost into the hearts of the faithful, heating them by elevating their minds to divine contemplation, whereby they are chambered, as it were, amidst the joys of heaven, where in the secret of the most high are all the Saints departed out of this life. Whereas he saith, He goeth by me, and I see him not. It is meant, that men even enlightened here are so blind, that they see not to what those things that befall them tend, but count sometimes those to be good for them which are evil, and those evil that are good, as the gift of knowledge, tongues, or prophesying, which to some tend to their greater damnation, as Mat. 7. 21. 1 Cor. 13. and afflictions & miseries in this life, which to some tend to glory, in the life to come to the increase thereof, but the end of all, and whereunto they tend is unknown yet unto them, for man's inability to resist God, or to hinder him. Moses hindered him from slaying the Israelites, and Aaron by offering Incense stayed the Plague, and Phineas by doing execution upon Zimri and Cosby. But it is to be understood, that it is meant, no man by his own power can withstand God's judgments, but such as have power from him so to do, as these men had. Under whom they that bear up the world are bowed: That is, the Kings of the Nations, for who bear up the world in their several Kingdoms but they, for which a King in Greek is called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , quasi, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the foundation of the people. Now these are bowed, when they are bowed to the obedience of the Gospel, the Jews, that would not, being destroyed, and there being none able, when the time of their rejection came, to resist. For these words, Mine own garments shall ahhorre me.

By garments understand the body, which is as a garment to the soul, by abhorring me, making me to be abhorred, as is said of Judas, that he possessed the Field called Acheldama, that is, made others to possess it, for he being dead could not possess it. And the body makes a man abhorred, when by the lusts hereof he is drawn to sin, although contrary to the intention of his mind, whereby he washeth his hands, as it were, with snow water, as Paul also complaineth, Rom. 7.

Lastly, by his rod, of which he saith, Let him take his rod away from me, understand the Law, with the terror thereof, which is done only by CHRIST, in whom we can look up to God, and speak to him without all slavish fear, but under the Law we cannot. As the child of the Shunamite, when Gehazi the servant of Elishah sent with his staff, laid it upon the face thereof, shown no sign of life, but lay dead still; yet Elishah coming, and spreading himself upon it, and then walking and doing it again, the child sneezed seven times, and then received life and comfort. So Moses coming with the staff or rod of the Law, there is no life or heart to speak: But Christ coming, and taking our nature upon him, whereby he did, as it were, spread himself upon us, then walking too and fro, teaching and doing Miracles, and after this dying for us, his hands and feet being extended upon the Cross, we by the Spirit with his seven-fold graces are revived, and come boldly to the Throne of Grace, pleading with him for the effect of CHRIST'S passions in us, Adoption, and Glorification.

CHAP. X.

MY Soul is weary of my life, I will leave my complaint upon myself, &c. The vulg. Dimittam adversus me eloquium meum, I will let my speech go against myself; Expounded by Gregory thus, It irks my soul that my life is so sinful, as to bring so great Judgments upon me; I will therefore not excuse, but accuse myself; wherein we are also taught what to do, and not when we have done evil and God meets with us by his Judgments, o • we are accused and in danger to be punished, therefore to deny the evil which we have done, as the manner of most is: And because some speak in confessing their sins, or telling of them without all grief therefore; yea rather glorying and delighting to recount them, he addeth further, I will [Note.] speak in the bitterness of my Soul, As everyone must do that would have pardon. Against glorying in sin which is our shame, see Phillip. 3. 21. The Hebrew is, I will leave my words of complaint upon me: To the same effect; For he that doth so complain of his own evil deserts, and consequently against himself.

And the next words follow well after these, being thus understood.

I will say unto God, do not condemn me, show me wherefore thou contendest with me. Seeing I confess all the fault for which I suffer is in myself (O Lord) do not thou proceed still against me, but now that I do, as thou requirest of sinners, show me wherefore thou still proceedest in thy Judgments against me, and dost not release me from them, that if there be any other thing by me to be done, I may apply myself unto it and recover thy favor; a speech much like unto that Ch. 7. 20. for the just Judge of all the world will not smite without a cause, therefore not the poor, the work of his own hands, as it followeth, V. 3.

Neither will he help the counsel of the wicked. Whereby he meaneth his wicked friends, who conspired together to lay some gross sins to his charge, arguing from the Judgments upon him, thar he must needs be notoriously wicked before God, and if his plagues should still continue, they would be confirmed in their evil opinion against him.

Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as a man seeth? Gregory, who by the wicked spoken of, V. 3. understandeth the devil taking occasion by afflictions to drive the servants of God to sin, & so into the danger of everlasting death, which he cannot otherwise effect to make them as miserable as himself; and the former words, Seems it good to thee to oppress the Poor: as if he had said, I know it doth not, but thou seest some cause of these my Suffrings, which I do not, and for this I grieve; He I say expoundeth this of V. 4. Thus, if thou hadst eyes like a man to see nothing till it were done, and wert in thy time and days like a man of short continuance, made in time, and so cut off again in a short time, and not from everlasting to everlasting, knowing all things to come from Eternity, and not as man who cannot know things so; because he cannot know but after he hath a being, I should not marvel a • thy pursuing me with thy Judgments to prove me, but now it amazeth and troubleth me much, to think why thou thus tryest me, being so well known unto thee; even before I was born. Thus also August. and Tho: Aquinas Polichron. and many more. V. 7.

Thou knowest that I am not wicked, and none can deliver me out of thy hands.

The vulg. joining it by a copulative to the former verse, renders it, And thou mayst know that I am not wicked. Hebr. It is upon thy knowledge, without any copulative, Job appealeth here out of the clearness of his conscience to God himself, seeking to move him hereby, not to try him further by his judgments, since he knew, that he had not a wicked, but an upright heart; as God had testified of him, chap. 1. 1. Yea and since he was tried by so soar sufferings, nothing wicked proceeded from him: For the words adjoined, None can deliver out of thy hands. It is as if he had said, Thus thou knowest it to be with me, that I have no wicked heart, but for this I expect not to be delivered; for thou canst still find matter in me, for which to lay thy hands upon me: But the more I submit myself, acknowledging nothing of worth in me, for which to be delivered; the more mild shouldest thou be in thy dealings towards me, as a Lion to a man crouching to him. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me round about. Because nothing in himself was of force to plead for deliverance in regard of it, he now useth another argument from God's own work, which he was, therefore he hoped that he would not destroy him anymore, then his own work, which none will do: And in this we may have great confidence, that are truly faithful, seeing as the Apostle saith: We are his work-manship created unto good works in Christ Jesus. Hast not thou poured me out like milk, and curdled me out like cheese? Having said, V. 9. That he had made him of clay, wherein he alludeth to the making of the first man, now he speaks of the generation of men, coming of the seed of man; like white milk and coagulated in time together into flesh, which he speaketh of, to move the Lord to take care now of his preservation, and that he might not be destroyed: But that he would tender his own work so admirably framed, as it is even the body of man; of which it is spoken, Psal. 139.

Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and fenced me with bones and sinews. Both this and that of milk made into cheese, is by Gregory expounded allegorically, besides the literal sense thus: Thou hast made me out of the milk of which I first came, into a new form of spiritual conversation. As the cheese made out of milk is now a new thing, and although I have flesh, and consist of flesh, yet thou hast strengthened me against this my weakness, in regard of sin, as with bones and sinews, the flesh is strengthened to stand, and to do that, which otherwise it could not: For it is not so much to plead that a man may not be destroyed, because God hath made his body; for so he hath made the bodies of Beasts that perish: But this is a strange plea and prevalent with him, that he hath wrought a work of grace, a spiritual work in him, to the making of him a new man: Wherefore he more expressly speaketh of this also, V. 12.

Thou hast given me life and favor, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. For in saying thus, he meaneth, not only the inliving of his body with a reasonable soul, as he doth to all men: But also a spiritual life and grace; for which his bodily life hath been heitherto also preserved, with which Satan would have been dealing, as we may see by these words, chap. 2. Skin for skin and all that a man hath he will give for his life. But the Lord charged him, when he put all that he had into his hands, to spare his life: Gregory understandeth it altogether of the life spiritual, saith: That life and favor or grace, are joined together; because, this life is not given to any, but to such as have grace to leave their sins: Yet it standeth in dying to sin, and living to righteousness, and to live in sin is to be dead, and this life thus attained is not upheld, but by further visitation of his spirit with grace, from which the regenerate to this spiritual life, are continually suplpyed. According to which Jerome speaketh notably: God is always a giver, it is not enough, that he giveth me his grace; unless he always give asupply thereof. V. 13.

And these things hast thou hid in thy heart; I know that this is with thee. The vulg. Sci • quod universorum memineris. Expounded by Gregory: Thou hast it I know in thy heart, to pardon and release me from these my sufferings, although thou hast not yet laid it open; for thou wilt in thy due time be mindful of all men, in all parts of the World, that shall believe in thee, and walk uprightly before thee; which is a thing, that thou yet concealest, but will in thy good time reveal: And hereby he thinketh, [Note.] that the vocation of the Gentiles, and not of the posterity of Abraham only is implied. And he gathereth, that men may know the favor that God beareth towards them; howsoever for the present they be under grievous miseries, and that even by his afflicting them, when as in uprightness of heart they serve him and walk before him: For this is a certain sign of he fatherly love. But the new Translat. is word for word, according to the Hebrew; so that he being too much led by the Vulg. lat. fell upon this exposition without ground here: The meaning then is nothing else, but what I suffer, is by thy secret counsel and decree come to pass, thy love being never the lesser towards me: And the same is true touching all God's faithful Servants, that none may despair under their sufferings; but now gather more assuredly that God loveth them, and therefore the issue of them all, [Note.] shall be joyful and comfortable: And if it be so, what is to be thought of their Tenet that say, No man can know whether he be beloved of God, and shall be saved or not? when as Job knew it, and Paul, who therefore saith, I have fought a good fight, now remaineth the Crown of righteousness: Which the righteous Judge will bestow upon me, And John. We know that we are the Sons of God, &c. But by the way, God dealeth with his Servants, as Joseph with his Brethren, who concealed his brotherly affection for a time, and dealt roughly with them, but in the end, he could contain no longer, but shown it to their exceeding great comfort and joy.

If I sin, thou markest me, and wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity. The vulg. If I have sinned, and thou hast spared me for an hour: Why dost not th •• suffer me to be clean from mine iniquity? Hebr. If I have sinned, and thou hast, marked me, and if thou hast not cleansed me from mine iniquity; If I be wicked woe is to me. And the sense is plain: If thou proceedest against me with these thy judgments, as against a wicked man for his wickedness, then woe is to me; I am in a sinful and miserable condition indeed: And hereby two things are intimated, First, That the righteousness of the best man, standeth in this, that God hath cleansed him from his sins, justifying him by faith in Christ, and so forgiving them all unto him; and not in this, that he is without sin, or that God marketh not his sins. Secondly, He that suffereth as an evil doer, asinner, and so accounted before God, is in a most miserable case, woe is unto him; for he both suffereth in present, and shall [Note.] suffer in future forever. And such are all they, that murmur against God in their sufferings; as if they were not worthy to be so dealt withal: But on the contrary side afflictions suffered, which have this effect to cleanse from sin, wherein a man hath formerly lived; or if he hath not so lived, yet to make him know, that he is not without sin; and therefore to justify God in all his doings towards him, blessed and happy is he; that we may take heed, that we bring not this woe upon us, either by living licentiously, or by setting our mouths or hearts against Heaven, whatsoever we suffer; or not being cleansed hereby from our sins, because this is a certain sign that God cleanseth thee not, if by his rod thou be • t not cleansed, to live in his fear for all times to come. If I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head, I am full of confusion, therefore see thou mine affliction. The vulg. Saturatus afflictione, & miseria Heb. Being full of confusion, and the sight, of my misery, or see my misery, that is, See thou o Lord: Here Job falleth again to complaing of his misery, seeing this to be the case, that whether a man be wicked or righteous, he must suffer much misery: The wicked by the woe, that shall further be to him, besides his miseries here: And the righteous by abundance of miseries in this life, for which he saith, that he will not lift up his head, that is, By being conceited well of himself, which were intolerable pride, and would be a means to make the Lord to increase them yet more: As followeth, V. 16. It increaseth, thou huntest me as a fierce Lion, and again: Thou showest thyself marvelous upon me. The vulg. And for pride thou wilt take me as it were a Lion, and returning thou dost marvelously torment me. The word rendered increaseth, or for pride is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifying either to be proud, or to increase: But because it is a Verb and not a Noun, it is best rendered Increaseth: And the next words show how, viz. God pursuing him, as a fierce Lion, against whom what can a poor weak man do? The Sept. Whom many Greek writers follow, hath it: I am taken as a fierce Lion, whom the hunters persue, with many wounds, till they have destroyed him: For the last words of the verse, Hebr. It is, Thou shalt make thyself wonderful upon me. Whereby God's various dealing towards him, is set forth, as indeed it was, in that after tearing him like a Lion with his judgments, he turned his captivity so wonderfully, as he did, chap. 42. and therefore the Vulg. mistook the matter rendering it, mirabiliter me crucias. For in these words, Job showeth rather again, what a confidence he had, that God returning to him in mercy, would do wonderfully for him in the end; the word turning here, and the turning of his captivity, there so aptly answering the one to the other, to approve this exposition.

Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and renewest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me. A great difference is here amongst Expositors, who the witnesses be, that he here speaketh of: Some saying, That the Devil is meant, who first stood against Job, chap 1. and 2. Some these his friends, who came to visit him, who came not without God's providence to lay such things to his charge as they did, and some his dolorous sufferings from whence, as from witnesses men gather, that he was wicked, because that otherwise he should not have had them laid upon him, for stupendous judgments declare oft times, as witnesses, that the man whom they be fall is some way notorious: Thus Augustine whom most follow, and indeed he speaketh most probably: Yet the friends of Job would not be excluded from bearing a part in this Testimony, for they together with his judgments made war, as it were upon him, per 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , by word fighting with him, as immediately followeth: And in speaking thus he allu death, to the manner in Courts; wherein the Judge examineth witnesses against prisoners, and then proceedeth to denounce judgment, and to execute them accordingly, by the hands of his Executioners, who are as his Soldiers to slay them. Verse 18. 19. are to the same effect, that he spake, chap. 3. 11. Thus, Job like a man almost distracted by sufferings, sometime turneth himself one way and sometime another; seeking by all means some ease to his grieved mind. For the verses following, to the end of the chapter, V. 20. 21. 22. There is nothing in them, but a repetition of speeches before uttered by him, of the shortness of his days, craving therefore to be spared a little before his going hence, and no more returning, into a Land of darkness, and confusion; that is, The dark places of the Earth, where his body must lie and become worms-meat and dust, promiscuously mingled with other bodies: for that he speaketh only of his body, is declared, chap. 19. 26.

CHAP. XI.

HHere Zophar the Naamathite, the other two friends of Job being answered, taketh his turn to vex him further by his speeches also: Naamah was a City in the Land of Uz, eighteen miles from Jobs pyramis, saith Adricomius, from thence he was called the Naamathite, because the Prince thereof: It signifieth fair, and Zophar. speculator, a watcher: He first beginneth with a bitter exordium, V. 2. Should not a multitude of words be answered, and V. 3. Sould thy lies make men hold their peace &c. V. 4. Thou hast said, my doctrine is pure, I am clean in thine eyes. In which three verses, he layeth threefold sins to his charge, as Ferus noteth. First, Vain multiplying of words, which is such a sin, that Solomon saith: Who so useth many words, there is more hope of a fool then of him. It implieth selfconceitedness, in regard of a man's own wisdom; as if he alone could speak [Note.] to the purpose, and all others were bound in silence to hear him: This is to sin with the tongue, and to be unruly herein, as is said Jam. 3. And therefore by all men to be taken heed of, the greater prater being the most fool, contrary to which it is said, That man is wise, that speaketh few words. But Job is unjustly accused for this, because his words were not multiplied out of an affection to speak much, but out of his anguish and grief of spirit, for his long continued intolerable sufferings, in which to utter many words, if they be true, and tend to the easing of his own mind, and the instruction of others, as Jobs did, are not vain or sinful. Secondly he chargeth him with lies, and blasphemies against God, which is another most abominable sin, as of which the Devil is the father; and of liars it is said: That they shall be shut out of the new Jerusalem, with dogs and witches. Thirdly, With pride and arrogancy, for justifying of himself, because he spake, as if he thought himself more hardly dealt withal, then he was worthy: For this is intolerable pride in any man, since whatsoever judgments God layeth upon the most just man that is, are laid upon him deservedly, for so much as he is not without sin, as Job confessed of himself, both, chap. 7. and 10. Only it is to be understood, that although he be worthy in himself considered, yet being considered as faithful, and so in Christ and [Note.] Christ in him, he is not worthy of such sufferings: wherefore it is to be held, that they are not punishments of his sins, so that it cannot hence be gathered, that he is a great sinner and an hypocrite, but trials of his faith and patience, working a far more surpassing weight of glory unto him. Zophar then was the liar, and not Job, in anything that he had spoken: But this is the condition of the best in this World; yea of Christ himself, to be thus evil spoken of by wicked detractors: And therefore no faithful person ought to be dismayed at it, but comforted, according to that of our Lord. Blessed are ye, when all men speak all manner of evil of you falsely, great is your reward in Heaven, for so they persecuted the Prophets that were before you: And Paul was called a babbler.

Oh! That God would speak, and open his lips against thee.

That he would show thee the secrets of wisdom; and that they are double to that which is: Know therefore that God exacteth less of thee, then thine iniquity deserveth. Having charged him with the foul faults before spoken of: Now he insinuateth another way into him, to persuade him to change his mind, and to assent to him and his fellows; and to confess, that he was so great a sinner under the vayl of hypocrisy, as his fellows and he had charged him to be: And this is a notable cunning of wicked Heretics to mention God, as approving of their errors, if by speaking he would from [Note.] Heaven declare himself plainly, that we may heed of those that labor this way to work upon us, when by right reason they are able to evince nothing, which they say: The vulg. For these words, Double to that which is, hath Quod multiplex est lex ejus, Hebr. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 doubles to the being, that is, manifold more, then is by thee apprehended: As is further intimated, V. 7 Canst thou by searching find out God? That is, in his ways; as if he had said, no man can: And therefore as being ignorant of his doing, he ought to think that just which he doth, although he cannot tell, how it should be: And how obscured his ways are, and beyond man's capacity to comprehend, he further declareth, V. 8, 9, And therefore whatsoever he doth unto him, it were best for him to be silent: For to oppose his doings in word or deed, is most vain, V. 10. If a man knoweth not his own sins, God knoweth them, and findeth him out to punish him. For vain man would be wise, although he be born like a wild Ass colt. The vulg. He thinks himself to be born as a wild Ass colt, Expounded very well by Gregory thus. As a wild Ass colt not used to the yoke, runneth up and down the large fields and Woods at his pleasure, and when he is weary lieth down, and thus doth form day today: So man by nature is licentious, running as his lusts carry him, to all manner of sin; and giveth not over running till he is weary, he will not be held in by any reins, or kept to do the work he should by any yoke, which the Lord by teaching seeks to put upon him: But against this Job is exhorted, V. 13. Many promises being propounded to move him, and who so will not, is threatened V. 20. Some great judgment or sickness shall come upon him, to tame him; whereby he shall be made even like unto one dying for fear, and ready to give up the Ghost: As that fierce persecutor Saul was dealt with, when the posted from one place to another, persecuting the Church of Christ: But being smit down and terrified, he was calmefyed, and said: Lord what wouldest thou have me to do?

Thus Gregory, and the reading followed by him, best giveth the sense, although by the New Translat. the words are best rendered, according to the Hebrew word: And this is a good admonition to all men, that are swayed by the corruption of their nature, although misapplied to this holy man Job; let libertines then that will do what they lust, and be bound [Note.] by none of God's bands, but break all them asunder, think upon this, what a wild and asse-like race they run; and what grievous judgments hange over their heads, therefore in this World to tame them, and if they be not so brought into better order, what greater judgments shall seise upon them forever in the life to come, or rather the second death.

To come now to the Exhortation made, to such as are in the case aforesaid, V. 13. If thou wilt prepare thy heart, stretch out thy hands unto him, &c. But all that he saith, in exhorting him to prayer, and propounding the blessings, that should ensue hereupon, is but to the same effect, with that of Eliphaz, chap. 5. 8. 9. 10. &c. But Gregory following the Vulg. Lat. Thou hast hardened thy heart, Tu firmasti cor tuum, Expounds this verse, as a continuation of his reprehension, but the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth first and chiefly to prepare, although it signifieth to hold on stiffly and stoutly also, and the conjunction 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is if, not but, as there it is rendered: So that he plainly tometh in these words, to instruct him, what is best in the case in which he was to be done, that he might come out of it, viz. To prepare his heart and to pray unto God: And withal, because God heareth not sinners, to put the iniquity in him far away by confessing it, and not suffering it to dwell in his Tabernacles; that is, renewing it anymore: Four excellent things, as Ferus noteth, To be commended to all men, that it may [Note.] be well with them, to get a sanctified heart, to pray with stretched out hands, to confess and be sorry for their sins, and to hate them so, as not to give them entertainment anymore, or in their Tabernacles, that is, houses, to tolerate sin: And then he subjoineth double the number of blessings that shall be upon him, that doth thus: First Thou shalt lift up thy face without spot. Secondly, Be steadfast and not fear; without spot, none of thy lesser sins, which through human fraielty thou fallest into, being imputed unto thee, but perfect righteousness: And the fear of damnation and God's wrath shall be taken away, there being now no wavering through unbelief, as it is said of Abraham: Where note, that the wicked, who through faith make themselves sure of God's acceptation, notwithstanding their going on in sin, have no true faith indeed, but their [Note.] steadfast believing is carnal presumption, because their believing followeth, upon the putting away of iniquity, as was aforesaid, not only in themselves, but their families also; they therefore that do such things, and favor them that do, are rather then faithful, given over to a reprobate sense, which makes them yet without fear of death.

3. Thou shalt forget thy misery, or if not, remember it, but as waters that pass away. There shall be no sense of sorrow for bodily sufferings, but being by faith looked upon as trials, and tokens of God's love, there shall be more joy then sorrow; and when thou art set free from them again, thou shalt look upon them, but as Noah upon the Flood, when it was past, with thankfulness to God, who hath brought thee out of so great dangers, offering sacrifice therefore as he did.

4. Thine age shall be clearer then the noon day, thou shalt shine forth as the morning.

Hereupon Gregory, who upon the words before going, Like waters passed away, saith, that such are all the miseries of this life to the faithful, whose hearts are already in heaven, they count them as already past, because they are sure even when they suffer, they are but as waters, soon flowing away, and after a while, no new supply of any such shall come upon them anymore. He I say, upon these saith, that although the faithful servants of God look upon afflictions as waters passed away, yet they work something upon them whilst they suffer them, being made stiff, as it were, as a man lying in Winter, or in the night in the cold water. Therefore to comfort here-against, it is further added, Thine age shall be clearer then the noon day, &c. That is, as after the night, the shining light of the Sun soon followeth, at the least at noon day, which is towards the evening, and after the next night followeth another bright shining morning: so after the night of affliction shall come, although it be some time long first, the light of consolation: and as miseries come on again, more timely comfort, till that bright shining morning shall come at the last, after which it shall be all day, and no night more forever.

5. Thou shalt be secure because there is hope, thou shalt dig about thee, and take thy rest in safety. Vulg. Thou shalt have confidence, hope being set before thee. That is, saith the same Gregory, by temptations thy confidence shall be increased in hope of greater joy to come; for the more a man suffereth that is in God's favor, the greater shall be his reward in the world to come, according to that of our Lord; Great is your reward in heaven. And the Psalmist setteth forth the joy to come after sorrow, saying, They that go forth weeping, and sow their seed, shall come rejoicing, and bring their sheaves with them. But what is meant by saying, Thou shalt dig about thee, and then rest in safety? Either being resolved to die, and that in dying, a Crown shall be attained, as Paul saith, Now remaineth the crown of righteousness, &c. Thou art already digged into the ground, as it were, and so sleepest securely in respect of bodily dangers; or else thou shalt dig and rest securely, is, as much as if he had said, as they that dig cast out the earth in the inner parts of the earth▪ so thou digging by laboring about it to expel the love of earthly things and worldly cares out of thy mind, having once done this, shalt rest securely, there being nothing to trouble or wake thee, as there is in the minds of the worldly minded, especially if they be in danger of sustaining any great loss. For the former of these Expositions, it is made upon the Vulg. rendering the words thus, Defessus dormies secure: The Heb. word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth also, thou hast digged, or explorasti, thou hast tried. Junius renders it, exploratus es, Thou art tried. And if we take it so, the sense will be plain, doing the things before spoken of, thou shalt have sure confidence in God, which shall not deceive thee, thou art found to be right, or thou hast tried; thou art as sure that it shall be thus with thee, as if thou hadst already found it by experience. Divers other Expositions are brought, 1. Cajetan reading it, Thou shalt dig, that is, thy servants shall work abroad in the fields, digging, or otherwise laboring without being in danger of violence by enemies coming upon them.

2. Eugubinus, Thou shalt dig, as it were, by searching to find out how to do all things for the best, and shalt in all prosper.

3. Dyonisius, and Thomas Aquinas, When thou art laid in the ground, being dead, thou shalt by none be disturbed.

4. Tygur, interpretation, Thou shalt be secure, as they that lie within trenches made round about them.

5. Rabbi David: Thou shalt dig only about the City, and not need to make any walls about it for thy security. If it be rendered by digging, that of the Tygurine Interpreters is to be preferred for the literal sense, and that of Gregory is a good Allegory; but I take it to be best to render it by exploration or trial, as the sense hath been given before. Hitherto five great blessings, and this fifth may be distinguished into three.

1. Thou shalt be confident. 2. Thou hast tried, or digged. 3. Thou shalt [ 6. 7.] rest in safety, and when thou liest down, none shall make thee afraid. So that here are seven benefits.

8. Many shall make suite to thee. In such high and honorable place shalt thou be, that many others shall seek unto thee to have thy countenance and favor. And these eight may be reduced all to four, according to the four virtues before going: 1. A good name, and unblemished. 2. Secure and safe living, to which that of verse. 18. and 19. may be also referred. 3. For sufferings, to look upon them as shortly past and gone. 4. Exceeding great comfort, as the noon day light shining most brightly, and after this a morning of endless comfort.

But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, but their hope shall be as of one giving up the ghost. That is, their light and comfort shall be darkness and misery, and their dangers shall be great, and take effect against them: and if they have any hope to be delivered, it shall be but like the hope of a dying man, who although he hopeth that he shall live, yet he shall surely die: So what hope soever such have, when they are ready to depart, of living eternally, it shall be frustrated. The Vulg. hath for the last words, Their hope is an abomination to the soul. Heb. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 properly signifying, exsufflatio animae, the breathing out of the soul, or the giving up of the ghost, as in the N. Tr. Gregory by the eyes understandeth the intention of the mind, according to which our Lord saith, The light of the body is the eye. And what is the intention of the wicked worldlings, but to get worldly things in abundance, and to enjoy them always? but of this he shall be disappointed, although here for a time he hath plenty, and denieth nothing that is pleasant to himself, against poverty he getteth riches, against contempt he [Note.] getteth honors, against sadness, sports and delights, against appetite to his meat failing, variety of dainties, for all things he findeth a refuge. But whilst he is thus doing, this life runneth away, and death cometh, and then he hath no refuge more against the wrathful countenance of the strict Judge, there he is alone before the Judge to have the sentence of everlasting damnation denounced against him: and where is his hope now? it utterly faileth, and his soul perisheth forever. Then upon the sudden pleasure is withdrawn, the sin run into for pleasures sake remaineth, and they learn by perishing miserably that they held perishing things; yet while they lived corporally, they ceased not to seek those hurtful things, or these things that should do them so much hurt in the end.

CHAP. XII.

ZOphar having spoken, as he thought, most wisely, and as one able to instruct Job, now he answereth him by deriding him and his fellows for their self-conceitedness, when as they had spoken nothing, but what he knew very well before, as he showeth by speaking much more, in setting forth the power and wisdom of God, then he had done. For his deriding of them V. 2.

No doubt but ye are the people, and Wisdom shall abide with you. It is commonly reproved in Scripture, as a great sin, to deride and to despise others, as in Ishmaell mocking at Isaac, Michal at David, the Children of Bethel at Elisha, and Sennacherib at Hezekiah, The Jews at Christ upon the Cross, and at his Apostles, Act. 2. and many others: But the mocking of Job was not such, but as that of Elijah mocking at Baals prophets, and of Michaiah at Ahab, saying, Go up to Ramoth Gilead, and prosper, and of Isaiah at Idolaters to make them ashamed of their sins, and repent: so Job, that these men instead of glorying in their wisdom wherein they thought they excelled much, ashamed that they had no more wisdom to decline so gross an error, as wherein they were held touching him, judging him wicked for his bodily sufferings and the speeches that he used to defend his innocence against them; Despisers then, and mockers in general, are not hereby justified, but only the godly-wise that do it out of zeal for God's glory and against sin, and upon just cause, that they, who do, or speak evil, may being thus made ashamed, repent: As for other mockers at piety in any they are as Sennacherib, whom Isaiah challenged saying, whom hast thou despised or mocked, and [Note.] therefore threateneth him with curbing and destruction; or at misery in any of God's people, as the Babylonians and Edomites are said to have done, and therefore they are pronounced blessed that shall pay them with their own coin, destroying them and aggravating their misery with the greatest cruelty. For the pride of these men and their self-conceitedness, Gregory saith well, that it put them on to teach one more learned then themselves, and they were like men lighting upon a vessel full of liquor, pour [Note.] in more, which because it is full already, is all lost; for such speak not that others hearing them may learn of them, but as a man that hath plenty of those worldly things giveth to such as have no want, that they may be thought greatly to abound, & so be more magnified, so these men • o purchase to themselves the reputation of the teachers of Job, bestow largely upon him that of which he was full already. Pride then makes men teach those that are able to teach them, but hereof they shall reap nothing but shame although for a time they please themselves by thus their own magnifying; therefore all who are humble, if they know more then others, teach such as know less, but not presume to take upon them over the more learned, but be silent before them sitting to hear and learn yet more of them. This because proud heretics forget, they commonly set themselves to detract from the Orthodox, as ignorant, or superstitious, that they might be counted the only men of knowledge & their errors embraced: but they are like these false friends of Job, and false prophet of Baal, Zedekiah, that insulted over the true prophet Michaiah, and shall be judged accordingly, as he was, and these men had a sharp check from God in the end, so shall they if coming to themselves they make such their friends again as they have calumniated, otherwise their rebuke will be far worse, and unexpiable even by Jobs sacrificing for them; For Jobs saying, that he had wisdom as well as they, herein he shown no pride, for that he made himself not superior, but equal to them, not to magnify himself, but to pull down their pride.

I am as one mocked of his neighbor, who calleth upon God, and he answereth me: The just upright man is laughed to scorn. The vulg. He that is derided of his friend as I, shall call upon God, and he will hear him: The simplicity of the just is derided. Hebr. Derided of his neighbor, I am calling upon God. To which N. Tran. cometh nerest, but only in the last words. For he heareth me, It is, Heareth him. But both this and the vulg. come to one; Job compareth himself to a man derided, who careth not for their speeches, that deride him, but turneth him to God; as with whom innocence and uprightness is regarded, whereas by such it is mocked at, when a man is in misery, an I brought most low.

He that is ready to slip with his feet, is like a Lamp despised by them that live at ease. The vulg. A lamp despised in the thoughts of the rich, prepared for an appointed time. and Hebr. word for word the same, but only for rich 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 quiet, free from trouble, enjoying prosperity, as they that have and hold their wealth, not being robbed thereof do: But the word quiet or at ease, best expresseth the meaning, because this implieth both wealth and health, which Jobs friends had, but he now wanted: And whereas N. Tran. hath it. He that is ready to slip with his foot, is a despised lamp. There is no word in the verse more but 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 foot, therefore if it be rendered accordingly, no more can be made of it but thus, A lamp despised in the thoughts of the quiet, set up for a time, a foot. Of which words what else can be the meaning, if we look back to V. 4. but this? the righteous man shining in virtue, and esteemed of accordingly, is now despised as a lamp that is out; and accounted not as an head and honorable, for his virtue anymore: But as a foot despisable, his wealth being gone, and his body soar smitten, as Jobs was; but they be blind worldlings, that think thus of him, who measure men, and estimate them only according to their present worldly possessions.

Gregory saith, That the poor just man, is here compared to a Lamp extinct. Because he shineth inwardly, by the virtue of an upright heart, but outwardly is, as it were extinct, because there is nothing outward to commend him, No glorious apparel, no goodly houses, no wealth, costly fare, or attendans as the rich have: And therefore think vilely of such, as have not about them, as they have: But such a Lamp he saith, is set for an appointed time, That is, the day of Judgment, when he shall shine most brightly, even as the Sun, as the Lord speaketh: And sit upon a Throne with him as a Judge, the rich wicked, that have shined in Worldly glory for a little time, having all their glory put out forever, and thrust into utter darkness.

The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure, into whose hand God bringeth abundantly. Here Job passeth from speaking of Lamps shining by virtue to dark and black Souls, notorious for oppressions and robberies: But since they provoke God, how is it that they are full, and how is God said to bring in abundantly into their hands: Sol. He bringeth not this abundance in, as a blessing to them, but in way of judgment against others, from whom their goods be taken: Yet sometimes they have the better of it, who are robbed, and the robbers the worser, because the sins of these are thus punished, but the sins of those increased, these being stripped of their worldly goods, having occasion given them the more to distrust worldly thinsg, and to lift their hearts up to Heaven to get them a treasure there. But those by their prevailing, being hardened to go on in their sins till far greater judgments befall them: A consideration truly for all oppressors, that be in place and authority, for they are no better then Thieves and Robers, and so they are called by the Prophet, saying: Thy Princes are companions of Thieves. It is no arguing, God bringeth these into [Note.] our hands, therefore he approveth of our doings; no no: For so he hdotitn. o the hands of robbers, who are said yet to provoke him.

But ask now the Beasts, and they shall teach thee: And the fowls of the Air and they shall tell thee, &c. Job having hitherto answered to the nip given him by Zophar, for his many words, as though he only were wise and something to the common argument against him, to prove him a wicked man; because he suffered such grievous things: Now he proceedeth to speak to that, wherein he thought to show himself most wise; that is: In his discourse about the power and wisdom of God: And herein he so vilifyeth him, as if in speaking hereof, he had shown no more wisdom, then the dumb Beast hath, or the Birds of the Air, or the Earth, or Fishes, because all these in their several shapes, and forms, representing themselves unto us, do in effect tell us: That God by his almighty power and wisdom, made them, and therefore that his power is so great, as Zophar said. For whence had they their beings? for they made not themselves, therefore the very sight of them, is a silent teaching of this almighty power. Doth not the ear try words? And the mouth taste his meat? Here Job proceedeth further in vilifying that which Zophar had said, for although he knew how to speak things touching God, that were right; because he had heard thus much of him, whereby he had this knowledge, swimming as it were in his brain, but he tasted it not with the palate of his Soul; because he made no good use hereof, to love and fear God, as he ought, and as they that are taught of God do: And the same is the case of all that hear the words of God, but are not hereby sanctified; they hear of good and [Note.] nourishing meat, but they taste it not, although they can speak of it to others; but such as hear and lay to heart what they hear, to be reformed there after, they hear with their ears and taste, and feed hereupon with the mouth of the soul, to their everlasting comfort. Chrysost and Olympiod. give this for the sense, the ear by hearing words, can as easily know all that thou hast said, as the mouth by tasting meat, what is the taste thereof: and therefore little is the understanding of him, that knoweth to speak thus: Some will have this spoken of God, as if he had meant; that God could much more easily hear, and taste that which is spoken, to reject the evil and approve the good, then the ear of man, words spoken in his hearing, and his mouth taste his meat. For men that are ancient, have by long experience attained to such wisdom, as followeth, V. 12. that they can discern other men by their speeches: Much more God then can do it, who hath made the ear, and giveth men wisdom, for which he addeth by way of aplication, With him is wisdom and strength. V. 13. Let the Reader follow which he pleaseth: For my part I prefer that of Gregory, as most useful, and an exposition well agreeing with the words: And for the next words, V. 12. He maketh them thus to cohere, this taste in such spiritual food is not sufficiently confirmed to be in a man, when he hath for a little time thus relished it, but when as he hath gone on so to do, till his old age, then he hath this wisdom and true understanding indeed: But least it should be thought, that hereby he averred wisdom to be in all the ancient, which is not; for some such are still as children for wisdom, He addeth, V. 13. With him is wisdom and strength, He hath counsel and understanding. That is, God who is the ancient of days, wherein he both confirmeth that which was spoken before by Zophar, and wherein he had spoken a little, he speaketh much more, and more profoundly to show his shallowness, and how unadvisedly through his pride he had been, to undertake to teach him. Gregory by him in this verse, understandeth the Son of God: From hence to the end of the chap. The mighty acts of God are set forth, whereby his power and wisdom are proved to be infinite, which Zophar had only spoken of without proving.

He breaketh down and cannot be built up again, he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. Gregory here by breaking down, understands destroying everlastingly, and to this end, the breaking down of God's Image in a man, which is in righteousness and holiness: Now God doth not this any other way, but by leaving a wicked man to himself, not giving him grace: For to such a man, no Preacher can do anything to build him up, every mouth being dumb, that speaketh to him, whose ears God openeth not: That is, the ears of his heart; he also shutteth up a man as it were in Prison; when he leaveth him to the accusation and condemnation of his own evil conscience, wherein the wicked lie, as it were, imprisoned, till that being brought forth at the last day: They be by the just Judge condemned and sent into the everlasting flames of Hell fire; which should make every man to have a great care to keep a clear conscience towards God [Note.] and men: As the Apostle Paul saith, that he did, that he may never be thus shut up, or broken down; for then woe will be unto him, and they are none but men of an evil conscience, that are thus served: As Pharaoh and Judas, whose conscience condemned and forced him, to do execution upon himself, and so he sinned more then he had done before, in betraying his Lord: And the like may be said of Esau, having spoken so contempteously of his birth-right, he was shut up from coming in for the blessing, even against his Fathers will; and when he came, he could not be opened, that he might receive it, although he sought it with strong cries and bitter. Ferus going according to the later, expoundeth it of works set up by men, but by God broken down, as the Tower of Babel and the Walls of Jericho: and of Babylon afterwards ruined by Cyrus: And the shutting up of man, of his giving him into the enemies hands, to be taken and carried away captive and imprisoned, as the Jews were by the Chaldees; and Manasseh that most wicked King: And as Ferus so Engubin. Tilloman, &c. But although it be thus understood according to the letters, any man may easily give the sense of it so without an interpreter. Gregory therefore who findeth more herein for further instruction and edification, is not to be slighted, but much to be esteemed of, for his opening greater mysteries that lie hid herein.

He withholdeth the waters, and they dry up; he sendeth them out, and they overturn the Earth. Here is another argument of his infinite power, when he withholdeth rain, a great drought is caused, and when rain falleth in abundance, which is also at his will, a sloud is made, which galleth and washeth away the earth in many places; and sometime the flood was so great, that all buildings erected out of the earth, were overturned hereby and drowned, as in the time of Noah. But of this also, Gregory makes an allegory; saying, The waters here set forth, either the word preached, or the spirit, which is often set forth hereby: If there be no teaching, as there is not, when God taketh it away for sin: Or if there be teaching, and not the spitit working herewith, men that came out of the earth, dry and wither in grace; but contrariwise these waters being made to flow, the Earth is overturned, that is: Earth-lives in men's minds, Heaven-lives of mind succeeding: According to which our Lord saith. That which is born of the earth is earthly, that which is born of the spirit is heavenly. Therefore [Note.] pray we against this judgment of a famine, of hearing the word of God, of which Amos speaketh, and for the water of the spirit, that it may come together with this heavenly dew falling, as Moses calleth his doctrine, saying, My doctrine shall drop as the rain, and my speech distil as the dew.

The deceived and the deceiver are his. The vulg. He knoweth the deceiver and the deceived. But Hebr. It is as hath been said, and the meaning is, that they are both in his hands, the deceiver to have revenge taken upon him, and the deceived, who revengeth not himself, to have his cause righted; so it is threatened, 1 Thes. 4. 6. And this argueth both the wisdom and power of God spoken of, in the beginning of the verse, his wisdom to find our the deceiver, how cunningly and closely soever he goeth to work, as he did Achan, Gehazi, and Annanias, and his power to be revenged upon such, which should both terrify deceivers, and comfort the deceived and wronged in any matter, and make them patiently to commit the wrong to God, and not to revenge themselves, which to do were to take their deceivers out of God's hands, and to put themselves in to be punished for this their precipitant hast.

He leadeth Counselors away spoiled, and maketh Judges fools. That is, his wisdom is so great, that Counselors and Judges, who be the wisest men, are but fools in comparison of him, yea when they think to do wisely, he infatuareth them, and they do foolishly, as men spoiled of their greatest treasure, their wisdom, as Achitaphells wisdom was turned into foolishness. A warning to Judges and Counselors not to take ill causes [Note.] in hand, to justify them for a reward, as many do, thus deceiving him that hath a good cause by their cunning, of his right, it is just with God, when they improve their wits to so evil an end, to infatuate their causes, and to make them as despicable as before they were honorable.

He looseth the bond of Kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle, V. 19.

He leadeth Princes away spoiled, &c. The vulg. Contrariwise he looseth the girdle of Princes and girdeth their loins with a rope. But the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 which is put last, signifieth a girdle, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 put first, a girdle or bond, Vinculum, and therefore it is meant that sometime he looseth the bonds, into which Princes are brought, and advanceth them again to Kingly dignity, the ensign whereof was of old, a precious girdle, as it is at this day a sign of honor, so Manasseh was dealt by when he repented; And Jeremiah having been long in prison, in the time of the reign of Evilmerodach, was again honored and set up as a King: But as he doth this sometime, so on the other side, he sometimes giveth Princes and most mighty men into the hands of their enemies, to be spoiled and abused, as Sampson was.

He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. Here by the speech of the trusty, by Vulg. rendered Veracium: of true speakers, some understand the comfortable promises made by the Prophets, which are removed; for when no comfort is by them spoken anymore but all terrible things for the sins of them to whom they spake good formerly. Some, the teaching of men wise and learned, and formerly making conscience to teach nothing but the truth; but being drawn by men more then by God, and by the fear or favor of them, they have this faculty of speaking the truth taken away from them, & now it's common with them, for truths, to utter lies, as it was with the Scribes and Pharisees, whom our Lord often disgraceth, by calling them fools and blind for their foolish teaching. And such are Popish Priests, who formerly were Ministers of Christ; but to please the Pope, or for fear of him, they now and long have taught lying [Note.] legends and fables for God's word, which only is truth. And even among ourselves in these days, some are greatly degenerated, who well performed the office of Evangelists before, but now worse then Balaam, speak other words for a reward, then God putteth into their mouths, for which they may justly fear to perish more then he did, and undergo the ignomy of the name of foolish Prophets, although they think that herein they do most wisely, getting by this means countenance and preserment, which others that will not be changed from Truth-speakers, want, yea meet with hard measure although there be nothing else against them.

He poureth out contempt upon Princes, &c. The Vulg. in these words agreeing, for the next have words divers from the Heb. and New Tr. which are, And weakeneth the strength of the mighty. But in vulg. Releiveth them that are oppressed. But this is thus salved by the Jesuit, it is thus rendered by the Sept. and so best answereth, as opposite to the first clause, and it is to the same effect, The weakening of the mighty, that oppressed others, being the relieving of the oppressed. Then for his wisdom he saith, He discovereth dark things. Vers. 22. And for his power, He enlargeth the nations, and streightneth them, Vers. 23.

And he taketh away the heart of the chief of the people, and maketh to wander in the wilderness where there is no way. That is, as he hath all wisdom, so when he pleaseth, he maketh Kings and Judges fools, having in their troubles no heart to understand what to do, or which way to take for the best, so that they wander, as it were in a wilderness, in their consultations, finding no way out, although they groap for it by beating their baines about it, but all in vain.

CHAP. XIII.

I Have seen all this. Here Job concluding first his discourse touching God, of whom he saw and knew as much and more then they who undertook to teach him, and therefore that he was not inferior to them in knowledge, proceedeth after his approving what Zophar and the other two had said rightly, to impeach Zophar for lying, as he had dealt before with him, Chap. 11. 3. For which as thinking them unworthy to be spoken to anymore, he appealeth to God, saying, I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God, but ye are forgers of lies, Physicians of no value. Whereas Job saith, ver. 1. Mine eye hath seen all this, and mine ear hath heard and understood it: Gregory well noteth, that a man seeth with his eyes, and heareth with his ears indeed, when he understandeth; for to hear, or see, and not to understand, is not to hear or see, as also may be gathered from that of our Lord, Lest they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and not understand with their hearts. But who so by seeing and hearing cometh to understand not some things, but all things concerning God and his doings, his wisdom and power which are to be taught unto others, is a Prophet. Others are but as Pharaoh, who saw the lean and fat Kine in his dream, portending things to come, but he understood them not. Or as Belshazzar, who [Note.] saw the writing of the hand upon the wall, but understood it not. Yea, the people of these times herein come short of Pharaoh; for he hearing his dream interpreted, understood the will of God, and made provision accordingly, to preserve his people and himself, when the Famine should come: but they upon hearing, understand not, to take any course whereby to be saved from destruction to come, no not when all things are expounded and laid open unto them again and again many times. And the modesty of Job is herein again to be noted, in that still he counteth not himself for his knowledge above them, but only said, he was not inferior to them: Whence we may [Note.] gather, that saving knowledge puffeth not up; but he that is endued with this, is still humble, not making himself superior, but equal to those that have understanding also, and do utter it for the instruction of others.

For his speaking to God, Vers. 3. that was meant by prayer, in all humility made unto him, and his reasoning with God, his coming, as it were, into Judgment upon the testimony of his good conscience, causing boldness and confidence; for they that humble themselves in prayer, confessing their sins, and sorrowing for them, and heartily turning from them, are bidden by God, Come and let us reason together, if your sins were as Crimson, &c. For this, and not otherwise may we speak unto, and reason with him.

For Zophars lying, verse. 4. the Vulg. renders it, Desiring first to show you to be forgers of lies, and embracers of perverse opinions: And the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 here used signifieth metaphorically Instaurare, as properly to heal: But if it goeth according to the metaphorical, signification, it must be rendered, Restorers, or builders of vanity are ye all. Where upon Gregory saith, Heretics typified by these are called builders; because as builders build with stones, so they their error with deceitful words.

O that ye would altogether hold your peace, and it shall be your wisdom. For so it is said, A fool when he holdeth his peace seemeth to be wise. As when the door is shut, it cannot be seen what is within the house: so the mouth being shut by silence, the folly that is within lieth hid; but being opened it cometh in view, and a man is seen what he is.

Hear now my reasonings, hearken to the pleadings of my lips. The Vulg. Audit meas correptiones, ad judicium labiorum meorum attendite, and the Heb. will bear either reading. Gregory following the Vulg. noteth that he speaketh first of correption or reproof, and then of judgment, because reproof must first be heard of a man's folly, and then he is fitted to hear that whereby he may be further edified in knowledge and grace: But Job seemeth in these words to reflect upon his former, ver. 3. of speaking to God, and reasoning, or coming in way of pleading in the Court of judgment before him.

Will ye speak wickedly for God, and talk deceitfully for him? Will ye accept his person? Will ye contend for God? Because Zophar had wished Chap. 11. 5. that God would speak, as not doubting, but if he would, he would be against Job as well as they: Now Job reproveth him therefore, and the rest, as men, that herein speak wickedly, and deceitfully, pretending zeal towards God, as if by something spoken by Job before, it had been derogated from his justice in Jobs justifying of himself: For this was in them a wickedness, and a very lie, as may appear by Jobs ingenuous confessing himself to be a sinner, in saying, Will he accept his person? He meaneth, in favor and respect born to him: Will ye utter things untrue? as they that are to speak betwixt a Judge and another poor man, for the respect that they bear to the Judges person, will speak untruly on his side. But if he be a just Judge, he abhorreth their false testimony and standeth for him: So, and much more Almighty God detesteth those that will speak anything untruly against the meanest of his servants, although they conceive that they speak so for his glory, for he needeth nor, neither will he allow of men's lying for him. Wherefore the inventers of lying legends to promote piety towards the Saints departed, although they thought that this was by consequence piety towards God, were employed in a wicked work, when they set themselves to write these things.

Is it good that he should search you out? and as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him? Vulg. Will it please him from whom nothing can lie hid? or will he be deceived by your frauds, &c? Bus N. Tr. is here word for word, according to Heb. Is it good that he search you out? For the next words 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth either mocking or deceiving; and the meaning is, will it be for the best for you to have God speak, as ye wished; If he should, he would certainly find you but to be such, as I have said: And although ye may by your colorable speeches deceive other men, and make them to think me wicked for suffering so great things, yet ye cannot deceive God, who well knoweth you, and me, and all men, and when he cometh to lay you open, will be ready to reprove instead of approving you in that which ye have said. And that this is his meaning, the next words show.

He will surely reprove you, if ye secretly accept of persons. That is, of his person, as the Vulg. rendereth it, and as it was spoken of accepting his person before. The word in secret is inserted to show, that in their judging of him, they went upon a matter that was secret and hidden from them, that is, sin in him, for which they judged him to be thus punished, when as they knew no such sin in him: For this he saith, as it were by way of prophesying, that God would reprove them, for so he did, Ch. 42.

Shall not his excellency make you afraid, and his dread fall upon you? Your remembrances are like unto ashes, &c. Just men saith Gregory, fear God, that when he smiteth, they may feel him quiet; but the wicked who fear him not, shall be troubled, and reproved, when he judgeth. And this is that which Job here saith, ye desire to hear him speak; but when he doth, it will be to the striking of such a terror into you, that ye shall not be able to endure.

Your remembrances are like ashes: That is, ye may devise by some means or other, and seek to continue your memories; but when ye have done what ye can for this end, it is but as if ye should make an heap of ashes for a memorial, which how soon doth the wind blow away? For men have but clay bodies, and their life being gone, where is the remembrance of them, that is, of the wicked, but the Just by looking at God only in all their doings, fixe therefore their remembrance in heaven, and so in eternity, according to which it is said, The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance.

Hold your peace, Let me alone, that I may speak, and come of it what will. The vulg. I will speak what my mind shall suggest unto me. Whereupon Gregory saith, that he prepareth them to hear the mystical things, which he was further about to speak, as followeth, Vers. 14. as not coming from flesh and blood, but from the spirit within him: Heb. it is, I will speak, and let anything pass, or anything shall pass over me: That is, according to other Expositors, whatsoever I suffer. But because this is the voice of a desperate man, such as Job never was, we may render it, What shall pass upon me? That is, whereas I have threatened you for your lies, that reproof and terror shall pass upon you, what shall pass upon me I fear not, for I plead before him that knoweth me better then you do, and knoweth me to be innocent in respect of that, which ye lay to my charge.

Why do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in my hand? Vulg. Why do I tear my flesh with my teeth, and carry my life in my hands? By Gregory expounded thus: Why do I inwardly take into consideration what is fleshly in me, and macerate myself with great sorrow therefore, as a man that teareth his flesh with his teeth, and by the works of my hands show what my heart within me is, if all this be of no force with you to prevent your rash judging of me. Some think, that this is spoken, as if he had said, What, do ye think me desperate, that I should lay violent hands upon myself, by tearing with my teeth my flesh? or with my own hands making my life away? Some, what great sin have I committed, that I am in this miserable case, as a man torn, and at the pang of death by his own means? I rest in the second for a literal sense, as to which the words following, V. 15. [Note.] do hest agree, and in the first for a mystical: And then note, that he is not like Job, that for any misery teareth, or doth violence to his own life, as it argued a great faith in Job expressed, Vers. 15. So doing contrariwise, no faith, but unbelief, and consequently damnation for evermore.

Although he slay me, yet will I trust in him, but I will maintain mine own ways before him.

Here is patience indeed in greatest adversity to trust in God; which in prosperity no man knoweth whether he doth or no, at the least he hath not yet proved it; for whilst God doth well unto him, every man will trust in him. But for the next words the Vulg. hath, I will reprove my ways in his sight, and he shall be my Savior. Heb. For in him is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifying not, where upon it is by some rendered, Behold he kills me, I will not expect: And indeed instead of this word though, is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 behold; but so taken it is by some read interrogatively, May I not trust, or hope; that is, I will hope. Some say, that which is sometime put for 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in him, as Pagnin. Thesaur. But without granting this change the sense is good, as hath been said: But for the next words I must needs rather hold with the Vulg. Latin, I will reprove, because 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth to reprove, although it signifieth to dispute also: and it is to be held, that to have God our Savior, we must rather judge and reprove ourselves and ways, then to maintain them, as it is said, If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

He also shall be my salvation, for an hypocrite shall not come before him. An hypocrite is one, that is, altogether intent to please men, and therefore although he makes a show of piety towards God; yet he brings not himself before God, by examining his heart and ways, as in his presence to judge and condemn himself for his sins, as he should: And in this sense he said, not to come before him, because if he did; he should not be an hypocrite: But not coming thus before him, he shall come before him at the last day, and be adjudged to have the portion of hypocrites, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Behold now I have ordered my cause, I know that I shall be justified. For cause Hebr. is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 judgment, that is, so that when I come to be judged of God, I shall be justified, as the Vulg. rendereth it, speaking nothing of ordering, which yet the Original doth. By which we may see the great confidence that Job had, upon his reproving and judging himself in his own heart, hereby he knew, that his matters were set in such an order; as that [Note.] God would justify and not condemn him, as they did, and so doth everyone, that likewise strictly looketh to his own ways, taking himself in his errings, and condemning himself therefore as a sinner, being accordingly humbled: But how doth that, V. 23. agree with this. How many are mine iniquityes and sins. And V. 26. Thou makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth, and writest bitter things against me. For if he were so great a sinner, and all his sins from his youth, were still recorded; how knew he that he should be justified at the day of Judgment?

Answ. Thus it was with him without God's mercy, but through his mercy and grace, he doubted not of being justified from them all: A notable place, to confirm the doctrine of justification, altogether of mercy, [Note.] and in no part for any merit of our own: To which effect also Gregory teacheth.

Who is he that will plead with me? For now I know, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the Ghost. The vulg. Therefore being silent, I am consumed. Hebr. I die. The meaning is, having cleared my conscience before God; by strictly looking to my ways, and for my failings, judging myself, let him that will come and accuse and contend with me, laying sin to my charge, I fear him not: It is the same in effect, with that of the Apostle. It is God that justifieth, who shall condemn? Because he spake before of God's justifying of him: And it is a speech worthy with all diligence to be attended unto; for which he calleth for attention, V. 17. He challengeth all men here, saith Gregory, if they could, to accuse him for anything outwardly done amiss by him, and herein if none could tax him, there was nothing, but evil cogitations in his heart, of which he could be guilty, but for these, from which none can be free, he held not his peace, but spake and complained internally hereof to God, by reproving his own ways, as hath been said: And if he should have been silent, and not speak hereof, and [Note.] bewail them; he should die and perish: Note then here first, that the righteous man's life is such, that no man can lay sin to his charge, so inoffensively and blamlesly, doth he live in all things: To which effect also John speaketh. He that is born of God sinneth not. 2. Although men can object nothing truly against him; yet he is not for this altogether without sin, for there be sins of thought, the law of the flesh rebelling against the law of the mind; as the Apostle speaketh, who in saying, The evil that he hated he did, meant not any sin outwardly committed; but the rebellious motions, that arose within him. 3. Even these if a man be silent, and complaineth not before God and men of them; but in all things justifieth himself, will be his death and destruction for evermore.

Only do not two things to me: withdraw thy hand from me, and let not thy dread make me afraid; then will I not hide myself from thee. What is it to be hidden from God, but to be out of the danger of his proceeding, in the strictness of his judgment against him, to his condemnation, out of which whilst he is not, he feareth and seeketh to hide himself from God, although in vain, as our first Parents did, but in deed none can do, no not if they could get the mountains to fall upon them, to cover them: But then shall not a man need to seek to hide himself, if God doth these two things to him.

First, Exempt him from the law, and the rigor thereof, which adjudgeth every sinner; yea in thought only, to death.

Secondly, Infuse his spirit and grace into him, to make him not out of servile fear, but filial love, to obey him in all things, because perfect love expelleth fear, as the Apostle John saith. And both these are attained by Christ, Rom. 8. 1. John 7. 37. Thus Gregory; but others according to the letter, Withdraw thy hand from me, be not so severe still towards me, as to continue me under thy sharp scourges, and if thou appearest to speak unto me, do it not in such a terrifical manner, as through astonishment at thy glory to kill me, because the seeing of God in majesty appearing, hath been always held to be mortiferous, as God said unto Moses, No man shall see my face and live, such an astonishing power, even unto death, is there therein.

Then will I answer to thy call, &c. Here by calling he meaneth, God's calling him, as it were, into the Court of judgment, to answer to that which should be objected against him, the two things before spoken of being done, he saith, he would not fear to be thus cited before his judgment seat, yea he knew, that if he should call to God to stand on his side, and be for him against the slanderous accusations of men, he would be ready to do it.

How many are mine iniquities; make me to know my transgressions and my sins. Before that a man can with his boldness and confidence, appear before God through Christ, he must have a sight and sense of his sins: Therefore Job confesseth and prayeth thus; and in desiring to have these shown him, he mentioneth two, Iniquityes and sins: By iniquityes greater sins, being understood; and by sins lesser: For this is the first act of grace, tending to justification, to be enlightened, to see the abomination of every sin, and the infinite number of our sins: Then cometh on apprehension of God's wrath and displeasure hereby incurred, he being by sin made our enemy, and to count us his enemies. V. 24.

Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and countest me for an enemy? And if God be an enemy to us, as he is to sinners, and all wicked persons; alas what are we to stand against him, even as a shaken leaf, without all strength to hold from shaking, when the least wind bloweth; or as the dry stubble to keep from burning, when fire cometh, as V. 25.

Wilt thou break a leaf to and fro, or pursue the dry stubble? To cause the greater terror, he looketh not only at sins more lately committed, but longe ago, even in the time of his licentious, and greater judgments decreed to be brought upon him therefore, V. 26.

Thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the sins of my youth. Upon the comparison made betwixt man and a leaf, Gregory saith, that by sinning at the first, man fell from being as a tree planted in Paradise, to be as a leaf fallen from a tree, as that is tossed about with the wind: So he being now exposed to the winds of diverse temptations, carrying him hither and thither, and as dry stubble is without all sap, so he is without all grace or goodness: Hereupon bitter things are written against him, and not spoken only, to intimate their durance; to express which further they are compared to a possession, whereof yet a man hath little joy, but great sorrows and long continuing: Herein then Job doth not only speak in his own person, but in the person of man in general, for this is the case of every Mothers Son, and to see into, and to be sensible hereof, is the only way to come to faith, whereby to stand confidently before God at the dreadful day of Judgment.

Thou puttest my feet also into the stocks, thou lookest narrowly into all my ways, and settest a print upon the heels of my feet. The vulg. All my paths; betwixt which and ways, Gregory maketh this difference: Waies are larger, paths narrower; God then is said, to look into all men's paths, when he looketh not only at the evil done by them, but the intention of their mind, which is not so easily discerned, but he discenteth it in everyone, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 indeed signifieth norrower paths, And for the print upon the heels of my feet. The vulg. Thou hast considered the footsteps. To the same effect, Heb. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 roots alike, setting forth heels and foot-stepts, the meaning is, not only my path are marked by thee, that is, wherein I commonly go, but if at any time I step out of the way: Whereby we may see, how narrowly God observeth and marketh the doings of men in everything, for which though the wicked knoweth not, yet the godly know, that they are held by sin committed as a man by his feet in the stocks, till that by repentance, and mercy shown unto them, they be released again: Gregory also observeth here, that God looketh at the hurt done to others, by examples given by men's evil doings unto them, leaving a print upon the ground, as it were, whereby others follow them, and so their sin is in this regard made the greater, V. 28.

And he as a rotten thing consumeth, as a garment that is moth-eaten. This is by the vulg. rendered in the first person, but Hebr. it is he, that is, man showing, that what hath been before spoken was spoken of man in general, whom he lastly compareth to a rotten thing and a moth-eaten Garment, of which, that which is the destruction, breedeth in it self, and is not perceived till that it be marred and consumed hereby; so sin cometh from a man's self, and hereby the wicked are consumed, not knowing it till it be too late, but it eateth into them daily more and more, till they die and utterly perish.

CHAP. XIIII.

HEre Job having spoken of a man's being consumed by sin, Chap. 13. 28. proceedeth to speak more at large of the frailty of his life, first caused by sin, saying.

Man that is borne of a woman, is of few days, and full of trouble, &c. Of which the sense is plain. And because he is so frail, and as was said before, like unto a leaf and dry stubble, he saith,

Why dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? As if he thought it an unworthy thing for the divine majesty to look so narrowly into his ways, and finding anything amiss in him, to proceed to the executing of his judgments upon him, and the rather because he is borne in uncleanness and sin, and hath no power to make himself clean, as followeth, V. 4.

Who can draw a clean thing out of that which is unclean? not one. Of being borne in sin, David speaketh, and of all Adams posterity, Paul, so that hereby the Anabaptist is convinced, that an infant is polluted by sin, and needeth washing by the water of baptism so soon as may be, and it is not in the power of any unclean person to sanctify himself or another, only Christ, who was born without sin, and who so would be cleansed must be cleansed by him, for he is the Lord our righteousness, and his blood cleanseth us from all sin, but neither can we come to him for this, unless the Father draweth us,

Seeing his days are with thee, and the number of his months are determined; thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass: By days here, Gregory understandeth the few days of a man's life by nature, by months larger spaces of time, to which notwithstanding he of his mercy prolonged his life: But whether a man liveth a shorter or a longer time, this is before by God appointed, he hath set the bounds of every man's time, which he cannot go beyond: And as of his life, so of his prosperity, and adversity, how long he shall enjoy the one, or be under the other: Here then we see the cause, why some likely to live long be short lived, and others more infirm live longer: God hath set the boundary of each ones life to the very day. Whereas Hezekiah pass this boundary fifteen years, it is answered, the time of his living set by God, was these fifteen years also: But the Prophet Isaiah was sent to him, to threaten him with death of the sickness, which then he had, because he merited it by his sin, that he might humble himself as he did. and so be released again from that dangerous sickness: or else it may be conceived, that the time set by the Lord, was then come, which although he could not pass, yet God could prolong his life still, at his pleasure, because it is only said, the bounds set him can no man pass.

Turn from him that he may rest, til he shall accomplish as an hireling his day. Having laid a ground for a plea, to be released from his present misery, now he prayeth for it, as if he had said: For so much as my time, of all men is very short, but a day, as an hirelings time is; give me some rest again, during this my short time, and then let the time of my departure come when thou pleasest.

For there is hope of a tree if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, &c. Of man returning no more, after that he is dead, see before chap. 7. 9, 10. Which is set forth by divers comparisons there; Here a contrary comparison from a tree is brought to illustrate it further, because man is often set forth by a tree in the holy Scriptures: For the literal sense, all things saith Gregory, are so plain here, that there is no need to say anymore upon that: But we may by this tree reviving again after cutting down, understand a just man, and by the man, betwixt whom and him the comparison is made, the wicked man: the just although he be cut down by death, suffering martyrdom in his younger time, and waxing old, dieth his natural death, or otherwise, yet he shall live again, yea although being dead, he lieth in the dust: And as the tree through the sent of water liveth again and brancheth, so he by divine virtue, coming from above, shall have his dead body raised up to live gloriously in heaven.

But man dieth and wasteth away, he giveth up the ghost, and where is he? And to make this allegory good, the just man is compared to a tree. Ps. 1. And • esse the Father of David is likened to a tree cut down, the stump only being left, but afterwards branching again:J And to waters is the spirit of God often compared, as hath been before said: And if this place be thus understood, Job showeth here the same faith touching the resurrection to glory, that he doth plainly speak of Chap. 19. 25. Although in this place obscurely and enigmatically.

As the waters fall from the Sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: So man lieth down, and riseth not till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake nor be raised out of their sleep. Here man's mind is compared to waters flowing from the Sea, and to floods of water, the one salt, the other sweet, because he is unstable in his ways, sometime having lustful thoughts in his mind, and sometime wrathful, and sometime covetous, yet his mind is sometime also as sweet water, for his thoughts of love and joy: And he is said when he dieth, to lie down, and then in speaking of his reviving, he saith: He awaketh no more til the heavens fail, to show that he believed, that the death of man, is but as a sleep, from which he shall at the end of the World awake, it being as easy for God then to raise him up, restoring to him his own body, as to wake one out of his sleep: Some because there is no word in the Hebrew signifying As, take it not for a similitude, but a dissimilitude, as that of a tree before going, as if he had said: Waters falling from the Sea, and floods be dried up, but going into vapors that ascend up in time, they dissolve again into rain; whereby these waters are renewed again: but with man lying down, that is dying, it is not so; thus Chrysost and August. And to waters dried up, are men aptly compared in death because then the Humidum radicale, the moisture, the prop of life, is dry •… up, but no more renewed til the last day, when yet it shall hot be restore •… to the same state of heat and moisture; but instead of natural, rise spiritual, as is taught, 1. Cor 15. And this exposition is most probable these two verses being spoken, like unto these before going of trees, the words rendered there, But man, being Hebr. And man, as here And man lyet •… down. If it be understood as a similitude, it holdeth not, because waters being dried up are renewed again, as hath been said, and the places where they were, continue not always dry, but if they be dry now, flow again with waters, time after time, to the end of the World: So doth not man, although there be one certain time appointed wherein he shall rise.

O! That thou wouldst hide me in the grave, and keep me secret, til thy wrath be past; that thou wouldst appoint me a set time, and remember me. The Vulg For Grave hath In inferno: Whence Gregory gathereth undoubtedly, that the faithful under the Old Testament dying, went to a place below near Hel, where they rested til Christ coming, and then were delivered and this he saith Job showeth here, that he knew very well, which made him pray so, and that God at his set time would remember him, coming then to take him thence, up to his heavenly Kingdom. For man being shut out of Paradise, the way was so kept; that he could not of himself ever enter in again anymore, therefore Christ must first come and take him thence up with him to the Paradise of God above. But from this exposition, even they that follow the Vulg. Lat. go except Lyra and Dionysius some saying, that nothing else is meant but that he desired to rest in the grave amongst the dead, provided that God would remember him in the time by him appointed, for all men to rise to life again, and thus he prayed, because in living here he had no comfort, by reason of the tokens of God's wrath now upon him: He therefore desireth rather to die, and lyein the grave, til the whole time of God's anger against his faithful servants should be past and the time come of making them to rejoice forever, which is not til the day of Judgment: Touching the place imagined where the faithful dying before Christ's coming, rested below near to Hel, there is no ground in holy Scripture for it, and therefore it is not probably so meant: For we read only of Heaven and Hel, and therefore this by them called Limbus patrum is non ens as well as Purgatory.

If a man dieth, shall he live again? All mine appointed time I will wait til my change cometh. This is added as a most comfortable conclusion upon the premises, as if he had said, is thus, when a faithful person dieth, shall he rise again at the appointed time before spoken of, then will I wait all the time appointed me to live here, comforting myself in the expectation of that most happy change to come, when corruption shall be changed into incorruption, and mortality into immortality: And as Job, so every faithful person should be comforted herewith, in the midst of all worldly sufferings. The vulg. For appointed time, hath the time of my warfare, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 also signifieth warfare, as was before shown, chap. 7. 1. And this life is a warfare for suffering hardship, but our comfort lieth in our hope of that blessed change, for then saith he. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee, thou wilt have a desire to the work of thy hands. Taht is, I shall answer thee by the similitude of thy holiness and glory, that shall be in me; but this I shall not have of myself, but thy hands shall work me to this: According to which it is said. We shall be like unto him, for we shall see him, as he is.

My transgresslon is sealed up in a bag, thou sowest up mine iniquity. This and V. 16. are not much unlike to chap. 13. 26. 27. Shew how God marketh and writeth and sealeth or soweth up, as it were, every man's sins, keepping a memorial of them to be opened at the day of judgment unless they be seriously repented of: The vulgar for these words V. 16. Dost not thou watch over my sin, hath, Parce peccat is meis, spare my sins, and if it be read without an interrogation Do not watch my sins, It comes all to one. He meaneth that God observed all his doings, but he prayeth not to deal strictly with him therefore by increasing his pain, as yet he did: And for the words V. 17. Thou sealest up my faults as in a sack, and cured mine iniquity, but the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth Conjungere or applicare, whereby yet may be meant joining together the gaping wounds made in me by iniquity after the manner of a Chirurgeon, that healeth them. And then it is meant, that although the Lord tracketh his Servants, as it were, in their sinnfull steps and recordeth them here to punish them, but by so doing he healeth them, and thus these words aptly follow those. V. 15. Thou wilt desire to the work of thy hands.

Surely the mountain falling cometh to naught, and the rock is removed out of his place: The waters wear the stones, thou washest away the things that grow out of the dust of the earth, and thou destroyest the hope of man. Having in the former words spoken of God's sealing up and yet healing his sins, now he showeth by what means even the best are tempted and drawn to sin, whereby they come to destruction. And here are two sorts of temptations spoken of by way of similitude. The one more violent, and sudden, as the falling of a mounntain and the removing of a rock: The other of longer continuance and more gentle, yet having its effect also, as the water which is continually falling, although it be soft, pierceth into and holloweth the hard stone, and waters running wash away things growing out of the earth, as trees growing by the rivers side, the ground about their roots being gulled, and so they made to fall and carried away. For thus even righteous men, some that stand as mountains or rocks by the sudden shaking of an earthquake fall, some as it were into the Sea vanishing, some from virtue to vice, as David standing as a mountain or rock through the spirit of grace and prophesy, which he had, being suddenly assaulted by the sight of Bathshebahs beauty fell into most gross sins, and Solomon standing as a mighty tree, or being impenetrable as a stone through the solidity of grace to his old age, then was pierced by the continual allurements of his idolatrous wifes, and had the fat earth of grace in which he stood and grew, washed away, whereby he fell to be an idolater also; and thus God destroyeth the hope of miserable man, as the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth: Thus Gregory who also rendereth the next verse thus.

Thou hast strengthened him with a little that he might pass on forever.