Commentary on the Old Testament Volume 2-4
But when they saw another, no way inferior to them, thus dejected, it should have stricken fear into them, and have made them thus to reason with themselves, we are as well worthy of these judgments as he, what need then have we to humble, and not lift up ourselves against him, least God seeing it destroy us with a far greater destruction then him: For this use do the righteous make of God's judgments upon others, but contrariwise to [Note.] take occasion hereupon to strout out themselves, as if they were better and to insult over the afflicted is the part of men far gone in wickedness, that may well expect, that their turn shall come next to drink of the cup of God's wrath filled even up to the brim.
Know now that GOD hath overthrown me, and compassed me with his net This he spake in reference to that which Bildad had said of the wicked, being taken in a net and snare. The vulg. At the least now understand that God hath not afflicted me with an equal judgment, he that compassed me with his scourges: but the word rendered in New Translation overthrown is smitten 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and in the rest it agreeth well • with the Hebr. But they who defend the vul. say that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth to smite so, as to oppres with his power which smiteth, which is in effect the same with the vul. But this being granted, what shall we say, can any man say, that God judgeth unjustly in any case, without the sin of blasphemy? It is answered, that Job meaneth nothing else, but that if he smote him thus, as they conceived, making him an example to others, for his notorious sins, he proceeded not with equity against him, for he by God's own testimony to Satan, after that he was first smitten in all that he had, suffered so much by Satan's instigation without cause, and therefore if these judgments had come upon him for his sins and not for some other occult reason, known only to God, they had not been just or equal: But all God's proceedings in judgment are just, therefore his meaning is such as hath been said, and that his friends ought not as they did, to look at his sins as the cause, but conceive that God had some other end in thus smiting him, and therefore it was their part and duty to forbear calumniating him anymore, and contrariwise to pity and comiserate his case: Job saith Gregory sinned not herein, because he spake no more then God spake of him to the Devil, Chap. 2. concluding, In quo itaque peccavit, quias authoris sui sententia in nullo discrepavit.
Behold I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard, I cry aloud but there is no judgment. Job having said, that he was not dealt justly withal, V. 6. Now beginneth to declare wherein: First, In respect of God, from hence to the end of V. 12. Secondly, In respect of men, V. 13. &c. to the end of V. 19. Thirdly, In respect of his sufferings in his Body, V. 20.
For the first, herein he saith the same in effect that he did before, he was not equally dealt withal for this, that in his extremity of sufferings his prayers were not heard, he had pleaded hereby, that the sufferings laid upon him, not for his sins, might be taken off, but he could have no audience: But it may be said, if they were laid upon him for his trial, and the proof of his patience, and consequently for his greater future good, how could he say without sin? that he could have no judgment, or justice, Sol. Sinn he did not in this or any other thing that he said, for if he did, as Gregory saith well, the Devil had prevailed, and would have triumphed, and with joy have been ready to object unto God, that it had fallen out as he had said, and that he was deceived in the man, whom he had so much magnified. In saying therefore that he was not heard, neither could have justice done him, he meaneth nothing else but that his extreme suffering continued still, he not knowing wherefore, although God knew very well, and through God's delaying to here him he was judged by men to be an extraordinary sinner, which was in them a most unjust judgment, V. 8.
He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, he hath set darkness in my paths: This is the second thing in his Declaration, his way out of trouble was, as it were, fenced about, or guarded with such a strong guard to keep him in misery still, that he saw not how he should ever get out, as a man going in the dark cannot see his way, but is wildred, and by darkness also he meant the darkness of his understanding, because there might be somewhat in him at which GOD was offended, although he knew it not, and so he was of a perplexed mind, as being uncertain, what the issue of these his calamities should be: For he had yet no inward comfort, but as sufferings without, so terrors within, as other faithful servants of God have also sometimes had? and Christ himself hanging upon the Cross, when he cried out, My God my God, why hast thou forsaken me? But as he was heard, and had a way made for him out of all his miseries, so Job at length had, and that with [Note.] great advantage; and so shall all the righteous have in God's good time, though for the present they want all sense of this comfort, which should make them hope against hope, in all times of greatest temptations.
He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the Crown from my head. This is the third particular, at which he found himself grieved, as being wronged, for the understanding of which, according to the letter, there needeth no exposition; for Job being so great a man before, lived in great glory, which was all now gone: But here is something further meant, viz. his righteousness; for righteousness is as a glorious garment: For which the Psalmist saith, Let thy Priests be clothed with righteousness. Of this Job counted himself stripped, when injustice and wrong was by these men laid to his charge, and God continued still silent; not doing for him, so as they might be confuted: For the crown of his head, that was the reward of righteousness in Heaven, which is given to those that overcome; but from him is this crown taken away; that lieth down under sufferings, looking only at worldly things, and not at heavenly, hereby to be comforted against them: But he that sometime doth thus, may raise up himself again, and so recover it being almost lost: And the Garment of righteousness; which [Note.] righteousness may be well called in some, for their putting it on outwardly, but not being made hereby glorious within, as it is said, the Kings Daughter is: This I say a man may be stripped off, and recover it again by repenting, after fading through infirmity under sufferings, and have it so fixed in his heart, as never to be denuded hereof anymore.
He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone, and my hope hath he removed like a tree. Here is the fourth particular in his declaration, be was not only smitten, but on every side, if he turned him to the left hand or to the right, if he look before or behind him, he saw nothing but destruction on the left hand, and behind him were worldly things, before him and on the right hand were heavenly; for those of the World they were gone; of the great abundance which he had, there being nothing left, for those that pertained to salvation, the spirit comforting in all sufferings; this also was now gone: Not only men, but God seeming also to be against him, and for the present his hope was no better, then of a dead tree plucked up by the roots, which cannot grow again.
He hath kindled his wrath against me, and counteth me as one of his enemies. This is a further amplyfication of that which he said, V. 10, showing that the Lord in destroying him on every side, had set fire, as it were, round about him, as an enemy doth by a City which he beseigeth and overcometh, and burneth it in every part down to the ground: And that nothing might be wanting to make it evident, that God was set to destroy him, he addeth, V. 12. His troops come together, and raise up their way against me. &c. Wherein speaking of troupes, he may well be thought to relate to the bands of the Arabians and Sabaeans, the fire and winds before spoken of that destroyed his Children, Servants, and Cattle, in a very short time: All which being put together, O! How great were Jobs miseries: But this was not all, for V. 13. He proceedeth to his sufferings, in respect of other men, saying, first, He hath put my Brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance. In reckoning up these he nameth. First, His Brethren. Secondly, Acquaintance. Thirdly, Kinsfolk. Fourthly, Familiar friends. Fifthly, Maides. Sixthly, Men-servants. Seventhly, His own Wife. Eeightly, Children. Ninthly, Inward friends.
Touching all which it is easily to be understood, according to the letter, what was meant hereby; he had no kinsman or friend abroad, or any in his house that regarded him, to minister to him in this his misery: But mystically here saith Gregory, Job was a tipe of Christ, to whom the Jews were as all these Brethren and kinsfolk in the flesh; daily conversant with him, and such as even before his coming in the flesh, were familiarly acquainted with him, by reading the Prophets, out of whose prophesies they taught him to come: They are also called his maids & servants, because of their servile condition under the law: And yet some of them; as the Priest and Levites, served him more inwardly, as maids do, waiting in their Chamber upon them: They are also called his Wife, because he had joined the Jewish Church to him, as in marriage; but she abhoreth his breath, because he taught himself to be the Messiah, counting it an abomination, that any man should be the Son of God, and his equal: And these Brethren and kinsfolk, are said to have stood far from him, and to have estranged themselves; yea his most inward friends: B • cause the Scribes and Pharisees, and expounders of the Law, and so his privy Counselors, as it were, received him not; but stood off a great distance in their affections from him, yea they were at defiance with him: And herein the children, that is, the common people, who are children in understanding; and therefore in Vulg. Tr. rendered Fools, followed them, when they had a little before cried Hosanna, crying by their instigation, Crucify him. And of the same being Servants he saith, that he called unto them and they would not hear, because when in his teaching he sought to draw them saying, Come to me all ye that are weary, &c. And again, If any man thirsteth let him come to me, &c. Yet none of them were moved to come; he prevailed no more then the charmer with the deaf Adder, yea though he entreated them with his mouth; whereby is intimated in what a manner he should be amongst them, not as a Master commanding, but a servant entreating: And it is to be noted, that he imputeth all to God, that he had made all about him, thus [Note.] strange to him; and that he calleth the Troupes or robbers, that came against him, God's Troupes: For hereby he intimateth, that whosoever they be, by whom we suffer, we ought not to look so much at them, as by their own power doing anything against us, as at God, by whose permission and providence, they do it for our punishment, which we most commonly by our sins deserve, or he causeth to come for our trial. One question before I leave this catalogue of Friends, being now estranged, is moved amongst Expositors, and diversely answered, what is meant by this saying, V. 17. I entreated her for the children of my body. Because Job was now without children. In vulg. rendered, I entreated the children. and Hebr. it is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 to the children, or being taken only for a note of the accusative Case, I entreated the children. And against this reading, I confess, I have nothing to say: But then what children were these? It is not worth the while to mention some Expositors, as that these were children, which Job had after the destruction of his seven Sons and three Daughters: for there was no time for him to have more betwixt that time and this: The most probable is, that these were his Grand-children; for although all his Sons and Daughters died, yet they were first men and women grown, and it is not improbable, but that having each one his house, some of them had children; which were out of the dint of that fall: And these he might well call the children of his body, because they came from his body, although not immediately; and they commonly are as dear to Grand-Fathers as their own children, and love them as well: Again amongst others then of whom he sought comfort in his misery, but found none, he speaks of these also; in whose sight his visage was so altered, that they would not know him anymore, then others of his house: Some say, that these children, were such as were born in his house, coming of his Servants; but then he would not have called them the children of his body. Some, that they were children which he had by Concubines, which it was not unlawful for a man then to have, for the increase of posterity; but because we read not before or after, that Job had any, but only one Wife, and she was fruitful enough: So that by her he had ten children before this, and that which first moved Abraham to go in to another besides Sarah, was her barrenness, and Job was a faithful man like Abraham; I cannot agree with them, that hold, that Job had any Concubine, or children by Concubines, but only by his Wife.
My bone cleaveth to my skin and my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth. The vulg. My bone, the flesh being consumed, cleaveth to my skin, and only lips are left about my teeth. But herein the sense is more respected then the signification of the words, which is in N. Tran. For the meaning is, that he was nothing but skin and bones: so greatly was he pined away by his sufferings, and the words may be brought to this; my bone cleaveth to my skin, and my flesh, Sub intellige, is gone, and I have only remaining the skin of my teeth (or about my teeth) and what is that, but lips fallen away through leanness to a skin. So that Job here setteth forth the poor and consumptuous estate of his body, through his continual pangs; and that it must be thus understood appeareth, because he, whose bones cleave to his skin, hath no flesh left, but it is all consumed away: Gregory, in applying this to Christ, that his flesh consumed, setteth forth his Apostles, who were as the flesh, nearest to the bone, who were nearest unto him, but at the time of his passion, they all fled from him; but the women that ministered of their goods unto him, were as his skin cleaving constantly to him, following him to the cross, and afterwards to the grave, to imbalme his body with spices, which they had provided: For his lips left him about his teeth, they were the Apostles, who although they fled from him, yet they talked of him; for two of them travelling towards Emmaus, when he joined himself with them, spake still of him, but yet believed not in him, neither had they the courage to do anything more pertaining to their ministry; they were as teeth indeed, being bidden by him in the person of Peter, kill and eat, that is, by reproving men's sins, to mortify them hereunto, and to leave them, as it were, with their teeth, that they might by being converted, be incorporated into them, by being made one with them in faith, and consequently with Christ, who is the head of all believers, and they altogether his body.
Have pity upon me (O ye my friends) For the hand of God hath touched me. Although they have been his friends, yet now they were turned enemies; why then doth he call them friends? To this Gregory saith, that even persecutors are by the faithful to be looked upon as friends, because their sufferings by them are turned to good unto them, as the railing of Shimei upon David, God turning his cursing into blessing, by restraining David, and bringing him in all humility to submit himself unto him, as he also did by Job, bidding these men at last to crave of Job, that he would offer sacrifice for them, that their lives might be spared. The hand of God hath touched me: It was Satan that did him the mischief, yet he imputeth it to God, because done not without his permission, Vers: 22. Why do ye persecute me us God, and are not satisfied with my flesh? God is said to persecute his servants, when he inflicteth grievous punishments upon them, for their sins; which he knoweth to be in them, although men do not, neither do they know it by themselves: As Paul saith of himself, 1. Cor. 4. 4. So David saith, that he persecuted the detractors from their neighbors; but what meaneth he by saying, Why do ye persecute me as God? For if they did it as God, what reason had he to complain of their doings? Sol. They are said to persecute as God, who by word or deed oppress other men, and vex them externally; but because they have another intention [Note.] in persecuting, doing it out of malice or envy, God out of love; and they being sinners also, as well as he whom they persecute, but God without sin, they are most unlike unto God, yea wicked for their so doing, not only in regard of the corrupt mind, from whence their persecutions come, but for their pride, in that being sinful men, they take upon them as God, and for their unmercifulness, persecuting him, whom God hath smitten, whereas they ought rather to comfort him in this case, as they would be dealt withal, if they should fall into the like misery: And this is further intimated, in the next words, And are not satisfied with my flesh. As if he had said, ye do as if ye thought it not suffering enough for me, that my flesh is consumed, and I am brought to skin and bones. The vulg. rendereth it affirmitively. Ye are satisfied with my flesh. According to which Gregory saith, that detractors feed as it were upon the flesh of those, whom they calumniate and speak against, like savage Cannibals; or beasts: But the speech is negative, Hebr. Although this may be also thus made the sense.
Oh that my words were now written, O that they were printed in a book. Job seeing, that nothing else would prevail with his cruel friends, who so greatly vexed him, but to remember them of the resurrection, and of the judgment to come, falleth now to the speaking of it; but because it is a matter most weighty, and worthy the serious consideration of all men; he speaketh not of it without a preamble, expressing his desire, that it might be published in writing, never to be obliterated or blotted out, but to stand as an everlasting monument of his faith, all men learning of him to hold the same, to the worlds end, wherein he had his desire, not only this, but his whole book, so full of divine instruction, preparatory to that day, being committed to writing, and put amongst the Canonical books of Scriptures; over which God's providence so vigllently watcheth, that although Heaven and Earth pass away, yet not one jot or tittle hereof shall pass, but all that is written herein shall be fulfilled, and therefore this prophesied of by this holy man so long before, of the resurrection of the dead: And what Job said here, Christ said also, The dead shall hear the voice of the son of man and come forth, they that have done good to everlasting life, they that have done evil to everlasting condemnation. After the preamble Job cometh to the memorable words which he had to speak. I know that my Redeemer liveth. That is, Christ Jesus shall come, and although he shall suffer death to ransom us from our sins, yet he shall live again, and live eternally, and come at the last day to judge all men. And I shall behold him not with other, but with these same eyes, &c. Whereby he showeth, that the true faith is to believe, that as Christ liveth again after death, so shall all the faithful, and that in the same bodies, in which they lived before in this World: neither shall their being consumed in the grave with worms hinder it, wherein Gregory saith, Euticius the Bishop of Constantinople opposed him, declaring in his book of the resurrection, that men rising again should have ayrean bodies and not fleshly, yea more subtle then the air, abusing hereunto that place of the Apostle, It is sown a natural body, but shall rise again a spiritual, and as the grain cast into the ground, riseth not again the same body that was sown, so is the resurrection of the body: But all this is not spoken to teach, that the body rising again shall not be the same, to every soul it is one body of flesh being reunited, but being then more excellent, as the grain coming up hath somewhat added unto it, nothing taken from it; for which it is said, not to be barely the same, but a new body given it of God at his pleasure; in like manner our bodies shall rise the same, but with an addition, making them more excellent, as without blemish or deformity, lameness, or blindness, or other imperfection, which here they had, as spirits not carried now by the weight of the flesh downward, but upward, and not needing meat, or drink, or sleep, as now they do; yet visible with bodily eyes and palpable, as was the body of Christ after his resurrection; and he saith, that Tiberius Constantine calling him to him in secret, and hearing the difference betwixt them, and reasons, condemned his book to be burnt as heretical, and within a short time after both he and the said Euticius fell sick, and Euticius shortly after died.
But ye should say, why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me. The vulg. Why say ye, let us persecute him▪ seeing the root of the word is found in him. As if it were their speech, stirring up one another to proceed in persecuting him still, as if there were matter enough to be found in him or his speeches, if they were well looked into, so to do; but the Hebr. will not bare that reading, but as in N. Tran. and his meaning is, that by what he had said, they might perceive such a root of the fear of God to be in him, that if they would consider it, instead of proceeding to persecute him with their virulent tongues anymore, they would check themselves for that which they had said, saying, Why do we speak thus against him? And he calleth the fear of God, and the faith, of which he made this famous Declaration, the root of the word, as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 also signifieth, because growing of that word, which he declared, the word, that was God, Christ Jesus, who had thus enlightened him; For what man that speaks for God, durst speak against him; that hath Christ the Son of God in him by faith: And so the reproaches cast upon him, redound to Christ himself, with whom the true Beleiver is one.
Be ye afraid of the sword, for wrath bringeth the punishment of the sword, that ye may know that there is a judgment. The vulg. For the sword is the revenger of iniquities, and know ye, that there is a judgment. Hebr. it is. The wrath of iniquity is the sword: That is, iniquity causeth wrath to come from God, in way of revenge therefore; which is all one with the Vulg. Tran. And therefore it is herein to be preferred, and so likewise in the last clause: It is then, as if he had said, if nothing else will move you to cease persecuting me, let this move you; the wrath of God is ready, as a sharp sword to be unsheathed against you, for this your wickedness; flee therefore from it, by ceasing thus to persecute me anymore, and let not this my warning, which I give you to flee from the wrath to come, seem as a vain talking unto you, but know assuredly, that there shall be a judgment at the day of the resurrection, which no man that persisteth in his wickedness, shall be able to endure.
CHAP. XX.
THerefore do my thoughts cause me to answer thee, and for this I make hast. I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of understanding causeth me to answer.
Zophar who speaketh here, being moved at the day of Judgment spoken of, seemeth to have been much troubled at it, as not being able to say, but that Job spake rightly: For which he saith, that his thoughts, into which he entered, upon consideration thereof, caused him to make hast to answer, being the more put on for the reproach of his reproofs before going, Chap. 12, 13. And he would not be thought but to understand well, both what Job had said, and how to answer him, and make him ashamed, notwithstanding all the eloquent speeches that came from him, which he thought so excellent. And what is it, that he saith by way of answer, but a repetition of the same things often objected against Job before, and of the judgments of God in this life against the wicked, of whom he took Job to be now detected for one, and that most notorious, as his punishments were the greatest that ever yet had been laid upon any man. But herein Zophar seemeth to wave the last speech of Job, touching the last day of Judgment, as if he regarded not that so much, but were wholly intent to present judgments; as if it might hence be gathered assuredly, that he who is thus soarly punished, is not righteous, but wicked, whatsoever show of faith and piety he maketh.
Knowest thou not this of old, ever since man was placed upon earth, That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of an hypocrite for a moment. If one man could have lived ever since the Creation till this time, yet it being past, it is now nothing; therefore no man living so long, but in a far shorter time being cut off for his sins, the time of his joy and proud lifting up himself for his present prosperity is mere, vanity, and this specially pertaineth to the wicked hypocrite, who taxeth other men's sins, and for this seemeth to be godly and zealous, of which he rejoiceth, as if he were now lifted up above the condition of others, even to heaven, as it were; as followeth, verse. 6. Though his excellency reach up to the heavens, &c. He shall be but as dung, stinking and filthy, and that in a moment, a point of time, as the Vulg. hath it, which is the shortest that may be, even whilst a man toucheth the paper with his pen, and immediately taketh it off again, not staying so long as the drawing of a line, or the writing of one letter.
His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods. Vulg. His children shall be worn with poverty, and his hands shall render to him his sorrow. The reason of this diversity in the first clause is, because the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 may be derived from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 to please, or from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 to tear in pieces: But because there is more sense in this then in the other, this is to be preferred, his children shall tear the poor, or rather being poor shall tear; or through vexation wear out, and be macerated, and pine away, and he seeing this shall be filled with sorrow and grief, not only being brought down himself to extreme poverty and misery; but his sorrow being hereby increased, that he is forced to see so sad a spectacle in his children also. And his hands are said to cause this, because it is a punishment that cometh upon him for the evil works his, the rapine and wrong that he hath done to others: And the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 properly signifieth his sorrow or mourning, although in N. Tr. it be drawn to their goods, the very meaning is then, the wicked Extortioner shall be repaid in his kind, as he hath by his oppressions made other men and their children poor, so it shall come to him and his children, [Note.] according to that of our Lord, What measure you mete unto others, shall be measured to you again.
His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust. Here by bones Gregory understandeth such things as are by the wicked done, wherein there is some strength of virtue, because the bones are firm and strong; but the marrow filling these bones, being sins, wherein he began betimes, even in his youth, and continueth still in his older age, the good that he doth or saith is nothing acceptable to God, but as he lived in sin, so he dieth, and so shall he be found at the last day, and be condemned therefore forever. A thing worth the noting to stir us all up to break off [Note.] from the sins that have grown up together with us, and not to trust to any good things that we do or speak of, without turning and thoroughly reforming from our evil ways.
Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hideth it under his tongue. Wickedness is sweet in the Hypocrites mouth, and is hidden under his tongue, when the evil which he hath in his heart is hidden under good and godly speeches, and flattering smooth words, whereby he seeketh to circumvent, and to deceive his neighbor, or to seem godly.
Though he spare it, and forsake it not, but keepeth it still within his mouth. That is, he will by no means part with this his hypocrisy by turning sincere and upright-hearted, but continueth to take pleasure in the evil in his heart, thus palliated over by feigned words.
Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of Asps within him. He hath swallowed down riches, he shall vomit them up again, &c. That is, the evil thoughts and devices in his heart, which he seeketh to hide under the covert of good words, whereupon he fed in his mind, as upon delicious meat, shall prove poison in him, and he shall cast it all up, that is, all the worldly goods which he hath thus gotten, and God shall in his just judgment make him to do this, when all that he hath thus gotten shall again be taken from him. Oh that all such as get their goods by oppression, injustice, and deceit, would consider this. For the present such gain may be sweet unto them, but [Note.] it shall be turned, when for a while with delight it hath lain, as it were, i • their belly, into dead poison, causing them to vomit it up again, and their vital blood and spirits withal, and so to die miserably. The faithful also, as Gregory noteth, are said to have honey and milk under their tongue, that is, sweetness, but this is, when having a love to their Brethren in their hearts, they yet show it not, but smite them with reproofs for their sins, being ready notwithstanding, when the time is, to speak comfortably again to them that they may not despair; as Peter, having pricked the Jews in their hearts by his Sermon, when he perceived this, spake comfort unto them, telling them what they should do to be saved.
He shall suck the poison of asps, the vipers tongue shall slay him. The poison of Asps sets forth inward temptations, for which it is said to be within him, verse. 14. which at the first are pleasant unto him as meat; but when Satan by his alluring temptations hath prevailed to draw to sin, he turneth to a Viper unto him, bringing inevitable destruction: He rageth in his belly, where he hath held him, like meat, til that he violently breaketh out; and he, in whom he was, is destroyed: As it is said, that the young Vipers, do by their dam, gnawing their way out through her belly, whereby sheperisheth: So the evil conceptions in the minds of the wicked, at length slay them.
Gregory also applieth this meat in his belly, turned to the poison of Asps, to the word of God, in the mind and memory of wicked hypocrites; who bear it in their inward parts, but to their greater condemnation, it lying here as a witness against them, and they shall be made to cast it up, by him that saith, What hast thou to do, to take my word into thy mouth; and hatest to be reformed. And again, Thou hatest instruction, and casteth my words behind thee. There is no praise then in this, that such [Note.] a man hath a good memory to bear away the Sermon, which he hath heard; seeing he beareth away his bane, which is meat to the godly, but rank poison to him.
He shall not see the Rivers, the floods, the Brookes of honey and butter. By these three, Gregory understandeth the three graces of Faith, Hope, and Charity, which come from the spirit of God; that is, compared to a River of water, flowing out of the belly of him, that hath Christ's water given unto him: The wicked hypocrite shall never see these Rivers, Floudes, or Brooks, as they are, viz. Brooks of honey and milk. But what is Honey? It is a thing coming from above, milk out of the flesh by the dugges here below; [Note.] by honey then we may understand, Christ's divinity; by milk, the comfort of his Incarnation; of neither of both which, shall such a man have any comfort, but the truly faithful have abundance: As he that findeth a River or Brook may have his fil of water, to his exceeding great refreshing, in an hot and dry Wilderness, such as this world is: They may have eyes indeed to see, but because they perceive not; they do only think they see them and take comfort herein, but they do not truly see or taste of them, to enjoy any enduring comfort hereby: Thus for the allegorical sense, for the literal nothing else is meant hereby, but that the oppressor may gather Goods in abundance, but shall have no joy of them; for this is not to see these Rivers of wealth: Thus shall he be punished, that is covetous and teareth from others, either he shall be only a slave to them, to keep them, having no use thereof, or when he hath heaped them up together, the Enemy shall come and take them away from him, he never seeing them more.
That which he labored for shall he restore, he shall not swallow it down, according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein. This further confirmeth the literal sense, of seventeen before given: For when a man hath gathered Goods, and they be taken from him, and he enjoyeth them not long, what is this, but as is there said, a compulsory restitution made of them, yea even of them all; for which it is said, According to his substance, and that which he labored for; that is, beating his brain, and working by his power to attain it. The vulg. He shall smart for all that he hath done, yet he shall not be consumed, according to the multitude of his inventions, so he shall suffer. But here the sense is altogether respected, and not the words in the Originals; that the worst which shall come to such, might be expressed not only in this World, but in the World to come: And he is compelled to restore, that is punished, as hath been said, or made to smart, and he swalloweth not down his rapines, in whose throat they ever stick, even stick always, he being not yet so consumed hereby, but living to bear the punishment of this his wickedness forever and ever; as they do, that lie burning in the tormenting flames of Hel fire, but yet are not consumed as other fuel, to have an end put to these hideous sufferings. Lastly, In saying he shall not rejoice, he meaneth, that he shall have everlasting sorrow, as hath been already said.
Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, nor save of that which he desired. The vulg. His belly is not filled, and when he hath what he desired, he shall not be able to possess it. Whereupon, what is the belly, saith Gregory, but covetousness, which by having the greatest abundance, is not satisfied, but as the fire, the more wood is laid upon it, although it seemeth to be at a stay for a time, yet kindling in, is this also, the flame is made greater and extendeth further: But whilst he thus coveting more, death cutteth him off, and then all his possessions go from him: And this is the same in effect, with not having quietness in his belly, because the belly that is still craving and unquiet til more meat cometh into it, is not filled; and what doth the covetous man desire, but to hold and to keep his Possessions, and to be increasing them always? and this is added as a further punishment, when a covetous wretch hath his desire granted him, he being made to abound in wealth, hath it soon taken from him again, by death coming in the instant and cutting him off, as these Israelites in the Wilderness: Who asking flesh had it given them, but when it was between their teeth, they died: Or as the Fool in the Gospel, who when as his grounds had but even now brought forth abundance, and he was meditating upon living plentifully thereupon, was the same night taken away.
There shall none of his meat be left, therefore shall no man look for his Goods. The vulg. Nothing shall remain of his Goods. By his meat and goods the same is meant, but they are called his meat: Zophar going on still in the allegory of the belly, of these nothing is left him, because he is by death stripped of all, and must go as naked before the just Judge, as the poorest man that is, for all his wealth finding no favor.
In fullness of sufficiency, he shall be in straits, every hand of the wicked shall come upon him. The vulg. All grief shall rush in upon him. For he is by his covetous getting of worldly Goods from others, in continual danger to have them taken away again by the hands or power of some mighter then he, or by Thieves and Robbers, or he being cut off, his Goods may come into the hands of such as he hath oppressed, everyone coming to catch and take away a part again, and this is in effect, the rushing in of all grief upon him, for the 23. V. it is the same in effect that was said before, V. 24. He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through. What is the iron weapon here spoken of, saith Gregory, but the want of temporal things, which is strong as iron, breaking through even stone wales, and what the bow, by the Vulg. rendered, The brazen bow, But judgment suddenly coming upon him, for this his sin of stealing; although by his necessity forced to it, for the Arrow striking through and slaying, which cometh from the bow, is not seen till it stricketh, and therefore it is thus compared, and the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth either brass, iron or steel: The poor man therefore, that is by his poverty tempted to steal, to avoid a bodily want, incurreth the danger of the destruction of his Soul, which although he neither seeth coming, nor feareth, yet it shall suddenly [Note.] come upon him, and he shall not escape it, coming like an arrow out of a bow, and to intimate this sudden coming of Judgment upon him, the word signifying steely, or brazen, is derived from 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 that signifieth suddenly. For the literal sense, it is although the wicked escape one judgment, so that now he thinketh himself, out of danger, and so hardeneth his heart to go on in his sins, and another shall come upon him before he is aware of it, and slay him.
It is drawn and cometh out of his body, yea the glistering sword cometh out of his gall, terrors are upon him. The vulg. It is drawn out and cometh out of his sheath, lightening in his bitterness. Whereupon Gregory, it is said to be drawn out, because he is drawn to sin by Sataus Temptations, but because he that sinneth doth evil voluntarily; It is said also to come out, the wickedness that he doth, and the evil which he suffereth therefore come from himself, as out of a sheath, out of which a Sword cometh, whereupon the Psalmist saith, The evil which the wicked hath done shall slay him. And it is added, Lightening in his bitterness, in alluding to his shining in worldly glory, as the rich man, Luke 16. For which God's wrath shall come suddenly as lightning upon him, making him to be in great bitterness and sorrow: And this may be taken as spoken against the rich oppressing and increasing their wealth by their might; that before of the poor stealing for his necessity. The word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 here used, signifieth, Body, as N. Translat. hath it, but 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 lightning or glittering, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 bitterness, from which 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifying the gall cometh.
All darkness shall be hid in his secret places, a fire not blown shall consume him, &c.
By darkness here understand the works of darkness, of which though many break forth in every wicked man, yet the hypocrite hideth them a long time, seeming to the world an Angel of light: But he shall not therefore go unpunished, for a fire not blown shall burn him; that is, hell fire said not to be blown or kindled, because it differeth herein from other fires made by men, that they must be renewed from time to time, or else they will [Note.] go out, but this is a fire created by God, and being once kindled by his breath, that is, his word, it burneth everlastingly: And it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle; What is his tabernacle but his flesh? He that is then in the flesh, that is, in a natural Estate, and so continueth unconverted, when he dieth it shall go ill with him, because his place shall be in the everlasting burning fire, that burneth without blowing: For of those that are in the flesh it is said, that they mind the things of the flesh, and to be fleshly minded is death, but the converted and believing are in Christ, and no condemnation is to them.
The heaven shall reveal his iniquity, and the earth shall rise up against him▪ By the earth sinners are meant, because when Adam had sinned it was said to him, Earth thou art and to earth shalt thou return, and he that is of the earth is earthy. On the contrary side then by heaven the righteous are to be understood, who are often spoken of as heavenly, and are said to have their conversation in heaven. In saying then, that Heaven shall reval his iniquity, &c. It is meant, that as he hath wronged all sorts of men, so they shall all cry out against him at the day of judgment, and his oppressing of the righteous shall cry more terrible against him, then the oppressing of the wicked, although that shall cry against him also: But Heaven and Earth, may also properly be understood, for although they be dumb creatures, yet they have a voice to accuse and to testify against the wicked, for which it is said, He shall call the heaven and the earth to judge his people: and hear O heavens and hearken O earth: intimating that they have ears to hear God speaking, and if so, they have a voice also to cry out against his enemies, such as all the wicked are, and the earth is said to have opened her mouth to receive Abells blood at Cain's hands. The wicked then cannot look to heaven above, or to the earth beneath, without horror to think, even these, if other witnesses fail, shall come in to give testimony [Note.] against them before the great Judge at the last day.
The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath: vulg. of his house the end shall be opened, it shall be drawn away in the day of the fury of God; Expounded by Gregory, the intention of his heart, which was hidden before, no more appearing but only what he spake and did before others shall be discovered; that is, his thoughts, which were evil or good accusing or excusing him at the day of judgment. But because 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Jagal, doth not signify to discover or lay open, but to roll or remove away, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 the bough of a tree, which is the increase thereof, I rather understand his bundance of wealth, of all which he shall be stripped in the day that God executeth his wrath upon him.
CHAP. XXI.
HEre Job answering to Zophar, consenteth that all is true which he had said against the wicked, but many times they prosper wonderfully in this world, so that by prosperity or adversity here, it cannot be judged in what estate a man is to Godward, but this shall appear when the day cometh, that all men shall be judged by God, till which time many wicked men are spared, living in all wealth and pleasure, but others better then they tasting much bitterness, are by a corporeal death at length seized upon, as they be, so that in their end yet there appeareth no difference. V. 2. Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your consolations. The vulg. hear I pray you my speech, and repent, but the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth consolation, and the meaning is, by being silent and hearing me ye shall comfort me, who now by your galling speeches do greatly trouble and disquiet me.
Is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled? The vulg. That I ought not worthily to be affected with grief, of which the sense is easy to be given, thus had I to do only with you, although ye lade▪ me with many calumnies, yet I would not think all this of force to make me sad, for ye cannot justly charge me with, the sins that ye object unto me, but I fear that I have spoken something that I have cause to be troubled at, in regard of God, before whom I may sin unwittingly: And this rendering is the same in effect with the N. Translat. and Hebr. if it be not to God but to man, there is no cause why I should be troubled, but seeing it is with God and not with man, that I have communed, and complainingly argued, there is cause.
Mark me and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth. When I remember I am afraid, &c. Some inquiring what it is, that Job would have them to mark and be astonished at, resolve, that it is at the words of the last judgment spoken by him, Chapt. 19. Some that it is at the things which he was now about to speak, but it was at both of them, wherein he showeth the great prosperity of the wicked, and at his stupendeous sufferings; into the causes whereof because men cannot dive, they may sit still in silence and and admire them, it being too great a secret for man to find out, why the devout servants of God are oftentimes in extreme misery, and licentious proud wicked men enjoy all worldly felicity, and herein he seeks to stir, them to do no more then he himself did, for he was greatly affected with fear, and astonishment at it. He beginneth and goeth on much like unto David, Ps. 73. unto which the Reader may have recourse to see the exposition: Having thus prepared to hear and to be astonished at that which he was about to say, now speaketh it out, V. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. David in Ps. 73. is more bref in describing their prosperity, but larger in declaring the evil effects hereof in them, about which Job speaketh only, Vers. 14. 15. whereas V. 13. he saith, In a moment they go down to the grave: This saith Gregory, is not spoken of as their punishment, their sudden departing out of this life, for so may some Godly man depart also; but that without enduring hard sufferings. First they go out of this world, this being a part of their worldly felicity, whereas the righteous many times endure much misery and pain first, so that if one could judge of them hereby, they would be counted more miserable, both in life and death. But yet a sudden death to a wicked man is a great Judgment, because he lamented not his sins before, but always took delight in them, and now being suddenly snatched away, he hath no time to humble himself and to sorrow for them, and therefore he must needs go to the place of everlasting weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Therefore they say to God, depart from us, we care not for the knowledge of thy ways. What are the ways of God, saith Gregory, but Humility and Peace, and therefore our Lord Jesus humbled himself, and patiently suffered all indignities, and taught us to do likewise, that by humbling ourselves, and patiently suffering with him, and for him, we might come to peace, that peace of which the Apostle saith, Being justified by faith we have peace with God: And finally that peace of God, which the Psalmist speaketh, Mark the just man, the end of that man is peace: But the wicked through their prosperity are so proud, that they despise to walk in these ways, and so for temporal things which last but a moment, they despise and loose eternal.
What is the Almighty that we should serve him? And what profit should we have if we pray unto him? Because they see not God with their bodily eyes, they think that there is no God, as the Psalmist saith, The Fool hath said in his heart that there is no God. They are therefore led only by such things, as they see, and sleight him whom they see not, yet some there are who though they see him with the eye of the mind, are not lead by him, because they see no profit coming in here, by praying unto him, or serving him. Their bodily eyes therefore bear more sway with them, to draw them more after things which they herewith see, then the eyes of the mind to the things which they see not.
Loe their good is not in their hand, the counsel of the wicked is far from me. Vulg. Let the counsel of the wicked be far from me. That is, they have not their worldly good under their power, but these goods have dominion over them: as it is not with the righteous, of whom many have been, and are rich, but they are not hereby kept under as servants to their wealth, but make it to serve them, when they take hereof to serve God, as David, who said, I will not sacrifices to God of that which cost me nothing. And of the Gentiles, brought into the faith by the preaching of the Gospel, The riches of the Gentiles shall come in hither: For then hath a man these worldly goods under, both when his heart is not oppressed by them through worldly cares, but if they be increased, he keepeth that still above them, not counting his happiness to lie herein: and also when he giveth freely hereof to God again, who gave them all unto him, by a right dispensing of part, [Note.] to the maintenance of his service, and a part to his poor members, and herein in is not sparing but liberal. And such are far from the counsel of the wicked, who think that they do most according to wise counsel, when they do herewith all good to themselves in this life, by living hereupon, as the rich glutton, as was before said.
How often is the candle of the wicked put out? how oft cometh their destruction upon them? The vulg. An in undation or overflowing shall come upon them, For these words, How oft cometh their destruction upon them? Heb. And their Affliction, Contrition, Want, Ruin, and Vastity, shall come. For the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth all these, for which it may well be rendered, inundation of all sorts of miseries: It is as if he had said, although some of these wicked ones live in all worldly felicity to the end of this mortal life, yet all of them do not, but they have their light often put out. For some loose their children, whom they love most dearly, and this is their light; some their honor, and some their riches, which are as a light unto them, for the great joy that they take herein, as a man in darkness, to whom a light is brought. Neither is this all which they suffer, for God even overfloweth them here and hereafter, as it were, with a flood of sorrows; And of these he saith, God distributeth sorrows to them, whereby he intimateth that in the loss of all before spoken of, and whatsoever else they suffer in this world, lieth not all their sorrow, but part only, a greater part by far being still to come in another world. Sorrowes are said to be distributed to the wicked, because their sufferings in this life are no Supersedeas to their sufferings in Hell, but now they receive only a small portion, or part of their punishments, there they shall be paid to the full; for which the Psalmist saith, God shall rain upon them snares, fire, and brimstone, storm and tempest, this shall be the portion of their cup: It is not said, all their cup, but a portion thereof, implying more sufferings yet to come, as to the old world, destroyed by the flood, and to Sodom and Gomorrah, by fire and brimstone.
They are us stuble before the fire, and as the chaff which the Wind carrieth away. The wicked oppressor, that increaseth in worldly wealth, seemeth to stand firmly and immovable, but before the great Judge, he is but as a dry stubble, easily consumed, and as light chaff carried away by the wind into the fire, that never goeth out, least any man hearing of the Judgments before threatened, should say, how can this be to them that are so firmly and strongly built.
God layeth up his iniquity for his Children, and rewardeth him, and he shall know it. The vulg. When he shall reward; Exod. 20. Visiteth the sins of the Fathers upon the children: But Ezek. 18. The son shall not die for the sin of his Father. These places are easily reconciled thus, Children, that when children are threatened with judgments for their Parents sins, it is meant, if they imitate them in sinning, as is also expressed, Ezek. 18. Whereunto it may be further added, according to Gregory, his iniquity is derived from him to his children by propagation, till that by baptism it is done away, but if growing up to years of discretion, he after this, treadeth in his Fathers steps, he shall suffer, both for his own sins and for his Fathers also. He shall reward or render it, he shall know it; so it is Hebr. the meaning is, if he liveth long as some sinners do, to a hundred years, and seeth the children coming of him, to the third and fourth generation, whilst he liveth, this threatening shall take effect, to the making of him to pine away with sorrow in seeing it. And it is to be noted, that he saith after God's rendering, he shall know it, his eyes were shut before the coming of this judgment, [Note.] but by the coming hereof they are opened, and he knoweth now, what a dangerous thing it was to live, and go on in sin, which then he would not know, whereas the righteous see and know it now, and repent, but Fools such as all the Wicked are, are wise too late, these know it now and avoid it, they know it not till then, and must, notwithstanding endure it.
What pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst? After the recompense of his iniquity made to his Children, which he, if he lived long, should see, now because many wicked men are cut off sooner, he threateneth them with destruction in their own persons, v. 20. So that be it as is here said, that he careth not for his house after him, that is, his Posterity when he is dead and gone, what becometh of them, as some wicked men do not, yet his own life is sweet unto him, and he would fain live as long as may be, therefore by threatening cutting off his life, so as that he shall not live past the midst of his months he seeketh to move him to repentance hereby, but speaks of him as desperately set upon following his own wicked ways, whatsoever cometh of it, either to his Children or to himself. It dampeth him haply a little for a time, when he seeth evil coming upon him or them, but it is soon forgotten, and nothing can so far prevail with him, as to make him amend his life: Whereas that may seem to make against this, that Dives being in hell had a care of his house, for he craved that one might be sent to his five brethren to warn them, that they might not come into that place of torment. I answer, The care of the wicked to prevent evil from their children and house haply may be in some of them; when they see and know what cometh of sinning, but before that, whilst they live in this world, they care not.
Shall any teach God knowledge, seeing he judgeth those that are high? Having hitherto spoken of the blindness of the minds of wicked reprobates, which maketh them to go on obstinately in sin, come what will come of it to them or their houses, now least any man should object and say, is it just with the Lord to leave any of his creatures thus in blindness, when he giveth sight to others, so that they escape these dangers, and why doth he not open their eyes also, that they seeing may prevent them? to this he saith, Shall any teach God knowledge, &c. As if he had said, it becometh not any man to take so much upon him, as to reason thus, for it is as if he thought that God knew not what to do for the best. For he judgeth the excellentest or high ones, that is, the very Angels, making some to stand in everlasting glory, but suffering others to fall, and shutting them up in chains of darkness; for if he doth thus by those pure spirits, how dareth any man to challenge him for his dealing towards men made out of the earth, and that must return to the dust?
One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease, &c. In this and v. 24. 25. Hereafter reasoning from God's judging of high ones, he proceedeth to reason from that which is done amongst lower ones, that is, men, of whom some dy full and abounding with wealth, wherewith they have long fed and fatted up themselves, some again desiring to get wealth also as well as they, but cannot, in regard of which they live and dy in much bitterness of spirit, being vexed at their poverty: And whence cometh this diversity of their living and dying, is it not from God? and who then shall be so bold as to say to him, Why dost thou thus? For he best knoweth how to deal with every man. But mark what followeth, they live and dy indeed diversely, but being dead they are all a like in the grave, for both sorts, Lye down alike in the dust, and the worms cover them: So that although there be a disparity betwixt worldly men in their life, which they live, and out of which they depart by a Corporeall-Death, yet being dead, it is not better with one then with another of them; which showeth, that the difference is yet to come in another world, when if they that have lived in misery here, or any of them who are Righteous and holy, shall be in joy, and the Wicked living at so great ease in Torment, as it was with Lazarus and Dives. V. 27. Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devises which ye wrongfully imagine against me; saying, Where is the house of the Prince and the dwelling places of the Wicked. Ask any of them that go by, and they will tell you. All which is as if he had said, now that I speak of some dying rich and full, and of others in poverty and want, but yet after death being alike in the Grave, I know that ye imagine somewhat against me, as if I were one of those wicked worldlings, that would have kept my Goods if I could, and am now in bitterness of spirit, because I have lost them, and as being ready to say, where is my house now, and the dwellings of my children, whom ye count wicked because they died so as they did, but indeed ye judge amiss. For ask any of those that pass by the way, that is, who count themselves but passengers in this world, and therefore set not their hearts upon the Goods hereof, and of any of them ye shall learn, that this is a thing that imbittereth my Spirit, or the spirits of any that pass on as Pilgrims and strangers towards heaven, which only they count their country, and upon the good things whereof only their minds are set. For thus do all for whom Heaven is prepared, and therefore come prosperity or adversity, they stand firm and immovable: That the truly Godly are as passengers, Gregory showeth from the saying of David, speaking of the wicked in prosperity, I passed by and his place was nowhere to be found: Passing he saw this, that worldly prosperity is nothing, because it fadeth away, and so is as nothing, whereas if he had not passed from beholding things temporal to look up to things eternal, he could not have so said. Hebr. Have ye not asked them that pass by the way, and have ye not known their tokens? Calvin saith, that the Exposition before going is too much strained, and will have the meaning to be, any stranger that goeth by, if he were to spend his Judgment of the things, which I have said, would say, they are true, Viz. That by bodily sufferings there is no judging of men, because the wicked may enjoy great prosperity here, and yet be severely judged in the end, when the time cometh, to which they are reserved, as followeth, V. 29. Graeca Catena saith, that this is spoken by way of similitude, as travellers by marks know the way wherein they are to go and so miss not, but go right; in like manner when one seeth an Oppressor in great prosperity a long time, he may easily know to what he shall come in the end, even as Job said before, but the like judgment cannot be given of a just man in adversity, unless it be by the prejudice of those that judge, as these friends of Job most wickedly judged of him. Some others by passengers understand the Hebrews who are Hebr. called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifying such as pass, they by experience could tell that men greatly oppressed may yet be favored of God, and at length be delivered, as they were out of Egypt, Pharaoh and his Egyptians being destroyed. This indeed agreeth very well, but the Hebrews passed not out of Egypt, till long after Jobs time, unless the Experience that Jacob had of this he alluded, who after many sufferings in Padan Aram returned to Canaan in the end greatly blessed. This seemeth to be further fetched, but I take that before going to be literal meaning, and the allegory of Gregory is not to be rejected, being of good use, and a further improving this passage to spirit-instruction. That the wicked is reserved to the day of judgment, &c. Who shall declare his way to his face? who shall repay him what he hath done? This is by Gregory referred to Antichrist, that was to come, but it is not only true touching him, but verified in all great Tyrants; They are reserved for the day of Judgment; but in the meas season such is their power and cruelty, that he is a rare man, that to their face durst tell them of their sins, yea he must be endued with extraordinary courage and zeal, as Elijah, that dareth to do it. But reproved they ought to be by God's Ministers at their own peril, as the Lord said to Jeremiah. But this is verified in Antichrist above all, that no man dareth to reprove him, yea his Parasites teach, that although the Pope leadeth innumerable Souls to hell, yet no man may, say unto him, Lord Pope, why dost thou so? As there was a law amongst the Egyptians, that none should dare to say, that Serapis was a man, upon pain of death; for which at the entrance of his Temple there stood an Image, laying his finger upon his mouth, to show that all men must keep silence in this respect, as Augustine relateth.
Yet he shall be brought to the grave, &c. That is, he shall die that is thus stern and terrible and lie in his tomb rotting and unable now to do anything, yea being contemptible to all men.
The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall d 〈…〉 after him, as there are inumerable before him. The vulg. Dulcis fui • glareis cocyti. Expounded by some of the River, whereby the Poets feigned, that the Souls of the wicked were carried down to Hel by the River Stix in Charons boat, where being arrived his coming is sweet to the damned, that were there before: But the words are according to the Hebrew a • hath been said, and seem plainly to mean thus much. The wicked being dead and buried; the clods of the grave, under which he lieth, are so sweet unto him, and so well pleased would he be, if he might forever lie hidden there, and never rise up again to come to the judgment before spokes of. And as it is with one wicked man departed, so it is with all others; whether they died before or shall die after: Thus also Catena Graeca although some expound it of the pompous burial of rich wicked men, who are accompanied with many going before and after them, to bring him to the Grave with more state.
Gregory makes an allegory of the clods, that are sweet unto him, thus, They be the sins wherein he hath delighted, and to which by his evil example he hath drawn many more, as many, who were before, him have also done: But forsomuch as this spoken of him after death, not before; it is not here shown what he did in the time of his life, but in what a case he shall be afterwards.
CHAP. XXII.
CAn a man be profitable to God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? From hence Solomon seemeth to have taken that, which he saith, Prov. 3. 12. Where see the exposition, on V. 3. Psal. 16. Because also no man is so foolish, that he can think he is able to stand is judgment with God; betwixt whom and man there is no comparison, he saith, V. 4. Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? Or will he enter into judgment with thee? All which is spoken in regard of the words before used by Job to justify himself, as not worthy such soar punishments; as if he had said, If it be so, thou must conceive thyself to have merrited somewhat at his hand by thy righteousness, and that there is some higher person then he, to whom he may fear, least thou shouldst complain, and so he should be brought to a judicial trial; but if to imagine thus be absurd, all which thou hast said of thy innocence is vain, and there be in thee great wickedness, for which the Lord is so severe towards thee, as followeth, Vers. 5. Is not thy wickedness great, and thine iniquityes infinite? Here Eliphaz falleth more foul upon Job, then he or any of his fellows did yet, charging him directly with many gross sins, from all which he could not but in his own conscience know him to be free, whereas before he spake only of the wicked in general, and this doth Vers. 6. 7. 8. 9. whereas Vers. 8. he saith, The mighty man had the earth, and the honorable dwell in it. He meaneth Job, that by his power had so oppressed wherefore the Vulg. to make this plain, hath it, In the strength of thy arm •… thou didst possess the earth, and being most mighty obtaynest it.
Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth the That is, thou art for all those wickednesses so entangled with miseries, 〈…〉 that thou canst not get out of them, no more then one taken in a snare, and the sudden news of one loss after another, hath stricken fear into thee: Or darkness that thou canst not see, or abundance of waters cover thee. The vulg. And thou thoughtest that thou shouldst not see darkness, or be oppress •… with the force of waters overflowing. Hebr. Or darkness thou shalt not se •… Whereby to omit other expositions, is meant miseries, yet further to come, but not seen or perceived, til they come: That is, the torments to be suffered in utter darkness by all the wicked; which also because they shall come as the flood in Noah's time, which drowned the old World, when they were most secure; are metaphorically called an inundation of waters covering him: All which is true touching hard hearted and wicked oppressors, but wonderfully misapplied to so just a man as Job was. But for [Note.] so much as he had such heinous crimes laid to his charge, let us bear it patiently, if knowing ourselves to be innocent, we be likewise charged by the wicked instruments of Satan, who is the accuser of the Brethren.
Is not God in the height of Heaven sayest thou? And how doth God know, &c. Here besides all the wickednesses before spoken of, he addeth another most odious one to Jobs charge, and that is such ignorance, as is scarce to be found in any, but most brutish men, who believe nothing, but what they see by their bodily eyes, and so that God seeth not the sins which they commit, to bring them to judgment therefore: For who so is not thus brutish, cannot but see God in his judgments from time to time, showing that he seeth the wickednesses that be committed upon Earth: A speech much like unto this, touching the wicked blinded with sin; see Zeph. 1. 12. Ps. 10. 11.
Hast thou marked the old way, which wicked men have trodden? Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overthrown with a flood. Here by the old way, wherein the wicked walked; understand the way of violence and oppression, which was the way of the old World, but the flood then came and drowned them all: But how is it said, that they were cut off before their time; for if there be a time set to every man, how long he shall live, and God who setteth this time, cannot be deceived: How is any man said to be cut off before his time? To this Gregory answereth well; Wicked men being in prosperity, promise to themselves long to live herein, but by God's judgment coming upon them, they are cut off before that time; moreover God foreknowing the wickedness of everyone to come, appointeth the time of each ones life: To some a longer, and to some a shorter; and he that sooner fulfilleth the measure of his wickedness, is cut off sooner then the other, that he may do no more hurt, and for this he is said to be cut off before his time: And because he settled himself, as it were, in his thoughts in this World, it is said, his foundation is overflown with a flood. Vers. 17. 18. Which said unto God, Depart from us, what can the Almighty do for them? Yet he filled their houses with good things, &c. Here Eliphaz turneth the speech, used by Job, Chap. 21. 15. 16. Against him, of the sense whereof see there.
The righteous see it and are glad, and the innocent laugh them to scorn. But in what sense is this spoken, for he that makes a mock of the errors of the wicked, and mourneth not for them, saith Gregory, is not righteous; as neither is he, that seeing judgment executed upon them rejoiceth, for the Pharisee, that seeing the Publicans errors and other wicked men's, insulted over them, was condemned as proud; and he that rejoiceth at their destruction, seeing he also is a sinner, is secure: We must therefore distinguish the times, when this may not, or may be done, during this mortal life we may not; but having by the grace of God obtained everlasting life, we may rejoice and deride them, being condemned for their security and vain hopes, that they should never have come to so miserable an end, and their esteeming of themselves, the only happy men in the World for their prosperity: Here whilst we live together with the wicked in this World, we must not rejoice, but grieve for their evil doings and sufferings, as David, who lamented Saul's death, and said, that his eyes gushed out Rivers of water, because men kept not God's Commandments, and Lots righteous Soul was vexed at the uncleanness of the Sodomites,: If it be said Elijah mocked at Baals Priests for their idolitry. I answer, he did not so out of joy, but to make them ashamed of so gross wickedness, to call upon a dumb Idol.
Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth. Vulg. Is not their erection cut down. But Hebr. it is not their, but our, and for whereas, is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 properly signifying [if] and it may be rendered, as an interrogative, as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 commonly is, Is not our substance cut down, Calvin, Surely our substance is hidden. And the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth either to hide or to cut off, but for these words, Our substance is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 our rising. And the meaning then is; it is true, our rising, who be the righteous, to that life and glory, wherein we shall laugh, the wicked being condemned to Hell to scorn, is yet hidden, as the Apostle also saith, Our life is bidden with Christ in God, but when Christ shall appear, we shall appear with him i •… glory. But to be sure, when this shall be, the remnant of them; that is, so many as shall remain alive, til the day of judgment, shall be sent away into the everlasting fire of Hel.
Gregory following the Vulg. expounds all of the wicked; who though they lift up themselves, and rise to never so great an height of honor and wealth in this World, yet they shall be cut down by death, coming suddenly upon them; whereby the bodily life and all their worldly glory comes to an end, and their bodies, here called their remnant, shall then being joined to their Souls, be cast into the fire, to lie their consuming and dying, but never quite consumed. Some others reser it to the men of the old World, and of Sodom, the one having their pride pulled down, who were called men of renown, by the flood, and the other by fire from Heaven consumed. But the words being ours not theirs, neither of these can stand.
Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace with him, and thereby good shall come unto thee. Receive the Law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. Here and V. 23. Are good instructions laid down to be followed by all men in misery, and by all others also: Gregory taking Eliphaz and his fellows in all their sayings, for types of Heretics, saith, that he endeavored cunningly to bring Job to agree to their opinion, confessing, that in his dissenting from them, he could have no peace with God, nor deliverance from his miseries, but in consenting he should undoubtedly: And to persuade men the more to their opinions, and to hearken to their sayings, they say, that they be the words of God, which they speak, pretending also Scriptures for them. Lastly, To show how they take advantage of men's sufferings, he saith, If thou returnest to the Almighty thou shalt be built up, &c. As if they should plainly say, all which thou sufferest, is for thy going from us in thy ways, but return, and whereas thou art destroyed in thy house, thou shalt be built up again, if thou puttest this iniquity from the Tabernacle of thy heart, to be of a divers mind from us: And these indeed are the devices of wicked Heretics in all times and ages, which it is necessary for all the faithful to take notice of; and [Note.] not hand over head, to take their sayings to be Gospel, but to try them, that they may find them to be such, as say they are Jews, but are not; but of the Synagogue of Satan, and not be drawn away by them: Only take we these instructions in general, as directions to the afflicted, and in doing accordingly, we shall be sure to recover God's favor.
Then shalt thou lay up gold as the dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the Brook. Yea the Almighty shall be thy defense, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. Here by gold Gregory understandeth, clarity of doctrine, and by flint stones, strength to walk aright, rendering the words first according to the Vulg. Lat. thus, He shall give for each slint, and for slint golden Rivers. The reason of the difference is, because the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 twice used here, signifieth a Stone or Gold, and what is the dust but earth, yet the rendering of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Dust, is better then to render it earth: It may then be thus rendered most agreeable to the Hebrew, And there is put, or turned dust into gold, and in a stone rivers of Ophir, or in a rock And because Ophir is a place where fine gold lieth in the veins of the earth, it may be said, Golden Rivers. The meaning is, for dust or earth; wherein there is no solidity, shall be strength like unto that of a Rock, and where such strength of grace is to live well, there shall be a shining light, shining as the finest gold, for that a good life and doing good works shine, our Lord teacheth, where he saith, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works. And to such as doth thus, the Lord shall be a defense. He shall have plenty of silver, that is, abound in the knowledge of his word, which is by the Psalmist compared to silver, and is the beginning of the full knowledge of God, wherein standeth perfect blessedness. R. Moses and R. Mordecai, for these words, Put upon dust gold, have it; Thou shalt set upon a Tower gold. That is, thou shalt be both strongly defended, and greatly enriched, and if it be taken according to the letter, this passage is prophetical touching Job, in whom it was thus fulfilled, after his sufferings and poverty, being raised to so great wealth, and then he had joy in the Almighty taking his part, as Vers. 26. and it appeared, that his prayers were acceptable above other men's; because he must pray for these men, or else they should have been destroyed, as Vers. 27 Vers. 28. Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee, and the light shall shine upon thy ways. According to this the Psalmist saith of righeeous, Whatsoever he doth shall prosper, and this is to have the light shine upon his ways, and is commonly done to the just, that others seeing the good success which they have, might be allnred to do likewise, yet sometimes they are again crossed to try their patience, and to show that this not all the benefit by them to be expected, but their chief and most enduring good is to come after death.
• hen men are cast down, thou shall say there is a lifting up; he shall save the humble person. Vulg. He that shall be humbled shall be in glory, and he that boweth down his eyes shall be saved. Hebr. Because they are humbled, thou shalt say; exaltation, and saving of him, that boweth his eyes down. And the meaning is plain, that Job attaining to such a blessed change, shall be able out of his own experience to comfort others in misery, who likewise humble themselves.
He shall deliver the Island of the innocent, and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hand. Vulg. The innocent shall be saved, but he shall be saved by the cleanness of his own hands. But what cleanness is therein man to be saved for that? Sol. There is none, but what is by God given unto him, and yet because he that hath this given unto him, worketh together herewith by his own free will, it is said, He shall be saved by the cleanness of his hands. This is plainly intimated by Paul, who saith, By the grace of God I am that I am, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. Here grace striketh the first stroke by it; I am, saith he, that I am, and then here is a second or subsequent grace, with which man in his willingness is joined, The grace of God, in or with me; God then makes us clean, and by his grace when we are clean, we do good with our hands, the good will that is in us, putting us on hereunto, and yet the reward is finally bestowed upon us, as if we were worthy of it for our works; because it is said, He will reward everyone according to his works, so Gregory; but in the Vulg. the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is altogether omitted, signifying Island, the meaning being, he shall not only save himself, but by him all his neighbors shall be saved, as Israel by Moses.
CHAP. XXIII.
EVen today is my complaint bitter, and my stroke heavier then my groaning. This he speaketh, in regard of Eliphaz, his aggravating of his sorrows by his unjust calumnies, although in the end he flattered with him, that he might overcome him, and draw him to hold the error which he did, That bodily and temporal suffering are always a sign of a notorious wicked man; for when as Job expected by the coming and speaking of his friends un to him to be comforted, they by their virulent tongues pierced his heart with more sorrows: Vers. 3. Oh that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat. Here Job having a clear conscience towards God, whatsoever Eliphaz with his foul mouth had objected against him, desireth to come before God's judgment Seat, that he would appear and speak in his cause, for so he knew, that he should be justified from all the evils by Eliphaz imputed unto him, as in part is expressed, Vers. 4. 5 6 7. Whereas it is said, Vers. 4. I would fil my mouth with arguments, The vulg. hath it better, with interpretations. for so 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth, and he meaneth, that he would lay all the blame that he could upon himself, judging and condemning himself, being assured, that so he should not be condemned, but justified, as the Apostle also teacheth. For they that call their sins to mind, to lament them with tears, casting themselves down as vile in their own eyes, are washed and made white in [Note.] the sight of God, and so may with confidence stand before him: But such as do not thus, may well fear and tremble, as not knowing what thing shall be laid to their charge, to their condemnation.
Will he plead with me in his great power? No, but he would put strength into me. There may the righteous dispute with him, so shall I be delivered from my Judge forever. Vulg. I would not have him to contend with me, with much strength, neither let him press me with the weight of his greatness, but let him propound equity against me, and my judgment shall come to victory. Upon which a good exposition is made by Gregory, thus: When I desire to come before his Throne to be judged, my meaning is not, that he should show himself in his majesty, for this were enough to confound me instantly, or the most righteous man that is; but let him set equity betwixt me and him, that is, Christ the Mediator betwixt God and man, and then I doubt not, but he will judge on my side. But N. Tran. is word for word, according to the Hebrew, and the meaning is, as if Job had said; yea tell me of the great power of God hereby, to defer me from desiring to be by him judged, but in appealing to him I know well what I do, he will not, how mighty soever he is, oppress me with his power, but being the just Judge of all the World, seeing me by you to be most unjustly accused, he will strengthen me that I shall be able to stand, and so take my part, as that I shall be acquitted, as one that hath served him in sincerity; and then ye that judge me for an hypocrite shall be put to silence, and I shall be delivered from such unjust Judges forever, none daring after this to lay [Note.] such sins to my charge anymore: Whence note, what boldness and confidence the upright-hearted have in God, from which all the malice of the Devil and his instruments cannot remove them, neither shall they be herein deceived, as Job was not; to encourage to do as Abraham was bidden, that is, to walk before God and to be upright.
Behold I go forward and he is not there, and backward but I cannot perceive him. On my left hand where he doth work, but I cannot behold him, he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him. But he knoweth the way that I take, when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. Having expressed his desire before, to come, even to the Seat or Throne of God, to be tried, he here complaineth, that which way soever he turned himself to find him, he could not yet do it, but still he hid himself from him; that is, he could find no comfort from him, whereby he might be eased of his troubles outwardly in body, or inwardly in mind: And thus [Note.] it is with the dear Servants of God in time of temptation, as David also complained, and Christ upon the Cross. To this effect Ferus, and that rightly, if we look only at the thing here set forth in general; only add we more out of Gregory in general also, that he meant that God was invisible in any part of the World; because he is not in a part, but filleth all the parts thereof, yet unseen by mortal eyes: And albeit we see not him, he seeth us, as being about all our paths and ways; as David more largely setteth forth the same, which should make us continually to fear to do evil, as we fear an enemy, that lieth secretly in wait to take advantage against us to destroy us, we fear him in all places, both where he is not, and where he is; much [Note.] more therefore God, of whom we cannot say in any place, he is not here, although we see him not, and he is certainly an enemy to such as do evil: And more particularly he saith, to seek him before, by the Vulg. rendered, In the east, or behind, In the west, is to seek him out by study and contemplation, what he is from everlasting to everlasting: I can find no beginning or ending that he hath, or to the full know him, as he is; but here from the beginning of the World to the end we know him but in part, on the left hand I am sure, that I shall not see him, that is, living in sin, nor on the right living virtuously, and attributing some merit to myself therefore, for which cause they that would find God and comfort in him, must walk in the way of his commandments without declining to the left hand or to the right. Some by the four parts of the World here spoken of understand, that his meaning is, that if he should travel always to find out the cause of his judgments, and of all means, that the World can afford, yet he could not find it out. Some, that he speaks thus, least any should conceive, that he thought God fixed to any place, because he had spoken before of his feat▪ and coming to it: But what meaneth he in speaking of the left hand to say, Where he worketh. Some by the left understand the North, as by the right hand, the South: Saying his working in the North is spoken of, because that in the North part of the Heaven are more signs and of more remarkable influence, then in the South; but if we understand by the left sin, and wickedness, as was before said, the meaning is, that upon notorious sinners God worketh by way of judgment, so as that all men must needs take notice hereof, as upon the Egyptians and Canaanites, &c. for the words of Vers. 10. He knoweth the way that I take. That is, although I cannot see him, yet he seeth me, and my uprightness; and not withstanding these my great sufferings whereby he trieth me, if he cometh once to give sentence I shall come off as most precious before him, how vilely soever ye think of me.
My foot hath held his stepts, his way have I kept and not declined. That is, I have lived in obedience to him and followed him, going stepped by stepped in the way, which he hath commanded me to walk in, and have not declined here from, to the right hand or to the left, and therefore I am far from being such an one, as thou Eliphaz layest to my charge: And to explain this further, he addeth. I have not gone back from the commandment of his lips, I have esteemed the words of his mouth, more then my necessary food. Hebr. I have hidden the words of his mouth, more then my statute. The word also signifieth anything appointed, or which a man is accustomed to, or hath right unto it, his Portion: And because treasures that be most dear unto us, we lay up and hide with all carefulness; it is rendered in N. Tran. I esteemed. And because a man's portion for his maintenance in this life, is his food, it is rendered by food that is necessary: But the Vulg. I have hid in my heart. To express the same, but no regard being had to the signification of the words, to hold then to the Hebrew, the meaning is, I have hidden in my heart the words, as more dear unto me, then any portion of worldly Goods, set out by the divine providence unto me; be it Wealth, Honor, Food, Rayment, or any other worldly thing. Wherein Job teacheth us both how to carry ourselves towards the word of God, that it may profit us, we must not hear it only, but lay it up in our hearts, [Note.] by thinking seriously upon it, to reform our lives thereafter, and in what account to have it, even more then any worldly Goods, which are most necessary for this life, or anything that tendeth to glory or delight here; all which must seem vile unto us, in regard of this word: Yea as Paul saith, As dross or dung.
But he is in one mind and who can turn him, and what his Soul desireth that he will do. The vulg. But he is all one. Hebr. In one. That is, immutable in his decrees, what judgments he decreeth to bring upon men none can prevent, as is explained in the latter part of the Vers. Gregory following the Vulg. saith, Seeing there be Angels, the Heavens and the earth, and other things inumerable, how can he be said to be one alone? And answereth: That he alone is principally and of himself, others of him; and again he is immutable, and others mutable and waxing old, is said, Ps. 102. But he can always say of himself, as he sometime said to Moses, I am: Thus he, and that rightly; yet for his decrees of judgment, against a People or Nation, they are also immutable, but upon repentance and prayer, they may be reversed, as is expressly taught by Jeremiah.
For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me, and many such things are with him. That is, in these my sullerings I look at God's decree, according to which they have befallen me; yea there may be more sufferings yet decreed to come upon me, in his secret counsel, of which I know not, in regard of which he saith, When I consider, I am afrait of him: For God maketh my heart soft, &c. That is, by his judgments he pierced it, as it is not with an hard heart that is impenetrable, so that this way afflictions are turned to good to the faithful, their hearts are hereby mollified, and made to fear and tremble; whereby they come to have God nearer to them, according to that saying of the Prophet, To whom am I near, even to him that is of a contrite heart, and trembleth at my word. Vers. 17. Because, I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath darkness been covered from my face. Vulg. I have not perished for the eminent darkness, neither hath darkness covered my face. Expounded by Gregory thus, I have not, neither do I suffer for my works of darkness, and although I have sinned, yet the darkness of sin hath not hidden the light from me, as from them that are blinded by the God of this World, that is, wicked reprobates; so that I should go on with a full swinge in sinning, but have had that light and sense of good and evil, as to abhor from this, and to ensue that, although through the infirmity of my flesh, I be not perfect. Heb. it is. I have not been cut off before the darkness, and darkness hath been covered from my face. But the word And, is commonly rendered Neither, but needlessly; for the meaning may well be this: My heart is softened, and I was troubled, as was said, Vers. 16. because I died not before I came into this dark region of so great miseries, which I desired rather; and because the darkness of so grievous sufferings hath covered me, bringing me almost into the despairing condition of those that are in utter darkness forever. For he wished before, that he had died long before, Chap. 3. And spake of terrors both without and within, making his estate most uncomfortable, Chap. 6. 4. Some others expound it thus, These evils came not upon me unawares, neither was I covered with this darkness, having no thoughts of it before: For the evil that I feared came upon me: Some expounding the latter clause, neither did death cover my face from these sufferings, before they came; consent with me in the former: Some again, I am not of so object a mind, as to be thus troubled, merely for my bodily sufferings, but for the terror of the Almighty, of whose further proceedings against me, and casting me into pitchy darkness, I am afraid, as if he had said, that darkness to come is not hidden from my face, but I see and fear that: For although he had faith to be saved herefrom, yet in temptation he feared utter rejection, as of an enemy from God's presence forever. All which I have propounded, that the judicious Reader may consider and follow the best.
CHAP. XXIV.
WHy, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days? vulg. The times are hidden from the Almighty; but Hebr. it is interrogatively, Are they not hidden? So that in the vulg. interpr. there is a manifest presumption in that, e • lea • veth out the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 why although it be done, least Job should be thought to have spoken atheistically, an interrogation having the force of an affirmation, if it be affirmative, or of a negation if negative, and therefore if it be read, Are not the times hidden from God? it had been, as if he had said, They are. But there is no need of this shift, the sense of the words, as they go in Hebrew being manifestly this: Why, or what reason can be given by these, that boast so much of the knowledge of God (that he knowing to distinguish times, and to deal with men accordingly, suffering the wicked in their greatest wickedness oftentimes here, but appointing a time to judge them thereafter) they should be so ignorant as not to know this, but run headily on in condemning the righteous that suffer here, as if this were a certain sign of God's Wrath against them, and the prosperity of others a sign of his favor: The N. Tr. then interlacing the word seeing for the making of the sentence more full, is rather to be followed, and Cajetan also hath it so. In these words then Eliphaz and his fellows are derided, as professing themselves to be such as know, and yet were ignorant of this distinction of time, which all know, that have the true knowledge of God and of his ways: And all others are hereby convinced not to know God aright, who do as if [Note.] they knew not this, but if they prosper in this world, bless themselves, as God's favorites, and look upon the faithful that are under great crosses, as hated by him, and hereby discovered to be hypocrites: For the true knowledge of God is to know and consider, that he hath two times, the one wherein all things fall out alike unto all; and the other when the goats shall be separated from the sheep; that is, the wicked from the righteous, and then these shall weep no more, but have everlasting joy, and those that laugh now shall wail and weep.
Some remove the Land marks, they violently take away the flocks and feed thereof. Now Job beginneth to reckon up the horrible sins of the wicked, which are so plain, that they need no explication, according to the Letter. But as nototious wicked men and oppressors, do some of them one of these things and some another, so heretics do them being spiritually understood. They remove the Land Marks by teaching, that of the Church there are other marks then he hath set down in his holy word, viz. hearing Christ's voice, and obeying and teaching that only to others, and what he revealed to his Apostles for them to teach. Thus then Euthusiasts remove the land marks, who pretend Revelations and new lights, and they that follow the traditions of the Elders, without examining them by the word, that is, the Canons of the Apostles, the Decrees of Counsels, and Decretals of Popes: And as the Removers of Land marks literally understood, are accursed, so and much more are these. Wherefore Anabaptists, and all of the reformed religion, that separate from the Churches reformed, being but some Phantasticall particular persons, that out of an affectation of singularity, take into these ways, are manifestly Heretics and accursed: And so are Papists that obtrude other marks of antiquity, visibility, and universality, in all which yet their Church of Rome saileth, as I have shown in my Catechism and Antidote against Popery. For the next particular sin, they take away the Flocks: This is done by seducing Christians out of the right way, by persecution raised up against those that they cannot seduce, and offering violence to them in their Goods or persons, or both, thus making a prey of them, whereupon they feed and fill themselves.
They drive away the Ass of the Fatherless, and take the widows Ox to pledge: By the Fatherless here understand also the true Christian, who is said to be fatherless, because, as it were, without a Father, in this world, because he is not yet come to his Fathers house Heaven, whilst he liveth here; and in like manner we may understand the Widow to whom the Law, her first Husband as it were, is dead, that she might be married to another, even Christ, to whom she is here espoused indeed by believing, and prepared against the day of marriage, that is, the last day, but is like a widow alone in this world till then, and so lieth open to the violence of these persecutors; to set forth more sorts of the Goods of such taken away by whom, unto the flocks he here addeth their asses, and Oxen, of the violent taking away of all, which Job had woeful experience.
They turn the needy out of the way, the poor of the earth hide themselves together. vulg. They subvert the way of the weak, and oppress the poor together. The first clause in N. Tr. is according to the Hebrew. The other, The poor of the Earth are hidden together: That is, such Christians as are meek by nature and lowly, they work upon through their deceit, who think them to know more then they do, and therefore are the more apt to be lead by their examples and persuasions, but they be but earthly, that are seduced by them, and are lead as it were blindfolded, for which he said, That they are hidden together under a black veil, as it were, being blindly lead, as the Apostle saith of the Gentiles, before their Conversion.
Behold as wild Asses in the Wilderness, they go forth to their work, rising betimes for a prey, the desert yieldeth food to them and their Children. Here he plainly pointeth at the Arabian Robbers, living, In Arabia deserta, and maintaining themselves and their Children by Robberyes, which they commit, partly upon passengers, and partly upon Neighbouring places, which are more fruitful, from whence they coming in companies take cattle, and live thereupon. And this also doth Gregory expound mystically of arch Heretics, who that they may procure the more reverence to themselves for their austerity of life, live not amongst others, but go alone into solitary places, to which others being drawn by the admiration of them, they take their opportunity to work upon them, and to draw them to their own superstitious ways. A very right description truly of the Popish Eremites, who go this way to work, and persuade others to do the like; and these are, as it were their Children, for whom, and themselves even in such barren places they get food enough of such silly people as come unto them from time to time, V. 6.
They reap everyone his corn in the field, and gather the vintage of the wicked: the vulg. They reap the field which is not their own, and cut down the vintage of them whom they have oppressed: But in the first clause the word Not, is not in Hebr. but is inserted in vulg. to make the sense to hold the better. For what evil imputation is it for a man to reap his own Corn: therefore it is rendered, Agrum non suum, his own, because by violence made his own, and such as these Robbers made account of as their own, although the corn field of another. Whereas also the vulgar hath it, They reap the field, this is all one with the corn in the field, for the next clause, of them whom they have oppressed, herein although the vulg. goeth also from the Hebr. Yet in the sense there is no difference, if by the wicked we understand the oppressed by them, whom they count their wicked Enemies, and therefore worthy to be thus dealt withal; or if by the wicked we understand, such as they were, their impartiality in getting booties is hereby set forth, like hungry dogs they ranged about, and were so greedy of making a prey of other men's goods, that they spared not the vinetage of another, but served all men's Yards alike that came in their way. Some because the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 here used cometh of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 The later Rain, understand it, as if it had been said, they keep all men so in awe, that none dare to gather the vinetage of their wicked Companions, but let their Grapes hang till they be full ripe by the later rain, and they note, that this word is opposed to that which went before of cutting down Corn fields, for that cometh of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 to straighten, and implieth an hasty cutting of them down, even before the Corn was full ripe, for fear of being prevented by the owners cutting, and carrying it away before them. Some will have the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Wicked a Numinative, rendering it thus, and the wicked gather the vintage, that is, not Corn alone will suffice these Robbers, but they steal away the Grapes also, and whereas the Verb being a Plural seemeth to make against this reading, the Noun being a singular, they say by the Noun 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 may be understood the multitude of the wicked, that do thus, they being all as one, and therefore are accordingly spoken of; For my part I think it is best to read it, The vintage of the wicked; and that is so called because they gathered it, that were wicked Robbers, and being thus taken away it was theirs, as the Corn fields before spoken of were theirs, that is entered into and taken as their own, but woe to them, that thus take and make other men's Goods their own, for they shall be judged [Note.] for it another day, which God hath set, although they be merry herewith for the present.
They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold. That is, they exercise not their rapine only against men that have fields and vineyards, but even against them that have nothing but clothes on their backs, and to cover them with, when they sleep in the night, the highest degree of savage cruelty that can be, especially that being also added which followeth, v. 8.
They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter. That is, being thus denuded, they are driven also from house and home, being forced to live in the mountains and desert places in extreme misery, ver. 9. 10. Greater cruelty in them is yet spoken of, their rage against Orphans, and against the naked before spoken of, who having nothing but a few Ears of Corn, upon which to feed, by rubbing them in their hands, having them also plucked away from their mouths, being thus famished.
Which make wine within their walls, and tread winepresses and suffer thirst. The vulg. Inter acernos corum meridiatisum, Commonly expounded of these robbers made rich by Rapine, and dining merrily herewith in the midst of abundance, the poor that tread their winepresses having yet so little for their labor, that they have not enough of the said wine which they make to quench their thirst: but N. Translat. goeth so, as if all this were spoken of their poor Servants only, whom they have taken away from the Widdowes, their Mothers making them to work in making their wine, but keeping them most Poorly. For the Words here used 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth Walls, that is of a City, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 to shine, whence 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 cometh signifying Oil, light, or noon day, for which Jerome rendereth it, Meridiati sunt, by a word taken from noon day, which is commonly put for dining plentifully and then resting; but I rather prefer making oil for these Robbers of the Olives taken away by them, and then treading their Wine presses with great labor, but kept short in respect of necessary food, because it followeth immediately after the description of men, brought to misery by them, Vers. 9. 10. as pertaining to the same.
Men groaned from out of the City, and the Soul of the wounded crieth out, yet God layeth not folly to their charge. Vulg. God suffereth him not to go unrevenged. Hebr. God putteth not an insulse, or unsavory thing. For 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth In sulsum, aut insipidum, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 from whence 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 cometh, signifieth either to put, or dispose; and so the meaning is, These horrible wickednesses are committed, God permitting it to be done so, and yet it shall appear in the end, that nothing is unsavory or corrupt, a • meat without salt, in all his doings; the punishment and revenge to be taken upon such, being deferred til the day of judgment: At which sense the Vulg. looking with regard to the proper signification of the words, rendered it, as was said before, but even so, it should be: Will not suffer him to go unrevenged: Because the word is a future, for our N. Tran. it is altogether from the sense, and it would be read thus; God disposeth not, or will not dispose of anything unjustly; Although for the present it be thus: and all this is spoken to show, that the ground whereupon Eliphaz and his fellows meant, was false, Viz. That God layeth not so great sufferings as he did upon Job, upon any just man, for if by his permission wicked men come so much to abound with worldly wealth, on the contrary side, righteous men may be here impoverished, and suster grievously: The one having his judgment deferred, and the other the reward of his righteousness til the last day: For the thing here spoken of, the violence of wicked robbers is shown to be so great, that they not only do the outrages before spoken of, in fields and Vineyards, and to such as dwell solitarily; but also sometimes invade and kill, and wound in the greatest frequency of people, causing lamentation and sorrow amongst them.
They are of those that rebel against the light. Here by light some understand the light of nature and reason, contrary to which they do in sinning, as was before said; since that it is against conscience, placed in every natural man thus to do: Some understand God who is light, and in him is no darkness, whereby he should be hindered from seeing anything done by men, and some light properly taken for the light of the day, which they decline and go in the dark, to do these works of darkness: But this last is too much feared, forsomuch as it is one thing to decline the light, and another to rebel against it: But it may be taken either of the other two ways; for they that wrong the poorest and weakest of God's Servants rebel against God, and shall be proceeded against accordingly by God, yea take the poorest and most impotent in general, such as poor fatherless children and widows be; and what wrong or oppression is done to them, God taketh as done to himself: And for that light called Conscience, against this, wicked doers rebel, because it telleth them that they ought not so to do; and when they presume yet to go against the dictate hereof, it judgeth and condemneth and troubleth them many times so, that they can have no quiet, although they want no worldly thing: But when I look upon Vers. 14. The murderer riseth with the light and killeth. And V. 15. is, having spoken of that, which they do in the night, he concludeth, tha •… They know not the light. I conceive that by their rebelling against the light is principally meant, their doing of such horrible wickednesses, even in the day time, when one would think, that the light arising, should awe then and make them afraid, they yet in despite hereof, as rebels against their Sovereign, whom all other men fear, fear it not, and against the command thereof, break out into the most crying sins of all others, murder: But because they cannot come to commit the foul sin of adultery, but in the dark; nor break through into some houses, but when all in the house are asleep, he saith, they observe the darkness of the night for these.
For the morning is to them as the shadow of death, if one knoweth them they are in the terrors of the shadow of death. Heb. For together, or all one to them, is the morning the shadow of death. That is, The morning and the shadow of death are all one to these Night-Owls that go about, and their wickednesses in the night: And for the next words, they be 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 because he is known, the light morning coming on, is as the Terrors of the shadow of death, a true description of a Theef that breaketh into an house and stealeth in the night, but the light of the morning coming, whereby he is found out, he is stricken with fear through the guiltiness of his conscience, because he must die for it, as all breakers into houses must, so that he is even already as a dead man.
He is swift as the waters, their portion is cursed in the earth, and he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards. Heb. He is light upon the face of the water. And thus it is rendered in Vulg. Lat. The meaning is, they are as a light thing upon the streams of water running swiftly and carrying it away with speed, for so doth the foul adulterer and thief, so soon as the light appeareth, that none can overtake or lay hold upon them: Some, that it is spoken in respect of their swift passing on, from one wickedness to another, or their never being settled after such wickedness committed, but always ready to be overturned, as a ship that is unballanced, and so to be drowned in the Sea, which seemeth to be the best; and this may be taken as spoken of Pirates that rob at Sea, and the next passage of robbers by Land, whose portion is said to be cursed upon earth, for they that get Goods unjustly, get the curse of God together withal: He beholdeth not the way of the Vineyards. That is say some, to run away by them, which were common ways to Cities, but by some other obscure by-way, that he may not be found: Some because Vineyards were planted in most temporate and comfortable places; he shall not have any comfort at length of his stolen Goods: Some, he shall not possess Vineyards, but in his own or his children's time, if he hath gotten great wealth, come to great poverty: Gregory will have the walking in the way of the Vineyards, for so the Vulg. rendereth it, to be in the way of the Church; which is often compared to a Vineyard, in the right faith and doing good, as therein is continually faith taught, this way the wicked, whom the God of this World hath blinded, see not, because they see it not to walk herein to be saved, and therefore perish everlastingly: And as he applieth it, Heretics see not, because they are blinded with error, and so are in the number of those that are cursed also: This allegory is good, but for the literal sense, because he in the words before going said; His portion is cursed upon earth, This I conceive, is added to show, that he hath no portion of the Vineyards, that is, wheresoever he dwelleth and hath his possession upon earth, it shall not be like a Vineyard yielding sweet fruits, of which he shall have any true comfort, and which is fenced about by God's providence and carefully kept, as Vineyards are; but cursed ground, as the earth was to Cain, that fell into the like sin; and therefore when he filled the ground, it yielded no increase, but Briars and Thorns, whose end is to be burned, and ground left to be trodden underfoot, and destroyed by wild Beasts, as it is threatened to Judah, bringing forth for sweet grapes, sour and wild grapes.
Drought and heat consume the snow waters, so doth the grave those that have sinned. Hebr. Heat, yea drought consume snow waters, Hell his sin. The vulg. His sin passeth from snow waters to overmuch heat, and even to Hell. Whereupon many of the Fathers have taught, that the wicked are tormented in Hel with extreme cold, as well as with extreme heat; applying also to this, that saying of our Lord, There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, which is an effect of cold. But I see nothing in this text, for which to take occasion to enter into this dispute; for the comparison is made betwixt heat and drought and Hell, and snow and sin; sin therefore is as snow, and Hell, wherein the sinner shall be punished, as drought and heat, whereby the snow water, that is cooling and refreshing in the time of Summer, to those that live in places where it is even then to be had, is consumed by heat coming, and no drop thereof anymore appeareth: So shall it be with wicked robbers and murderers, here they may have somewhat to cool them, when in travelling about such abominable wickednesses they have heat themselves, but there is not a drop of water to cool them, being tormented in those slames; as appeareth by Dives craving it, but having it unto him denied: Here by their wicked courses they have gotten wherewith all to live for a moment in pleasure, for to drink wine or water, as their necessity required at their pleasure, but there must endure extreme drought and heat, and have no remedy against it anymore, their sin being now quite consumed; that is, The things of this life, in getting which they so foully sinned, and wherewith they refreshed themselves: For so is the golden Calf, which the children of Israel worshipped, is called their sin; and for the like reason, the comfortable things of this life gotten by rapine, may be called his sin, that thus getteth them. Junius will have this comparison to hold thus, When death cometh, the name and memory of the wicked vanish, as snow waters, which are the lightest waters, before the heat of the Sun in a dry time. Calvin, they persist in these their sins, wherein they have been nuzzelled up, even to their graves. Gregory reading it, Let him pass from snow water to heat, or let his sin pass, and even to Hell. Saith, That by snow water, which is extremely cold, is meant a wicked life, wherein appeared no heat of virtue; for to be extremely cold is to live in sin, without all sense of piety, or fear of God; in which sense it is said of the Angel of the Church of Laodicea. I would, that thou wert either hot or cold. And by heat, an evil heat, as in those that are hotly set upon error, before they were frozen as it were, and had no motions in them towards goodness, but being intoxicated with error, they are carried on madly in the worship and service of God; showing the greatest heat of zeal that can be: But all things are done according to their erroneous conceptions, and in this way they go in unreclaimably, even til they come in Hel: For he applieth all things as allegorically spoken, in alluding to Heretics, under the persons of these wicked ones: And although I see not, how this can well be gathered hence, yet it is true, that he saith, There are such, that first are [Note.] most wicked, then taken with error, wax most fervent in that way, and from this they never turn, til they come in Hel; that some such at the least may be moved to consider of it, and repent.
The womb shall forget him, the worm shall feed sweetly on him, and he shall be no more remembered, and wickedness shall be broken as a tree. That is, For his name upon earth, when he is thus dead and gone into torment, that shall be nothing, but as a Tree that is fallen down by tempest, and rent up by the roots, is burnt in the fire, and then no more thought upon, so shall it be with the wicked: And to the same effect, Jude speaks of wicked Heretics, as of Trees twice dead and plucked up by the roots. And he speaks of the womb forgetting him, taking his whole life together, from the first to the last, and what he hath done, whereby he thought to purchase to himself an honorable remembrance amongst posterity, shall all be buried in oblivion: And for this body, that he hath fatted up, it shall be but meat for the worms.
He evil entreateth the barren, that beareth not, and hath not done good to the Widow. Vulg. He hath fed the barren, whereupon some expound it of wicked men's feeding Whores, and maintaining them for their pleasure. Gregory of feeding the flesh, which is barren in respect of goodness, but neither of them speak here to the purpose: For the word here used, signifieth, not to feed, but to do evil, and although there be another word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 like unto it, signifying to feed, yet it is a word signifying also to tear and to break, wherefore it is such a feeding, as whereby that which she hath is fed and licked up, and she is made yet more miserable, who was afflicted before in that she had no Children: The meaning then is, according to Vatablus, the Wicked before spoken of, have also this Wickedness in them which is against nature, that he who hath a wife that is barren, whom he had need to comfort, useth her the more unkindly therefore, and not like Elkana, that loved Hannah, or Jacob more loving Rachel, or following the proper signifycation of the word, their cruelty in oppressing is so great, that it extendeth even to women most afflicted, that have no Children to comfort them, or Husband living to provide for them.
He draweth also the mighty with his power, he riseth up and no man is sure of life. vulg. Detraxit fortes in fortitudine sua, Expounded of his Tyranny, exercised not only over silly weak women, but as his authority and power is, he useth it against the greatest, whom he hath brought under him: For this is the manner of Tyrants, to have a care that none live in their dominion that be mighty, unless they will live in all servile subjection to them. If any dare do otherwise, when such rise by coming to have power, or wrath ariseth in them, his life shall immediately be in great danger, as Naboth's was who durst deny to Ahab, what he desired; And this is to be considered by men of might, as a most wicked thing, making them consorts with these [Note.] notorious wicked men before spoken of, both in sin and punishment, that shall come: In the translations there is no difference in respect of the sense, and the word, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth to draw, or to draw forth.
Though it be given him to be in safety, whereupon he resteth▪ yet his eyes be upon their ways: vulg. God hath given him place for repentance, and he abuseth it to pride, but his eyes be in his ways. Hebr. It is given to him to be safe, and he leans upon it, so that the vulgar too much differeth herein, neither doth it attain the sense in any measure, which is, he that is the tyrant before spoken of, having drawn other mighty men to his part, secureth them by his promises, and unto this they lean, but still he is mistrustful, and hath an eye to their ways, that if he can take any of them tripping, he may hereupon pick a quarrel, and cut them off, when he hath made them most confident; so Junius, whose rendering the Hebr. may well bear the word Though, only being prefixed, Though he giveth him security whereupon he leaneth, For Tyrants and Userpers have guilty consciences, and hereby they are made always suspicious.
They are exalted for a little while, but are gone, and brought low, &c. They are cut off as the tops of the ears of Corn.
For the former part of this verse it needs none Exposition: For the later it may be understood of the like violence, whereby Tyrants shall be cut off, by which they have cut off other mighty and great men; for many write of Tarquinius, that he sent one to his Sonn, who should have reigned after him, that might draw him into his Garden to talk with him about the Establishing of his Kingdom, and he, when he was come thither struck off with his staff, the heads of many Poppyes, hereby giving him to understand, that he must deal so with his Nobles, and then should sit sure. Thus also Trasibulus the King of the Milesians is said to have done, to make the like Demonstration, by striking off with his staff certain Ears of Corn.
CHAP. XXV.
DOminion and fear are with him, and he maketh peace in his high places: Is there any number of his Armies, and upon whom doth not his light arise? These words of Bildad seem to have reference to that which Job had said, Ch. 23. desiring that he might come to the seat of God, to argue about his case, provided that God would not oppress him with his Majesty, and greatness, To this Bildad here saith; this was an audacious provoking of God into the lists indeed, for a man to spealt thus, for why, with him are Dominion and fear; or as the Vulg. hath it, Terror more aptly, as if he had said, he is the Ruler of the whole world, and of such dreadful majesty, that it is enough to strike any man dead, that shall approach near unto it, and this Majesty he will not lay aside for any man's pleasure; but what meaneth he by saying, he maketh peace in his high places: Vulgar, In sublimibus suis; it may be referred either to places or persons, and therefore by some the Heavens are understood, which move always orderly one by another, there being no jarring amongst them; by some, Tempests coming from above, which are soon appeased again by his power: Some understand the Angels of Heaven, amongst whom there is Unity and Concord, and never any varience, so that there should be any need of keeping a Court, as it were, to hear and determine cases, as Job desired, that it might be about his case. For they all unanimously submit to the Will of God, neither is there any of them that makes complaint before him. Therefore Job did ill to offer to make a disturbance there, where there was all peace; and this seemeth to be the best: Is there any number of his Armies, as if be had said, yet of Angels he hath Armies innumerable, so that it is the more to be admired, that he needeth such constant, and continual peace amongst them, for it is not so with men, the mightiest among whom yet is of little strength, and his forces are as nothing in comparison; but amongst these peace can hardly be kept: And this is spoken to show the dreadful power of God, as the next words to show his wisdom and omniscience and beneficence: And upon whom doth not his light arise? For hereby is meant, that he both seeth and knoweth all things in Heaven and in Earth, and is beneficial to all making his Sun, which is his light, to shine upon all parts of this world, whereby all things are made to grow that spring out of the earth and have life in them, to the use and benefit of Men both Good and Evil: He then that is so Mighty, so Wise, and so Good, how can any man tax him for any hard measure offered unto him, or provoke him to come into judgment as if he had anything to say against his most severe proceedings, for the mighty, good, and wise God can do nothing but justly and righteously. And if it be so it is vain for any man, suffering misery, to seek to justify himself, there being cause enough in him, or in any man that is borne of a woman to suffer in all extremity, as he showeth, Vers. 4. See the same, Chapt 4. 17.
Behold even the Moon and it shineth not, and the stars are not pure in h •… sight. See a passage touching the Angels, like unto this, Chapt. 4. 18. The meaning is, that the very shining of the Moon and the Stars, is nothing in comparison of his shining in purity and holiness; and therefore the purity of the most righteous man is nothing for him to bear himself upon, as Job seemed t •… him to do, which sense is made up thus full, V. 6. wherein man is called 〈…〉 Worm, as Ps. 22. In comparison of the Heavenly Lights.
CHAP. XXVI.
HOw hast thou helped him, that hath no power? How hast thou the arm that hath no strength? Because Bildad had so magnified the power and wisdom of God, hereby to defer Job from entering into the lists with him, to contend with him by argument, Job now derideth him for his so doing; because God needed none of his help, to keep Job from grappling this way with him: For simply to assert and defend, and predicate the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God, is not evil but good, and the duty of every man; but for one to do it out of pride, or contentiousness, or in way of ostentation of his wisdom or eloquence, is worthy of blame, yea of derision; or hereby to infer, that a just man is wicked and worthily under so great sufferings as Job was. Some say, that Job derided him thus for standing up in the defense of God, as if he feared that if Job should come to argue with him, he might get the better of it, and therefore he sought to strike such terror into him, as that he should not dare thus to challenge God anymore, but this is as ridiculous, as Bildads speech, which Job so much derided. For Bildad was not so ignorant, but that he knew God and his Wisdom better then so, as to fear any man's prevailing against him.
To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose Spirit came from thee? vulg. Whom wouldst thou teach, not him, that made Spiramentum: as if it were meant that Bildad in saying so, went about to teach God, as if he knew not, that every man hath that spirit of Understanding, which is in him from God. But the words are Hebr. as in N. Tranasla. the meaning not differing from the vulg. For to bring forth words to teach, what is it but to teach, and in saying, Whose spirit came from thee? he meaneth nothing else, but who giveth thee understanding to conceive and speak thus but God, and what an absurd thing then is it for thee to speak thus of him, as if he could not speak enough for himself, without whom thou couldst have said nothing: The word here used for spirit is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and there be two other words, that signify the same, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 betwixt which R. Ezra distinguisheth thus, The first setteth forth Reason being seated in the brain: The second the irascible faculty, being seated in the heart, and it is the beginning of life. The third the Concupiscible, and is seated in the liver.
Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the Inhabitants thereof: Vulg. The Giants mourn under the waters, and they that dwell with them, The word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth Sanution, but another word coming from the same root, Giants, or dead, and the word rendered, art formed, or mourn, is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 to bring forth, or to sorrow as one wounded. For the meaning, Job here beginneth to speak parabolically and darkly, that is, so as is not easy to be understood, as appeareth by the words, Chapt. 27. 1. and Chap. 29. 1. where it is said, Job continued his parable, and to speak in parables is to speak so as not to be understood without interpretation, as is taught by our Lord, saying; I speak to them in parables, that hearing they may hear and not understand. So this saying of Job is mystical, being well rendered either dead or Giants, according to Gregory, who saith, that by them are meant proud Tyrants of this world, who are as the Giants full of cruelty; and dead they may be said to be, because dead in sins and trespasses, these mourn [Note.] under the waters, when for their Tyranny they are oppressed and pulled down by those over whom they reigned, for unto waters be People compared, Rev. 17. 15. & they that dwell with them are such as under their authority Tyrannize over the people also, for they shall all be oppressed with troubles arising from the People, as by a flood of waters overflowing and bearing down great Trees: And this is good for the allegorical sense, for the literal, by Giants under the water, may be understood Whales, which are of a monstrous greatness, and bring forth under the waters, as the word signifieth: For what are Giants but men of monstrous and great bodies, and such, and more vast are these in the waters, some having been seen, as Pliny saith, so great that they have equalled in breadth and length, four acres of Ground: And of these Job speaketh, to show the almighty power of God, that made them; taking occasion to speak hereof, from the speech of Bildad. And he beginneth here with Fishes, as wherein the power of God multiplying them and preserving them, appeareth more then in earthly things: for none upon Earth are so great as Whales, neither do any earthly creatures multiply as Fishes do: And which is most observable in the History of the Creation; God is said to have made great Whales in particular, and to have blessed the fishes, bidding them increase and multiply: As he did not to the creatures, brought forth by the earth; so that they both multiply faster, and when the time was, that earthly creatures were destroyed, none of them perished: For those that dwell with them they are other fishes in general, which are in the Seas where they be, and in particular little fishes, that are noted always to swim with them, as guides of their way, that they may not unawares, coming into sluddy places, be miered there. Aristotle calleth them Muscles, Pliny Musticets.
Hel is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering. Here he speaketh of God's wisdom and omniscience, taking occasion from Bildads speech, saying, Upon what doth not his light arise? It is true saith Job, for Hel the darkest place of all others, is not hidden from him, as also Prov. 15. 11. and Ps. 139. And it is not covered saith Ferus, but open for him to whom he will cast thereinto.
He stretcheth out the North over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. Here Job proceedeth to other wonderful works of God, declaring his almighty power, beginneth with the North, as he had before spoken of the South, Chap. 9. 9. But what is meant by the empty place, over which the North part of the Heaven is spread? Answ. The air under it, which seemeth for the rarity and thinness thereof to be an empty place, and for this it is so called: And the North, saith Junius, is put for the whole Heaven, Pars pro toto, and this is a great wonder, the Heavens and Earth to be founded upon nothing. Gregory because it is parobolical, which is here said, expoundeth it thus, By the North understand the Devil, who freizeth up men's affections towards good, as the cold coming out of the North the waters, for which he is said, to place his Throne in the sides of the North: He is stretched out over emptiness, when he possesseth that heart, which is void and empty of all grace; as the unclean spirit returneth to the house swept and empty: But whereas by the earth hanging upon nothing, he understandeth the Church, which as good ground, is made fruitful by the preaching of the word: I see no reason hereof, unless it be added, supported by nothing, but by his Almighty power against the Devil and all his cursed instruments.
He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds, and the clouds are not rent under them. This is another act of divine power, and Solomon saith the same in effect, although varying the word, He bindeth up the waters in a Garment. For the mystery, by the waters, saith Gregory, understand divine knowledge, for so Solomon saith, The fountain of wisdom is as deep water out of the mouth of a man: And by the clouds, wherein this water is bound, the Apostles, of whom Isaiah spake by the spirit, saying, Who are these that flee like clouds? For as from the clouds rain distilleth moderately, and watereth and maketh the earth fruitful, but all the waters therein are not poured out together; for if they were, they would instead of making the earth fruitful, oppress it and destroy the fruits thereof: So the Preachers of the Gospel, distil knowledge by moderate showers, as it were, having abundance bound up in them, so as they see it most likely to avail for the good of their hearers, ministering milk to Babes, but holding [Note.] in that which is as strong meat, til men be grown to more strength: Preachers that want knowledge are as clouds without any waters bound up, having no more then what they soon distil to the little profit of their hearers: Against whom Jude inveigheth in his Epistle, saying, Clouds they are without water, carried about of the winds. Whereby he taxeth their unprofitableness: For the Preacher must abound in knowledge, in all points of divinity, both for doctrine and interpretation of the Scriptures; and therefore read, and meditate, and preach, and give himself wholly to these things, as Paul required Timothy to do; that he might both save himself, and those that heard him.
He holdeth back the face of his Throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it. What is the Throne here spoken of, but Heaven? According to that of our Lord: He that sweareth by Heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. And Heaven, saith the Lord, is my thron, and the Earth my footstool. How he holdeth the face of Heaven, the next words show, he covereth it with clouds many times, that we cannot see it. Mystically by the face of his Throne, we may understand the knowledge of his glory: For this is held from us so in this World, that we cannot perfectly know him as he is, but in the life to come we shall; but now through a cloud of ignorance our understanding is so darkened that we cannot: To which effect also the Psalmist saith, He came fleeing upon the Cherubims, &c. And under his feet was darkness. In Heaven where Cherubims and Seraphims are, there is fullness of knowledge, whereof the Cherubims are a type, but upon earth beneath, where we are, there is darkness invincible, in many things, which shall not be done away til we depart from hence thither; which should make us willing to be dissolved, that our comfort and happiness this way may be perfected.
He hath compassed the waters with bounds, til the day and night come to an end. This is plainly spoken of the Sea, by the power of God, kept within bounds continually to the Worlds end, and not suffered to go any further to drown the Earth: But whereas an opinion hath taken place amongst many learned men of great antiquity, that the waters of the Sea are higher then the Earth; and therefore, that this is not done without a miracle, the truth is, That they are lower, and therefore it is said, Com. 2. The waters under the Earth: And Philosophers generally hold the same, those parts into which God gathered the waters, being hollowed and made lower to contain them; only there is a kind of order of ebbing and flowing set to the Seas, according to which by course they flow further into the earth, yet no further then God hath set their bounds, as is also declared, Job 38. 11. And if at any time it gaineth ground in one place, it looseth as much in another.
The pillars of Heaven tremble, and are astonished at his reproof. Some by pillars of Heaven, understand the glorious Angels, who are as glorious Pillars, standing there for ornament: As the Temple built by Solomon of brass, were not set up to bear any part of the Temple, but for an ornament to it, of stability and firmness: For the good Angels are likewise established here forever, and are much more for glory to it then the Sun, Moon, and Stars. Yet they, if God should reprove them, being nothing to God their Creator, must needs tremble out of a conscience of their own imperfections, compared with his perfection. Some understand the Firmament of Heaven itself: According to which the Lord saith, The powers of Heaven shall be shaken. And the Prophet; I will shake the Heavens and the earth, and the desire of all Nations shall come. Of which see my exposition upon the place. Some understand the Mountains, which are so high, that they seem to be pillars of Heaven, supporting it; these are shaken by earthquakes, and sometimes with great astonishment, removed out of their places; of either of which if we take it to be spoken, of of all, the speech tendeth, to the setting forth of God's dreadful power, that all men might fear and tremble before him. Gregory is so for the Angels meant here by pillars; that he is also and chiefly for men of eminency in the Church which is often set forth by the name of the Kingdom of Heaven: Because Peter, James and John, are so called: And of seven pillars, whereupon Wisdom buildeth her house; Solomon speaketh, and of one of the seven Churches in Asia, to which it is there alluded in the number of seven, that is, The Angel of the Church of Philadelphia is promised to be made a pillar in the house of God, not to be removed anymore; yet if any of these be reproved by God, they are made to tremble; yea they all tremble at his word, and so doth everyone to whom God is near, and with whom he dwelleth: For Paul himself saith, That he had sufferings without, and terrors within, in respect of his sins, from which he could not get to be free. Rom. 7. 2 Cor. 12.
He divideth the Sea by his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud. He divideth the Sea, the Sept. hath, He quieteth the Sea And the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth either: But it is most commonly expounded of dividing the waters from the dry land, at the first placing some above and some beneath, and the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth waters, therefore it may be read, He devideth the waters, and then it plainly hath reference, to the dividing of the waters at the first: But because the word signifieth the Sea also, and Job hath been all this time speaking of the wonderful things, which God daily doth by his power, and can do; the other signification would rather be followed, To make quiet. For the Sea is most raging, and it must be an Almighty power, whereby it can be quieted, when storms arise therein, and therefore this may well be spoken of, as arguing God's infinite power: But then what is meant by the proud one whom he is said to smite through? Some say, the Devil, some, the Whale, which by tempests is sometimes driven against a Rock, and dieth; or driven to shore, from whence he cannot go again, and so is taken and dieth: Some, Pharaoh, who with his Egyptians, was drowned in the red Sea. And they will have the dividing of the Sea, to be understood, of the dividing of that Sea, but if Job lived long before that, as he did at the least; when he uttered these words, it cannot stand, and yet the word, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 if it be so understood, agreeth very well: Because when the destruction of the Egyptians is spoken of, and of the Babylonians together, it is said, That he smote Rahab and Babylon. Lastly, Some understand by the proud one the Sea itself; which is stricken through as it were, by God's rebuke, when he saith to the proud Waves thereof, be still, they all being hereby so stricken, that they dare go no further: I prefer that of the Whale, because the Sea is nowhere called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 but the Whale is, and the rendering by quieting, or making whist and still, as having the Sea in as great awe, as a Giant hath a Pigmee.
By his spirit he hath garnished the Heavens, his hands have formed the crooked Serpent. For the Lord's garnishing the Heavens, with the Sun, Moon, and Stars; I shall not need to speak, but why is the forming or creating of the crooked Serpent spoken of together? It is most probably thought, that by the Serpent, here a sign or constellation in Heaven, called the Dragon, is meant; and it is so called for the crooked appearance thereof, in the form of this Serpent: For he spake before of the North part of Heaven; set upon an empty place, and before, that of Arcturus and Orion, and the Pleiades, other constellations amongst Astronomers so called in the South. Now therefore coming to speak of the Heavens again, He setteth their garnishing forth in general, to show the wisdom of God, who made these curious works therein, and in particular, in that constellation: But some say, that he joineth the works of God in Heaven above, and in the waters, which are lowest, where Dragons or Whales are, as meaning, That if a man looketh over all the World, to Heaven above, or these parts that be lowest, God's power and wisdom shineth everywhere in the creatures, which he hath made in one place or another. The Reader may choose whether of these he pleaseth: For the allegory, Gregory following the Vulger Lat. Obstet ricante manu ejus eductus est coluber fortuosus, He playing the Mid-Wife, as it were, with his hand, the crooked Serpent was brought, or drawn out. Saith, That as before in speaking of the proud one pierced through, he meaneth the Devil, and by the waters, people's; who were gathered together and brought into one by the preaching of the Gospel: and thus put into a condition of rest and peace, who could have none before, whilst they were under the Prince of the Air; and then when they came to this pacifick estate, the envious Serpent was pierced and slain, as it were, his power now ceasing, for which he is said by the death of Christ, to have been destroyed: So now the Heavens were garnished; that is, The Church with Preachers, as light shining as the Stars of Heaven in all parts; and the Devil, that old crooked Serpent, lurking before in the hearts of unbelievers, is drawn out or cast out, as an abortive birth, by the hand of a mid-wife: By the power of Christ Gospel working faith, to which purpose he saith, When the strong man armed keepeth the house, all is quiet; but a stronger then he cometh, he casteth him out and divideth the spoils. For the reading of the Hebrew, may well bear it 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Coletahjado, His hand hath tormented, for the word signifieth Cruciari to torment, or Parturire, to bring forth with pain; so that God's making of the Serpent, is not here meant, but his making him with sorrow to come forth, and let them go free, whom he formerly possessed: And this is his putting of the childes hand upon the hole of the Asp, to bring him forth that he may harbor no more in any heart appointed to life. A notable place setting forth the glory of the Church of Christ, after that he had overcome and destroyed the Devil by his death, she is garnished in her ministers, as the Heavens with Stars, shining by preaching holiness and miracles in all parts; and [Note.] the people of whom the Church consisteth, being before as holes for the crooked Serpent the devil to wind into; are set free from this foul feind to serve God in holiness and righteousness, that we may adorn our Christian Profession, by so doing all our days; they that do not, having no part in this happiness.
Lo these are parts of his ways, but how little a portion is heard of him, but the thunder of his power who can understand? Job having hitherto spoken most magnifically of God, as man is able, to supply the desects in Bildads speech, now concludeth with this Epiphonema to his greater praise, that all these things are but particles, or small parcels of his powerful works; there are more works yet by him done, and to be done, showing his power and glory; that if these be compared to them, they are but as a drop of water, or a few drops to a great shower of rain, for the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 the least part that is; being therefore rendered by the Vulg. Parnam stillam, a little drop: But what meaneth the next words? The thunder of his might who can understand? Gregory, who referreth that which Job spake hitherto, to the things done by Christ, coming and suffering in the flesh; saith, That it is as if he had said, These be great matters, which have been heard by us to be done, but the thunder which is the voice, that he being Almighty God shall utter at his second coming, who can tell, how terrifical it will be? For the thunder is called the voice of God, Ps. 29. And because it is of all things, whereby God uttereth himself, the most terrifying and suddenly striking, he compareth the terror of his second coming hereunto, or taking a comparison from hence, which we know how terrible it is, and saying, The Thunder of his mighty, coming then who can understand or know what it will be, he meaneth, that meaneth, that no heart can conceive, how terrible that will be, it will be terrifying; passing all the understanding of man▪ For if his voice when he came in humility struck those through fear to the ground, who came to apprehend him, what will that voice of his when he cometh in Majesty do, that we may all tremble now in thinking upon our sins, that we may then have comfort from him to support us in the midst of these Terrors, as his Apostles, to whom he saith [Note.] Then lift ye up your Heads with joy, for the time of your Redemption draweth nigh.
CHAP. XXVII.
AS God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment, and the Almighty who hath vexed my Soul. All the while that my breath is in me, and the spirit of God in my nostrils; My Lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue deceit. Here saith Gregory, it is plain, that Jobs speeches are to be understood as parabolical; that is, as spoken by way of similitude, and therefore admit of such a kind of interpretation, and not only according to the Letter, because it is said, v. 1. Job continued his Parable. Wherefore it is to be held, that as he spake thus of himself, so he spake of the Church of God: And it is to be noted, that whereas Atheists and wicked men, when they [Note.] suffer, look not up to God; but account it to come thus to them by fortune, yea when they see others suffer, that may seem to be better, and the worse to prosper; they think either that there is no God, or that God regardeth not human affairs, whereby they are hardened to go on in their sins; but the Faithful contrariwise look up to God in all these things, and if for sin they suffer, or not having done so wickedly; they consider that in the one case God hath done justly by them, to be stirred up to repentance: And in the other, that although the judgments, whereby they suffer, so that they are punished, as if they had traded in sin; and lived without the fear of God, yet that the Devil, by whom, or by whose instigation they suffer such things, hath no power of himself to deal thus by them, but being by God permitted: And therefore he saith not the Devil, but the living God took away his judgment and vexed him; these last words being added to explain the former, as if he had said, although he was judged not as a just, but a most wicked man, suffering extremely, yet even these his sufferings were moderated by God's providence, and came not without his will upon him, wherefore he resolved, that all his sufferings and the extremity of them, notwithstanding he would not whilst he lived speak as the wicked, that God takes no care of things happening here below, nor a they his Enemies would have him, that these judgments came justly upon him for his wicked practices: And this is the Resolution of the Church, and of every faithful member thereof, against the endeavors of Heretics, to hold them constantly to the truth in all things, and not to yield to any one of their errors, wherewith they seek with all their power to infect them for thus when Errors spring up, they that are approved are known, as the Apostle speaketh, and the unsound are discovered. And touching this last he speaketh more particularly, V. 5.
God forbid that I should justify you, till I dy I will not remove mine integrity: For to consent to a lie is to justify it, and them that speak it, and to justify such is to justify the wicked which is an abomination, as well as to speak or do wickedly according to that Woe to them that justify the Wicked, and condemn the Righteous. And the ground whereupon he went in thus speaking, was, that he had a clear conscience, not making a show through Hypocrisy, but being upright-hearted, and so resolved by God's Grace to continue to the end of his life, whatsoever he suffered or should suffer, for which he addeth, v. 6.
My Righteousness I hold fast and will not let it go, my heart shall not reproach me as long as I live. For his Heart reproacheth or reproveth him that doth evil, whatsoever good show he maketh before men, only, If our Hearts condemn us not, as John saith, we have confidence towards God, and whatsoever we ask he will give unto us: And then our Heart condemneth us not, when in integrity of Heart we do good, and not doing good outwardly have deceit in our hearts inwardly; which still are unclean, and wicked through the evil thoughts that be therein. Therefore Jeremiah saith, Let us thoroughly search our hearts, and return, and seek the Lord: Let us lift up our Hearts and hands: To search our Hearts is to search the internal things of the Heart, to cleanse out all evil from thence, and to lift up our hands and Hearts is to do out of a pure heart only that which is good, he lifteth up his Heart and not his Hands that prayeth, but liveth in sin, and he lifteth up both Heart and Hands that prayeth, and liveth well, thinking good Thoughts, and doing good Actions of Righteousness, and mercy.
Let mine Enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous. Here Gregory distinguisheth betwixt the Wicked and the unrighteous, saying, every wicked man is unrighteous, but not every unrighteous man wicked. For Wickedness or impiety lieth in this, that a man is an Enemy to the true faith, and to the Faithful, but unrighteousness or iniquity in this, that he who holdeth the true faith, is yet unequal and unjust in his doings, as the word signifieth; of which sort of men it is said, that they confess Christ with their mouths, but in their Deeds they deny him. And in saying, Mine Enemies are as the Wicked, for so the vulg. rendereth it, and not let them be; the word As is not a note of similitude, but as if he had said, they are both very wicked and unjust, as John saith of Christ, We saw his Glory as the Glory of the only begotten son of God: where (As) is no note of similitude, but hereby the same is set forth. For the word Let them be, it is so Hebr. And therefore it is not to be varied, he prayeth God that he would declare them to be such, and that they might not be spared any longer, thus unjustly to insult over him, wherein God heard him, as is shown, Chap. 38.
For what is the Hope of a Hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul. That is, if an Hypocrite by dissembling getteth much, when God cometh to require his Soul away, what good hath he of this? for so the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth to ask or to require, and it is notably exampled in that belly-God, who got so much, that now he meditated upon nothing but eating and drinking and making merry.
Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him? Will he delight himself in the Almighty, will he always call upon God? He prosecuteth the argument in hand, the hope of the Hypocrite at that day; when his Soul shall be taken away, shall be nothing; for although he crieth to God, he will not hear him: And the reason is plain, he that turneth away his ears from hearing the Law, he shall cry to the Lord, that gave the Law, and he will not hear him: As is threatened also, Prov. 1. and fulfilled Math. 25. Where the foolish virgins come and cry, Lord open to us, but are bidden, Depart ye workers of iniquity, I know ye not. Then follow two properties of the Hypocrite.
1. He delighteth not in the Almighty.
2. He calleth not always upon God. For the first, The hypocrite howsoever he maketh a show of great piety towards God, yet it is not for any [Note.] true delight that he taketh in him, but his delight is in Worldly things; God and his word, being made but a stale to gain these; or that he may the more unsuspectedly take his sensual pleasure: For the mind of man cannot be without its delight; if it delighteth in earthly things, the delights in Heavenly languisheth, as contrariwise if it delighteth in heavenly, those are looked at, but as dross and dung, there cannot be an equal delight in both: For which John saith, Love not the World, nor the things of the World; for he that loveth the World, hath not the love of the Father in him, For the second, The hypocrite, although he prayeth in time of danger or trouble, yea before men also, that he may have their praise, yet he prayeth not always, as we are bidden to do, and as every faithful person doth: According to that of the Apostle, Pray continually, and in all things give thanks. That is, Both in distress, in the public place of God's worship; in thy Closet, in thy bed, and walking abroad: As Isaac is said to have gone out into the fields, to meditate and to pray: And as it is said to Timothy, Let men lift up pure hands in every place without wrath or doubting.
I will teach you by the hand of God, that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal. Here Job representing the Church; saying, I will hide nothing from you, but teach you all; for so the true Church of God doth, as we may see in Paul; saying, I have hidden nothing from you, but have declared unto you the whole counsel of God. And therefore this must needs according to the judgment of Gregory, convince the present Church of Rome, to be no true Church; because they conceal the commandment against Images, expounding it out of their Catechisms, and what else they lust out of the word of God, by forbidding the people to read it, and take only so much of it, as their Priest think good to teach them; whereas he saith, I will teach you by the hand of God. This is spoken to show, That what the Church of God teacheth, is done by his guidance and direction, because she is herein led by the spirit: As our Lord said, He shall lead you into all truth. And therefore the word preached, and written by the Apostles, is called, The word, Not of man but of God.
All ye yourselves have seen it, why then are ye altogether vain? He saith, That he will teach them, and yet he granteth that they knew it, although they improved not their knowledge, but spake vainly, and vilely notwithstanding; whereby he attributeth nothing to them yet, but aggravateth their sin, as indeed every man's sin is aggravated by this, that knowing the wisdom of God he doth it not, but contrary things.
This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, &c. Job having made a preparative to his parobolical speech, now uttereth it, whereby if nothing else had been meant, but the judgments of God to come upon hypocrites and wicked oppressors; how had it been parobolical? By oppressors therefore, or the violent, as it is rendered in Vulg. Heretics, saith Gregory, are to be understood, Who are called violent, because the violent turn the Scriptures, to maintain their errors.
If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his of spring, &c. in Vulg. Nephews shall not be satisfied with bread. Who be his children, but such as are drawn by him into error? For they are thus as it were, begotten by him, and they are said not to be satisfied with bread, whereby to live; because the true word of God is bread, wherewith they are not sed, but with error, which is as poison to the Soul; and so be their children's children, that is, Such as are afterwards drawn likewise by their followers: But they fall by the sword; that is, The sharp sentence of the just Judge at the last day, whereby they shall be cut off, as by a sword, for which it is said, The sword of God shall be drunken with the blood of the slain.
Those that remain of him shall be buried in death, and his widows shall not weep. That is, He also, that is the author of heresy, shall be cut off, God's judgment coming upon him, and then if there be any still of his sect remaining, they dying, shall be buried in perpetual oblivion, there being none left now to uphold such damnable errors; and for the weaker sort, which in their life time followed them, they shall not be forty for their cutting off; for by this means they are reduced to the unity of the true saith, they being dead and gone that held them from it, to whom they were married or wedded, as it were, as long as they lived, for which they are set forth by the name of their Widows, or else they weep not, because through a false hope they believe, that it goeth well with them, and so they persist still in error.
Though he heapeth up Silver as the dust, and prepareth Rayments as the clay. Yet the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver. By silver here understand the words and sayings of God; many of which Heretics gather together, to defend their errors, but they are of no more force for their ends then the dust, which the wind easily bloweth away: And by Garments Armor, wherewith to go forth to fight, but they are herewith no better clad, then if daubed over with clay: for of false Prophets such as Heretics, are abusing the words of God, we read, as of daubing with clay, or untempered mortar, which shall not hold. They then, that is, Heretics prepare them; but the just, that is, They that stand for the true faith put them on, not as they, as brittle clay ready to be washed off again with rain, is put on upon a Wall, but as solid and substantial Armor indeed, which is done, when any one of them taketh the same word, brought by Heretics, and hereby consuteth and confoundeth them: For this is David like to kill Goliath or to cut off his Head with his own sword; And the same being also called the innocent divide these spoils of silver taken from them, when they rightly expound to the People the words brought by them for their confirmation and edification in the true faith, as it is said of Timothy, that he should show himself a work-man that needeth not to be ashamed, dividing the word of Truth aright, and of the word set forth by the name of spoil, see Psal. 119. Where David saith; that rejoiced in the word as in grear spoils, as the Hebrews robbed the Egypt's, and with spoils of silver and Gold taken from them, Built and enriched the Sanctuary.
He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth which the Keeper maketh: Hereby is shown that Oppressors may get them great Estates, but not continuing anymore then a Garment eaten with Moths, or the House which the mouth makes it in a Garment that is soon fading, or a sleight booth or bower made of boughs for shadow by the Keepers of vineyards, that is soon pulled down again: Thus also Heretics and they that are led by them hope to have an enduring house in Heaven, but this their hope being sounded upon corruption, when death cometh, fadeth instead of coming to an house there, they being cast into the bottomless pit.
The rich man shall lie down, and shall not be gathered, he openeth his eyes and he is not. From the Goods of wicked Oppressors he here passeth to their persons; such an one shall dy, but not be gathered; that is, to the souls of the Faithful, as contrariwise it is said of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: and such like, that they were gathered to their Fathers, and at the time of the Resurrection after the long sleep of death, he awaking again shall find that he is none of the Congregation of the Saints, but to his everlasting confusion separated from them, as the Goats from the sheep, to hear that dreadful judgment denounced against him and such as he was, Go ye cursed into hell fire, &c. And herein also Heretics shall be like unto them, and the rich, as Gregory noteth, who have been deceived by them, and ministered unto them liberally of their Goods, and by their countenance and power supported them, thinking that in so doing and with drawing themselves, and means from Christ's own Ministers, they acquitted themselves most worthily. A thing worth the considering by such as are carried away by the Garherers of new Churches in these our times; so full of Schism and Faction.
Terrors take hold on him as waters, and tempest stealeth him away in the night. The vulg. Inopia, for terrors, as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth, after the taking away of the wicked by death before spoken of, now it is shown, in what misery he shall be after death, Viz. He shall be overwhelmed with miseries in exceeding great abundance, as he that is cast into a deep pit full of water: But the similitude is not taken from waters, because there shall be no such plenty of waters there: For Dives begged for one drop to cool him, when he was there and could not obtain it; as he had denied the least relief to Lazarus, the very crumbs that fell from his Table, but because there shall be as great abundance of fire, into which he shall be cast to torment him there, as there be of waters in a great and deep pit: For which it is said of Tophet, that the breath of the Lord as a River of brimstone kindleth it; Tempests steal him away in the night. Hereby tempest, that tempest is to be understood, of which the Psalmist speaketh; saying. A devouring fire shall go before him, and a mighty tempest round about him. And hereby he is said to be stolen away in the night, because as men in the night sleep securely, and then the Theef cometh and stealeth away their Goods, so their Souls are taken away unexpectedly to these torments, when they fear them least: As is shown in the parable of the rich Glutton, and by the like comparison from a Theef breaking through and stealing in the night; made both by Christ and his Apostle Peter▪ So that Job, who wrote the first of all others, was enlightened to teach the same, touching the Lord's proceedings against the wicked, in death and the day of judgment, that is written in the New Testament.
The east wind carrieth him away and he deparieth, and as a storm hurleth him out of his place. Having in the former verse said, that he should be stolen away by a tempest, now in amplifying this he addeth, An cast wind, Vulg. A burning wind. As Exod. 30. 13. An east wind is said to have brought the Locusts upon Egypt, to consume the good things thereof, as if it had been seinged by a fire; and the East wind is commonly noted to have a blasting quality in Corn, as in those seven ears of come which Pharaoh saw in his dream, blasted with the east wind; the meaning is then, That the tempest before spoken of, stealing away in the night, shall be a most piercing tempest, as the east wind, there being nothing by means hereof now left him; that is, Of substance, wherewith he before abounded, but as all chaff now, he shall go into the fire, when as the good corn shall be carried into the barn; and as a strong tempest hurleth a Tree out of his place, rending it up by the roots, so that it groweth no more▪ but starveth and becometh fuel for the fire, so shall the wicked be carried from worldly felicity to hellish misery, therein to remain forever.
For God shall cast upon him, and shall not spare, he would sain escape ou •… of his hand. Men shall clap their hands at him, and hiss him out of his place. When God scourgeth here, saith Gregory, He doth it to spare the perso •… scourged, if by his judgments he be reformed; but when he striketh by death, and by his final judgment casting into Hel, then he casteth upon the wicked and spareth him not, but layeth on load upon him importable forever, giving him no ease▪ Of this Jeremiah saith, I have stricken thee will the stroke of an enemy, with a cruel castigation, why criest thou, thy grief is incurable? For the next words, the Vulg. hath it, He that fleeth shall f •… out of his hand. That is, He that at God's striking in this life feareth, an •… so fleeth sin, shall not be thus proceeded against, but escape the judgment to come; but others that are not reformed, to them the judgments smiting [Note.] them here, shall be but the beginning of these endless torments here after: For the next words the Vulg. hath, Stringet super eum manus suas, h •… shall bind up his hands upon him. Which is the same in effect with th •… of the Apostle, Lift up your hands that hange down. And intimateth the sinners, applying himself after correction to do better, his hands that before were feeble towards the doing of good, being now strengthened to do good, for this is as it were, a binding of them up from acts of injustice, that they may be used to acts of justice and mercy: Thus some profit by the judgments of God, and so are spared, although smitten here: And not only so, but seeing God's judgments upon others, this makes them to flee sin, and thus to bind up their hands, as the Psalmist saith, That the just shall rejoice, when he shall see the revenge of the wicked, he shall wash his hands in their blood; that is, He shall take occasion by seeing to what a terrible end they come, to wash his hands from guiltiness by sinning likewise: And shall hiss at him beholding his place, that is, Whereas before he admired the wicked man for his prosperity, not believing that which was taught and threatened against him, now seeing his fall, he shall by hissing show, in what derision and detestation he hath his ways; publishing now everywhere the praises of God, who is so just in executing judgments according to his word, to which he therefore now giveth more heed; thus Gregory according to that reading: and indeed these words, Fleeing he shall flee, are according to the Hebrew, but the next are not, He shall bind, but clap his hands at him, and hiss him from his place. Of which yet the sense may be the same, the man that fleeing sin upon the sight of the irrevocable sentence of judgment upon the wicked, escapeth out of this danger; now having his eyes opened to see into his vanity, that delighted himself so much in having abundance, for indignation he clapeth his hands and hisseth at him, and such like; as being men not so excellent before in his esteem, as now vile and base; and this is the improvement of God's judgments, which all that are appointed to life make: And this is the shameful end of reprobates, who are of so wicked a condition, as [Note.] was before said; that all they that take such courses, may in time fear and be ashamed, and all that hear of their judgments, may not be taken with their present prosperity, to admire and applaud them, but looking at their end, be admonished to flee doing likewise, and if they have; now to repent and turn from such ways.
CHAP. XXVIII.
SUrely there is a vein for Silver, and a place for Gold, where they find it. Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is moulten out of the stone. He setteth an end to darkness and searcheth, out all perfection. That is, As silver and gold appear not at the first, but the veins, where they lie being opened, yet they come not to their bright shining, but by the heat of a fervent fire: So men are put into the fire of adversity, that being tried, they might shine in grace here, and in glory hereafter; but yet such are not, but in the true Church, as silver and gold lie not, but in their proper veins: And this most probably he speaketh against these his enemy like friends, who judged him wicked, because he suffered in the fire of adversity and misery; for he had before said, That he should come out of his trial as gold; although he lay long in obscurity, to this effect Gregory: But Chrysostom saith, That in these words Job showeth that the reason of God's dealings towards his faithful Servants, in laying great sufferings upon them, is occult and hidden from men, til he is pleased to lay it open, as is silver and gold lying hid in the earth til that by diging men find them out: And so men come to find out these and other metals lying hid in the ground; but the cause why the faithful suffer so much in this World, is so hidden, that men cannot see into this, til that God showeth it; so that hereby he proveth it to be temerity and rashness in them to judge of him, that some foul sins wherein he lived, were the cause, why he was under so great judgments: And herein he seemeth to have reference to that, which he had said of himself, Chap. 27. 5. 6. That he would not cease to justify himself in respect of his integrity, although he suffered even unto the death; because the reason of his so great sufferings was unknown and could not be found out by men, although they could by their skil pry into things lying hid in the bowels of the earth; this being a far more mystical and inscrutable thing then those: And what hath been said of silver and gold is true, touching other metals also, Iron and Brass, for all lie hidden in the ground, til that being found out they are by the fire and art of man made useful for him; and then their excellency and usefulness for several purposes appeareth, the basest of them being for some things more useful, then the most precious, as Iron to make weapons to fight withal in time of War, and instruments to cut and til the earth at all times, to make it the more fruitful; whereas he further saith, He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection. The meaning is, that as these metals lying in darkness a long time, yet are at length by God's providence brought to light, who giveth to men the understanding to find them out, and to try them, and to perfect them by bringing them into such forms, as that they may be most useful for men: So shall his faithful Servants in whom there is abundance of grace and virtue, although they seem not to be such, when they lie in the darkness of misery in this World; yet they shall be brought forth out of all their troubles, and made to appear precious, and of great use in his Church, being the riches and glory hereof, as gold and silver, through their faith and understanding in the word, and the strength and defense thereof by their teaching, sounding out the truth aloud in all places, as Bels made of brass and steel, and piercing the enemies as with weapons of Iron, Swords, Spares, and Darts, making them to fall down, and to become worshippers of God and his Son Christ: And when this done, all perfection is found out; that is, The ways of God are more perfectly known, and men are not suffered any longer to err so foully in their judgments touching the Godly, as before whilst they lay in misery they did, but they shall see as in the light, and acknowledge, that God dealt not so by them out of wrath for their sins, but for their trial and greater good: And therefore whosoever hath judged otherwise of any unblamable liver for his sufferings, let him now confess his error and repent, and [Note.] do no more so, but wait to see the end both of them, which shall be peace; and of the wicked, who for a time are in prosperity, but their end shall be misery and horrible destruction, as in the Chapter before going, The stones of darkness and the shadow of death. This is added, because he had spoken before of brass moulten out of the stone, which lay in the greatest darkness, til it was found out; as a further amplification of that before going, touching the occult and hidden proceedings of the Lord in the cases before spoken of.
The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant, even the waters forgotten of the foot; they are dried up, they are gone away from men. Ferus, who expoundeth all that went before as comparative, wherein Job compareth wisdom, and the finding out thereof, with the finding out of other things; to speak whereof he cometh, Ver. 12. and saith, That by diverse comparisons he showeth, how hard it is to find out true wisdom, which is to salvation; for men by searching find out Silver and Gold lying deep in the earth, so likewise Iron and Brass, for which they pierce into most dark and hidden places of the earth, to such earth, which is meant by the words before going: Here he cometh to another comparison, to set forth the discovering to men other things lying hid from them in the earth; as namely, springs of water, coming from high mountains not trodden upon with the foot of man, yet these breaking forth from the bowels of the earth, make Rivers and great floods, of which men have the use and benefit; and these waters are said to have broken out from the inhabitant, that is, from Mountains and Rocks, being placed here and there, as inhabitants constantly dwelling in their places; and to be forgotten of the foot; that is, lying hid in those parts of the earth, that men travel not not tread upon, or to dig out which, as they do metals, they labor not, but they flow forth of their own accord, yet these are dried up by the labor of man, as Junius hath it, and go away; that is, Sometimes are drawn out by men, who make deep wels into the ground to come by them, and so draw them out as fast as they spring out of the earth.
As for the earth out of it cometh out bread; and under it is turned up as it were fire. Here is another thing, that cometh out of the earth, which is most necessary for the sustentation of man, and that is Corn, which he by tilling the ground, and husbanding it attaineth to, for the making of bread: For the fire under it, some will have it to be brimstone, and some the flint, out of which fire is smitten: But Cajetan best, the precious stone found in Persia, called therefore Pyrites persicus, of which Pliny writeth, that being held hard in a man's hand, it burneth: So likewise Isidorus; for from grain growing out of the earth for man's use, he proceedeth to another marvelous thing lying hid therefore, but by man's ingenuity found out; Viz. Precious stones, for of these he speaketh expressly in the next words; The place of it are Sapphire stones, of which they write, that being smitten with the Sun beams they fire, and it is admirable that is written of Agates, that are precious stones in the bottom of some Rivers, which being taken out, burn by the casting on of water, and by oil are again extinguished, and Carbuncles give light like fire in the dark night.
There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and the Vultueres eye hath not seen. Having spoken, Vers. 6. of the dust of the earth being gold, now he describeth the parts, where this gold lieth; they are so barren, as they bring forth nothing else but gold, nothing for Fowls to feed upon, no not discernible by the eye of the Vulture, which excelleth in seeing a far of, but turneth not his eye thitherwards, as wherein nothing is to be found, for the sustentation even of fowls, and so they have no way, as it were in such places: Of this sort it is said, there be some very barren mountainous places in Spain, thus Albertus, Thomas Aquinas, Dionisius: But men make their ways even here to dig and find out gold, being in this more perspicatious, then the very vultures.
The Lions whelps have not trodden it. For Lions whelps, Hebr. The sons of pride, or of strength, and so the Septuag. rendereth it, but what are these amongst the Beasts, to which he now cometh, but Lions? He goeth on further to show, how occult treasures in the earth are from other living creatures, but only men; But as for man, He putteth forth his hand to the rocks, he overturneth them by the roots. Which is, when he diggeth them down to find out this treasure.
He cutteth out Rivers amongst the rocks, and his eye seeth every precious thing. That is, by his labor and wisdom to find out treasures in the bowels of the Mountains, he cutteth them through, so that he draweth Rivers through them by opening channels, wherein they may run and wash the inner parts of the earth, so as that by this means they may see if there be any gold lying hid there.
He bindeth the floods from overflowing, &c. That is, As he maketh the waters to run through mountains, so he drieth, by thus doing, the channels wherein they used to run, that he might see if any treasure lay at the bottom hereof: But to what tend all these comparisons, but to show, that wisdom which is more precious then gold, or precious stones, or other metralls is so hidden that without great study and labor it is much less to be found out and attained unto, as is expressed, v. 12.
But where is wisdom to be found, and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof, neither is it found in the Land of the living. And because it is not to be found by human Wit and Labor as other metals and precious things hid in the Earth are, man not prising it according to the worth, leaveth the searching for this, and is wholly intent to the other, and so he is a rare one living upon Earth, that findeth it out; for which it is said; Neither is it found in the Land of the Living. For he that will get Wisdom must seek for her more then for Gold, and therefore most men seeking mucke for their Land, and dross more then her, are never likely [Note.] to obtain her, and thus doth everyone that toyleth for worldly gain, but takes little or no pains for Wisdom.
Gregory by Wisdom here, as Proverb. 9. understandeth Christ the wisdom of God. And about this Wisdom Job moveth two Questions.
- 1. Where is Wisdom to be found?
- 2. What may a man give for it? and answereth them both only negatively: To the first, V. 14.
The Depth saith it is not me. And to the second, V. 15. It is not to be gotten for Gold, or silver. Whereby it appeareth, that Christ through whom we may be worthy of life and Salvation, is not to be bought by anything that we can do, but is freely given to those that shall be saved, and life by him, whereby the absurdity of those men appeareth, that ascribe unto man the doing of some works for which he is worthy, and so obtaineth Christ and Salvation; for salvation implieth one in a miserable and sinful case before, and therefore one that can do nothing meritorious of salvation; for what is salvation, but a being saved out of misery and sin, from which how can the sinner do anything to redeem himself? And that these passages are thus mystically to be understood, he proveth, because it is said, The Gold and Crystal cannot equal it. For what reason else can be given, why Gold and Glass should be joined together as most precious, when the one is far inferior to the other, yea of no value in comparison of it: Touching Ratification and Salvation not coming of man's merit, but of God's Grace, he saith excellently, Grace found not any merit in man for which it should come, but makes it after it comes: And God coming to a mind unworthy makes it worthy by coming thereunto, and makes merit there which he might renumerate, who found only that which he might punish.
For these words, Not found in the Land of the living upon Earth, he following the Vulgar, hath it, In such as live sweetly upon the Earth. That is, in pleasures which take up their Hearts; For in such Wisdom is not found, because he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth grief, as Ecclesiastes saith, therefore he that liveth in pleasure, and greiveth not, for his sins is a Fool, and wants this Wisdom: Wherefore of Mourners it is said, They shall be comforted. But of Laughers, that they shall wail and weep: For the Depth saying, It is not in me, Hereby understand wicked dissemblers, that dig deep to hide their evil Counsels, for although they think themselves wise, yet their wisdom shall prove Foolishness, The sea saith, it is not in me, What doth the Sea set forth, but such as are full of worldly bitter cares and troubles, being never quiet, but raging and tempestious. In such true wisdom is not found, For the Wisdom which is from above is pure and peaceable, but where strife and contention is, this is carnal, sensual, and Devilish. And this was figured out in the Egyptians and the Hebrews, they were full of trouble through the swarms of flies, these had the Sabbath, that is, Rest and quiet.
It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price there of. Having shown where Wisdom is not, now he cometh to show for what it cannot be gotten, and by Gold here understand the Holy Angels, who cannot be the price of our Redemption, but Christ, the Son of God only, for they are pure like fine Gold, without all impurity of sin, as the best of men in this world are not yet, being but Creatures, and finite, they cannot do this great work which is proper to the Creator only. By silver understand also inspired men, who wrote the Word and unerringly set it forth, which is likened to silver tried seven times in the fire, as the Prophets and Apostles. Yet neither they nor Angels can be our Wisdom and Righteousness; and it is denied to be in them to make us thus wise, least for their glorious ministering unto us in things pertaining to salvation, we should look at them as Authors hereof unto us, which Christ only is: A thing to be noted against the present Papists that rely so much, and attribute so much to the Saints departed, as having merited for them by their works of supererogation, for this is an opinion started up amongst them since the time of this Gregory, being by him unknown, and the merits of Christ only predicated. [Note.]
It cannot be valued with the Gold of Ophir, with the precious Onix, and the Sapphire, The vulg. For gold of Ophir, hath the Colour of India, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth both Gold, and sometime, Nota aut macula, and so Gregory taking it for Coulours made by painting upon the black bodies of the Indians, saith, that hereby painted words of Eloquence, whereby the wise men of this world paint over their black Errors and Superstions, and so seek to commend them, is set forth; this is nothing to the plain truth of Christ, which his Ministers set not forth in any such manner, but in the plain evidence of the spirit: Here then Job passeth from the price of our Redemption, and showing what that is not, to comparisons betwixt other things most precious, and it showing that none of them all is comparable hereunto; For the Onix stone and the Sapphire, he also saith, that they are not so precious as some other precious stones: why then omitting others, doth he first speak of these? Sol. For their Colours, the Onix being red and the Sapphire of the Colour of the Sky, and hereby man in his Creation, being made of red Earth is set forth, and the Holy Angels pure as the Sky and Heavenly, neither, of these are comparable to Christ our Wisdom. Then going on in this Comparison, further he saith, The gold and the Crystal cannot equal it. In which words, he putteth two things together, one far inferior to the other, but by the Gold holy men are set forth, being precious for virtue, and shining through faith and patience like gold, and by christal glass they being changed in heaven, as it were into christal for their transparency, the glory that is within appearing as it is, as well as that without, which it doth not here no more then it is seen through a golden cup what is within it, but in a Crystal Glass that which is within showeth itself in the proper color thereof; to demonstrate which it is said, that before the Throne of God was a Sea of Glass like Crystal, so that one Saint shall then be seen and known to another in his very inward parts, which he cannot now so clearly be, there being so many Hypocrites that seem holy.
And the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. Vulg. Vessells of fine gold, Hebr. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Vessells, Arms, Instruments, or Ornaments of fine gold. These, saith he, were the Holy Fathers, the Prophets, and Apostles, who were most excellent amongst men, but yet not comparable to Christ, as the light enlightened is not to the light enlightening, nor the Justice justified to the Justice justifying Such a vessel of Gold was Moses and Elias, Peter and Paul, but when they come to be spoken of in comparison of Christ, they are nothing, V. 18.
The Topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. The Topaz is a precious stone of diverse glorious colors, and Ethiopia, a Country of black men, hereby then may be understood, the faithful of the Gentiles who were black before by sin, and their Conversion prophesied of by the name of Ethiopia, The land of Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands to thee. Amongst these there were some shining by variety of graces, but none comparable to Christ, seeing he was born most holy, they but adopted to be holy, but born in sin. For the next words, the vulgar hath it, Neither shall it be compared to the cleanest tincture: the same word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 being used that went before, V. 16. only here, the word Clean is added, which was before wanting; and hereby the same faithful persons are to be understord, who count not themselves clean but by dipping in the water of Baptism, being of themselves foul and unclean, and so not comparable to Christ. I have here omitted, V. 18. touching which yet something would be said, it being in vulg. High and eminent things shall not be remembered in comparison of her, but wisdom is drawn out of secret places, N. Tr. No mention shall be made of Corrall or of Pearl, for her price is above rubies: And the two first words 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signify precious stones, but none other names hereof do I find, and therefore the vulgar without specifying them hath it high and excellent, as if he had said, if there be any things else yet more precious, they are nothing to Wisdom; For the last words the vulg. is to be preferred, the Hebr. being 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Wisdom is drawn out of corners, whereby must needs be meant hidden places, whereby the incarnation of Christ is set forth, God being in him hidden under the appearance and form of a man, a servant, but drawn forth and manifested by signs, and wondrous works which he did.
Whence cometh wisdom? where is the place of understanding? Seeing it is hidden, &c.
Here Job not having yet found out the place where Wisdom is, reneweth his inquiry after it; Whence cometh it? this is hidden, because he is the only begotten Son of the Father, and his begetting is so latent, that the Prophet Isaiah saith, Who can declare his generation? And for the place where he is, it being the mind of man, and this being hidden from all other men, and unknown in whose heart and mind he dwelleth, it might well be added; And where is the place of understanding? But it may trouble the Reader, most which followeth, It is hidden from the eyes of all men living. For Moses saw the Lord, and spake with him face to face; and Jacob saw him, and he appeared to Abraham, and was seen by Isaiah: And yet John saith, no man hath seen God at any time, and no man shall see God and live; how shall these contradictions be reconciled? Sol. When Moses is said to have seen and talked with God, yet it is manifest, that he saw him not as he is to be seen, because that after this he desired to see his face, and had it not granted unto him: If he had seen, and did often see and talk with him, according to that seeing; why did he desire after this to have his face shown unto him? He saw him then only by some representation full of glory, but he saw not as he was seen; that is, God in his essence, no more did any other of the Prophets: And therefore according to it, he is said to be seen by the eyes of men living, but not by some Idea or representation. Or by the living we may understand, such as live in sin, for so soon as God cometh to be seen of man, he dieth to sin: In which sense also it may be said, No man shall see God and live: For he that seeth God by faith, liveth no more in sin, but saith with the Apostle, If we be dead to sin, how should we live any longer therein? Whereas it is added, And kept close from the fowls of the air. There are saith Gregory, some fowls are spoken of in holy Scripture, whereby Devils are meant, as where it is said, The fowls of the air devoured the seed cast in the way. And where Christ saith, The Foxes have holes, and the fowls of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not whereupon to lay his head. For here by Foxes are meant, cunning and subtle Devils, and proud Devils fleeing aloft, these have harbor in men's hearts, but Christ not: Again by some fowls the faithful are meant, as where it is said, that mustard seed groweth to a great Tree, and the Fowls of the Air come and make their Neasts therein, that is, in Christ, who is hereby set forth, for even from these is Christ hidden in his divine Essence, although ceasing to live in sin, as was said before, they attaining to be above the condition of other men, and more high elevated, they see him so, as others do not.
Destruction and Death say, We have heard the fame thereof, &c. Having shown that natural men see not where wisdom is, neither do the faithful see it with their Bodily eyes, to which it is invisible, but by their spiritual they do; Now he cometh to Devils and damned spirits, meant by Death and Destruction, these he saith hear the Fame thereof, because that by the Preaching of the Gospel Christ is published everywhere, so that the Worst cannot say, but that they have heard of him, but they see him not, because their Eyes be blinded, and herein lieth their Misery.
But God knoweth the place thereof, he understandeth the way thereof: That is, although it be hidden from the eyes of men and Devils, yet he knoweth the place thereof, because it is in him, for the Father and Son are one; he in the Son and the Son in him, but how this is unknown to us, that live here, and he knoweth the way, that is, this his wisdoms taking flesh, both how it was, and before it came to pass when it should be: Or otherwise God knoweth the place thereof in man, in whose heart it is, and in whose not, and the way of coming thereof into men's Hearts; but touching those, in whose Hearts this wisdom hath place, it is not so to be held, that God only knoweth this as that they in whom it is, are ignorant of it, for they have a white stone, and hereon a new name written, which no man knoweth but he that hath it; And what is this new name but the name of himself taken notice of, to have Christ the wisdom of God in him to his Salvation?
For he looketh to the Ends of the Earth, and seeth under the whole Heaven: That God knoweth in what heart Wisdom is, he hereby showeth, that he beholdeth all things, and men in all parts of the World. All things are naked and manifest in his sight. And if all things be known unto him, then in what heart wisdom is, so Nicetas: but Cajetan, he knoweth all things, so as that he giveth wisdom to such as have it, and therefore knoweth where it is: From hence he proceedeth to particulars, Vers. 25. Whereby his knowing and ordering all things by wisdom, is proved.
To make the weight for the winds, and he waieth the waters by measure; When he made a decree for the rain, &c. For that weigheth and keepeth down the winds at his pleasure, and appointeth them where and when to blow, and stinteth the waters of the Sea, settling them bounds, how far they shall go, and no further; and likewise the rain and thunder without doubt knoweth the secrets of all these: And therefore all things under the Heavens, and in ordering all things so as he hath done, he shown. That he did see and declare wisdom, prepared it and searched it out, as followeth, V. 27. That is, That he not only saw and knew it, as was said before, but in his doing thus declared it to man, so that he might in his works see it: As the Apostle saith, Rom. 1. and be affected with fear, love, and reverence, towards God; and believe in, and serve him all his days: And to the same end he addeth two words more, his preparing and searching it out for man by this means, who could not of himself come to know it or how to attain unto it.
And to man he said, The fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding. Here by his saying to man, Vatablus understands, that he said, by his ordering all things so, as hath been declared, that men by fearing him, and learning this from his works, and believing and worshipping him, and obeying him, as he seeth all things do, night be made truly wise; and by sleeing disobedience and sin, intelligent: But why is this said to be wisdom, which is an act of the will; since wisdom lieth in the intellectual part of man? To this Ambrose saith, because the end of knowing is willingly to live and do accordingly; therefore he that doth not so, whatsoever understanding he hath, is a fool, because he attaineth not the end hereof, which then only is wisdom, when from understanding it cometh into act through a good will ready to do accordingly in all things: As he that hath learned any art or science, but will not exercise it, makes all his knowledge therein frustrate and nothing worth. To conclude then, this declaration what wisdom is, tendeth to [Note.] call men off from their indefatigable laboring and earnest endeavoring after Gold and other metals hidden in the ground, which when by diging they have pierced most deep, yet they are no whit the nearer to the inestimable treasure of wisdom, to get the fear of God, and an heart to depart from all evil, which who so doth, hath Christ the wisdom of the Father in him: But he that hath not, although he may seem to be wise by this wisdom, yet indeed he is not, for he hath only a Lamp, but no oil therein.
CHAP. XXIX.
OH that I were as in months past, and as in the days when God preserved me; when his candle shined upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness. In this Chapter Job maketh a commemoration of the great favor which God shown unto him in times past, not out of ostentation or vain-glory, for being now in misery he could not record these things, but to the aggravation of his grief: Therefore he was by these men, who laid foul sins to his charge, forced to speak, as here he doth; that their mouths might be stopped, since that if he had been so wicked, as they charged him to be, God would never have blessed him so greatly as he did, making men by this means so highly to honor him, as is here declared: And because these blessings are common to the righteous and to the wicked, and whatsoever man he be, that hath wealth and authority in this World, may be honored by other men through adulation and flattery, to curry favor with him, for their own advantage: He further proveth, that the honor which he had, was upon good ground, Viz. his Justice, Charity, and Wisdom; wherewith God had endued him, as appeareth; Vers. 12. 13. 14. &c. to Vers. 17. For although wicked men being very wealthy, and preferred to places of rule and authority, may be had in great honor therefore, yet when the loving, charitable, and [Note.] just, are so honored and esteemed of; it is a certain sign of singular favor, wherein they are with God: Howsoever it is not always their lot, to be thus respected here, but the best are sometimes in greatest misery in this World, and therefore accounted worst, yea although their outward estate be prosperous, and the worst are accounted best by the wicked; such as the far greater part of men is. Neither is it to be thought, [Note.] to have been spoken out of vain-glory, in what honor and prosperity he had been; as neither by any other true faithful Servant of God, although they that commonly do so, are justly ju • ged to do it in a vanting way and in pride: For as the Apostle saith in the like case; all such may truly say, Ye have constrained us to this seeming boasting: As Samuel also did in the like case. Thus much in general upon this Chapter: More particularly Job doth first here describe his felicity in respect of worldly things past. First, In what God preserved him; Vers. 2. Secondly, In that his light shone upon him; that is, He kept him from losses, and made his estate prosperous, Vers. 3. Thirdly, The secret of God was in my tabernacle. V. 4. And this he saith, was in his youth: Whence it may be noted, that Job was sanctified betimes, and even from his youth walked with God, as Enoch did: For what else can be meant by the secret of God being in his Tabernacle, but that even there, where he was hidden from all mortal eyes, he had soliloquies with God by meditation and prayer, and most probably God in token of his acceptation, sometimes spake unto him to comfort and encourage him in the good way, wherein he was; as he did to Abraham and Jacob, and some other holy men, frequently of old. Job then was a rare and extraordinary man for sanctity, in that he feared God even in his youth, in which age others commonly are given to eating and drinking; robbing their Parents of their money, hunting whore-houses, and dicing, and other heinous sins, for which it is meet, that juvenile breaking out should be bound and bridled by accurate reasons; as Plutarch speaketh: But the example of Job, should be the invitation of other young men; to every of whom it is said, Remember [Note.] thy Creator in the days of thy youth. The word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifieth either, My child-hood, youth, or winter. Because that age commonly is frozen as it were in vice, no virtue then springing or showing itself: For Jobs wishing himself to be, as then he was: Chrisost. saith, That he wished and prayed for this; that they, who now despised him, as most wicked, might see their error and repent, and his praying for this, was not without effect, as by the sequel was proved, when he far exceeded that, which he had formerly been; yea he had more then his wish granted him, for he had twice so much, and in that prosperity he lived a very long time; whereas he spake but of months and days, that is, some short time: So God giveth more to his faithful Servants oft times in this World, then [Note.] they ask or desire; for they ask but for bread, and he sometimes giveth them abundance: And good reason he had to wish thus, because these men measure man's righteousness by his prosperity or adversity, would not otherwise believe, but that this rare Saint of God, was a most wicked man: But what is meant by his walking in God's light, in his darkness? Olympiodorus saith, The keeping away of all adversity and losses from him: But Cajetan better, Whereas he himself at that time specially, that he speaketh of, Viz. In his youth was in the darkness of understanding, and so unable to walk or speak, or do wisely, through God's enlightening him he was able. Fourthly When the Almighty was with me, and my children round about me. Here he calleth him Almighty, whom he had called God before when he was young, whereby some think, is intimated, that when he grew to man's estate, and had Wife and Children, God's almighty power yet appeared more in wonderfully increasing his substance, and working in the hearts of his Children and Servants so, that they were about him, as circles about a point, or cen ••• ; all looking at, and observing him, to do as he directed them, for both may well be understood by the word Children. A notable description of a family rightly ordered, wherein the Almightly is with his blessing, that Children and Servants may all labor [Note.] to be such, and Parents and Masters endeavor by all good means to make them such.
When I washed my steps with butter, and the Rock poured me out Rivers of oil. Here fifthly, he setteth forth God's beneficence towards him in the abundance of Butter and Oil, and he speaketh of his feet, as washed herewith, according to the manner of the wealthy, dwelling in hot countries, who used to have their feet washed, and annointed often with oil, and of oil out of Rocks, in great plenty, because Olive Trees grew upon Rocks and Mountains, and so no part of his ground was unfruitful, and if the Rocks which were barrennest, yielded commonly little Olives to him, they yielded it plenteously. See the like in the blessing, Deut. 33. 24. O The blessings that be upon godly and well ordered samilies. And hitherto of Jobs prosperity, now for the honor which he had amongst men for this and other blessings by God bestowed upon him.
When I went out to the gate in the City. &c. The young men saw me, and his themselves, and the old rose up and stood. The gate was commonly a place of Judicature, where Judges and Kings used to go and sit to judge causes, that were brought before them, and by the way if there were any young ones playing, or ill occupied, or idle, they, for fear of so wise and severe a Judge against Evil durst not be seen, and the ancient stood up to give him Honor, as it should be done to men most excellent, for Reverence sake.
2. Princes were silent, and laid their hands upon their mouths, and so did Captains also for reverence to him, whereby we may see in what Estimation he was had for his wisdom; his speeches in comparison of other men's being counted so worthy, that they were ashamed to speak, when he was in presence, as who thought, that they should but disgarce themselves if they spake. And so indeed should all that be of weaker parts do in the presence of those, that are far superior in wisdom and Elecution unto them.
3. The Eare that heard blessed me, and the Eye that saw me gave witness •• me. As the Queen said of Solomon, that she heard much of Solomon in her own Country; but coming and seeing him, she pronounced his servants blessed that stood continually in his presence; so Job here describeth himself as somewhat like Solomon, Wisdom and utterance, such as heard of him, saying, that he was greatly blessed of God in this, but much more they that were present to behold his carriage, and wise demeanure in all things.
Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless. Here after speaking of God's and man's blessing him, he cometh to speak of the cause, whereby he approveth his righteous and charitable dealing with all men against the foul calumnies of these his vexing friends: he delivered the poor whose cause was good, but against whom men of might setting themselves, thought by their purses to carry it, and to win the day: And this was no small praise unto him, or to any Judge that useth so to do: For this Theodoric • s a King is praised by Cassiodore, that he coming to the Throne, said; Amongst the religious cares of the Common-wealth, which God helping, we meditate upon, one is the easing of the low, which we take to heart, that we may erect the obstacle of our piety against the power of the proud, that audaciousness may do nothing with us, whose purpose is to tread underfoot proud things. And by thus doing, Job saith, that he cheered the Widows heart, and the blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon him. This is the second thing whereby he is commended, viz.