Exposition of Job 35-37

THere is a twofold rendering or translation of this 14t ^h verse; First, Some connecting it with the former, and taking it in a dependence upon what Elihu had last affirmed concerning God, He heareth not vanity, neither doth the Almighty regard it, translate thus, Much less will he hear thee, if thou sayest thou doest not lo • k to, or regard this; judge thyself therefore before him, and wait for him. As if Elihu should bring an argument from the less to the greater; God will not hear vanity, nor will the Almighty regard it, how much less will he hear thee, who sayest, (upon the matter) that thou regardest not him, or what he saith and doth. That word, which in the close of the 13th verse, we render regard, is the same with that in this 14th verse, rendered, see; as if the whole were a rebuke, or a conviction of Job for his stoutness, in not viewing and contemplating the power and prerogative of God as he ought, in laying his hand upon him; and therefore saith Elihu, if God will not hear those that pray vainly, how much less will he regard thee, who seemest not to regard him? that is, not to humble thyself before him as becomes thee to thy Sovereign Lord: And thereupon Elihu gives him counsel in the close of the verse; Judge thyself before him, and then wait for him, or trust him, as we render it. Mr Broughton seems to speak in his translation much to this sense, giving it thus; So, when thou sayest thou wilt not mark it, judge before him, and wait for him. As God will not regard vain prayer, so when thou sayest to him, thou wilt not mark it, that is, attend to providences as thou oughtest, he will not regard thee. There is a truth in this, and the Original word may fairly bear this translation; yet I shall not stay upon it; but rather take this Context as the beginning of a new argument, than as the enforcement of the former; understanding it so, the words have yet a reading different from ours.

Another modern translater disliking the former reading only in the first part of the verse, gives his own, thus; In this also (thou hast sinned) Those words are supplied to make up the sense, as being the bringing in of a further charge against Job) In this also (thou hast sinned) that thou hast said, thou shalt not see him; judge therefore thyself before him, and look for him. This is the matter of his new charge, Thou hast said, thou shalt not see him, this is thy sin. And having given him this charge, Elihu gives him counsel according to this translation in the close of the verse, Judge therefore thyself before him, and look for him. We say in our translation, Judgment is before him, that is, before God; this translation saith, Judge thyself before him; and the reason of it is because some take the word here as a Noun, others as a Verb of the Imperative mood; Judge thyself before him, and then look to him, or trust in him; that is, thou hast failed greatly, and sinned in taking up such a Conclusion as this, that thou shalt not see God, (the sense of which I shall open when I come to our own translation) therefore I advise thee to judge thyself thoroughly, and humbly to acknowledge thy fault. This translation is much insisted upon, and because it hath a profitable sense, I shall note two or three points from the latter part of the verse, where it differs from ours, and then proceed to our own Translation. Job being charged with sin for saying, that he should not see God, is here advised to judge himself, Judge thyself, and look to, or trust in him.

Hence Note;

And 'tis a great Gospel duty: The Apostle gives it in plain words, (1 Cor. 11.31.) If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged of the Lord. We are very apt to judge one another, but very backward to judge ourselves. It is a great work to erect a Tribunal (as I may say) in our own Souls and Consciences, to sit in Judgment upon ourselves; which that we may do, we must do these three things. First, we must send Summons to ourselves, we must cite ourselves to our own Tribunal; for always before Judgment, Summons must go out and be sent to the party offending: Here we are to send Summons to ourselves, that is, to call together all the powers of our souls to appear in this Judgment, and answer what is or may be alleged against us. And when we have Summoned ourselves, then secondly, we are to examine, search, and try our selve • , ( Lam. 3.41.) Let us search and try our ways, and turn again unto the Lord. Thirdly, having tried and examined ourselves, before we can come to Judgment (that Judgment which is here intended) we must humble ourselves under a Conviction of our own vileness and sinfulness, whether of our nature or of our actions, whether of our state or of our way; for whereas there are two parts of Judgment, Absolution and Condemnation, we can never come to that part of Judgment, the judging of ourselves, as persons worthy to be condemned by the Lord for our sins, unless we are first convinced of our sins. Now when we have summoned, examined, and convicted ourselves, then we are ready to judge ourselves, to judge ourselves even with the judgment of condemnation, respecting what we have done, yet we should do it (with hopes of absolution) acting our faith upon the free grace and mercy of God through the satisfaction which Jesus Christ hath made for us.

Again, The scope of this counsel, or the reason why Elihu adviseth Job to judge himself, was to show, that he had rashly judged of the ways of God, because he had not duly judged himself.

Hence Note;

We shall never think God deals harshly, or rigorously with us, if we do but enter into and pass a right judgment upon our own souls. As they that judge themselves shall not be judged of the Lord, (1 Cor. 11.31.) so, they that judge themselves will never judge the Lord; no, they will acquit and justify the Lord under all his proceedings, even in his sorest and severest ones. Thus did Ezra in reference to those great and unparalel'd sufferings of the Jews in the Babylonian war and captivity, ( Chap. 9.13.) Thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve. And so did Daniel (Chap. 9.7.) O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day.

Further, Elihu concluded Job very much affected with, or highly conceited of himself, because he pleaded his own innocence or integrity so much, and was so desirous to come to a hearing, and have his matter tried before God; and therefore saith he, Judge thyself.

Hence Note;

Suppose our ways and our works pure and good, as Jobs indeed were for the main, (he was a man of the highest elevation in holiness and of greatest integrity) yet if we would thoroughly examine and judge ourselves, consider our short comings in duty, our sinnings against duty, and the sins that cleave to our best duties, we should find our very innocence to be guilty, and our righteousness to be unrighteous; and surely such a discovery would lay us very low in our own thoughts, and go very far towards the subduing of that pride of our hearts, which often ariseth from the contemplation of our own well-doing.

Lastly, Consider this counsel was given Job (according to this translation) with respect to that which follows; Judge thyself, and trust in or wait for him.

Hence Note;

The more we judge and humble ourselves, the readier ha • h God declared himself to help us in our extremities, (1 Pet. 5 6.) we also are then the readier to trust and wait on him, both because we then see more clearly what need we have to trust on him for help, and may have the more assurance of his help, while we trust him.

I shall now proceed to our own translation, which fairly accommodates the scope of Elihu's dealing with Job in this place.

Elihu had reprehended two of Jobs sayings before in this Chapter; here he reprehends a third; Although thou sayest this, thou shalt not see him; although thou sayest it, either secretly in thy heart, (the fool saith in his heart there is no God) or although thou sayest it with thy mouth, and hast openly declared thy despair of seeing him. Some passages in the discourse of Job do more than intimate and imply, that he had said, he should not see God. And we may conceive that Elihu aimeth at that passage specially ( Chap. 23.8, 9.) where Job seems to say this thing; Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive him; on the left hard where he doth work, but I cannot behold him; he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him. Now, Elihu gives answer in this 14th verse, showing, that all • hough God would not give him a present he • ing upon his importunate call for it, yet he might rest assured, that God would do him justice, and therefore adviseth him quietly to rest upon him. Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, or canst not see him, yet Judgment is before him, therefore trust thou in him. In that 23d Chapter, Job made a sad complaint, that though he much solicited and desired to see God (in what sense I shall open presently) yet he could not be admitted, he could not find him, nor come near him; I (saith he) cannot perceive him, I cannot behold him, I cannot see him; we have all these words negatively expressed there; as here, Although thou sayest thou shalt not see, (or contemplate) him.

There is a twofold sight of God; First, immediate, or in himself; and thus God is seen only by himself, and of himself, to all others he is invisible, No eye hath seen him, nor can see him, (1 Tim. 6.16.) The Lord told Moses, No man can see my face and live; that is, no man can see me immediately, no man can have any ocular sight of me, as we see those things that are before us; God is a Spirit, and therefore invisible. Job doth not complain, (in this sense) that he could not see God, for he knew God was not to be seen, nor did he wait for any such corporal view or sight or presence of God. Secondly, There is a mediate sight of God, and that by a three-fold means; First, in or by his Word; for that is one glass wherein we behold him. Secondly, there is a sight of God in his Works, they are another glass wherein we see and behold him; and those works are twofold; First, the works of Creation, in them we may see or contemplate God all the world over, in his power, wisdom, and goodness, ( Rom. 1.19, 20.) Secondly, his works of providence, ordering and disposing all the motions of the creatures, as himself pleaseth, how much soever any of their motions are displeasing unto him. Thus we may see God in his works, that is, it is seen by his works, not only that he is, but what he is, or that he is Eternal and Infinite, that he is Most Wise and Omnipotent, that he can do all things, or that nothing is too hard for him, he having brought all things out of nothing. There is a Third Medium or Means by which we may see God, and that is, His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, (2 Cor. 4.6.) The light of the knowledge of the Glory of God shineth to us in the face of Jesus Christ; that is, in the person of Christ, God-Man, we may behold the glorious Grace of God unto poor sinful lost man. All the beams of Divine Love are collected in, and issue forth from the face of Jesus Christ. He that would see how good, how gracious, how merciful the Lord is to sinners, let him by an eye of Faith, or spiritual Contemplation look Christ in the face, and there he shall find the express Characters of all that Glory. By these Means, or mediately in all these ways, God may be seen, and is seen by his People. This threefold sight of God, is the sight of Faith; it is by Faith that we see him in his Word; it is by Faith that we see him in his Works; it is by Faith that we see him in his Son. Thus we are to understand that of the Apostle concerning Moses, (Heb. 11.27.) He endured, as seeing him that is invisible.

We may also distinguish of this sight of God two ways; there is a sight of God first in grace, which is, though a true and real, yet an imperfect sight, of which the Apostle speaks (1 Cor. 13.12.) Now we see as in a glass, darkly. Secondly, There is a seeing of God in glory, which is there called A seeing of him face to face: Of that sight Christ speaks ( Math. 5.8.) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. As they now see him in the dispensations of his Grace here, so they shall see him in the givings forth, or manifestations of his Glory to them hereafter. Now when Job complaineth, or Elihu brings him in complaining, That he should not see God, we are not to understand it, as if he despaired of ever seeing God in Glory, or had concluded in his own breast, that he should never see him in his ways of Grace, or professed that at present he had no sight at all of God by faith; for, though I conceive Jobs sight of God by faith, or in the actings of his Grace, at that time was very low and dim, yet some sight he had of him by faith, enough I am sure to preserve and keep him from making any such negative Conclusion against himself, that he should not see God in Glory. But that which he chiefly intendeth, is, that he feared he should not come to see him in such a day and way of trial, as he before desired in the 23d Chapter, ( verse. 8, 9.) or that God would never manifest himself so clearly in his Providences and dealings about his case in this world, as might acquit him, and b • ing the matter in question to a full state, that all might take notice of his wronged integrity. Job was under a great Cloud at that time, and feared that God had cove • ed himself with a Cloud also, (as the Church bemoaned herself, Lam. 3.44.) and therefore said, I shall not see him; I shall not • ee him as a Judge acquitting me, and giving sentence for me. Some conceive, that the Hebrew word rendered Seeing, refers to a person brought before a Judge, for the trial of his Cau • e, and standing before him, not as a guilty Malefactor, with a heavy heart, and a down-look, but as a man conscious of his own innocence, with much honest boldness, and well tempered confidence. The words following intimate such a sense of that word, Although thou sayest, thou shalt not see him, (that is, be b • ought to trial,) yet Judgment is before him, he will certainly try thee. This I take to be the most proper Explication of these words, Although thou sayest, thou shalt not see him.

Job spake this as the worst of his case, as that which was a greater grief and misery to him, than all his other miseries and griefs, that God would not set him in a clear light before others, or that himself should not have a clear light from God concerning his condition.

Hence Note;

Job had begged for this once and again, though possibly, as Elihu would here convince him, he was something too forward in it, and did not enough reflect upon himself; yet as he had often desired it, so doubtless it was exceeding much upon his heart, that he might have a clear discovery from God. The Apostle, in somewhat a like case, in being aspersed in his Ministry, saith, We are made manifest unto God, (2 Cor. 5.11.) It pleased him that he was manifest unto God: But when God is pleased to manifest himself unto a Soul, how pleasing is that? When we can say, now we see God, we see him clearing up our way, clearing up our integrity, clearing up our state, how satisfying is it! And as it is most sweet and satisfying to see God clearing up our state to our own consciences, so it is exceeding sweet to see him clearing up our actions to the eye of the world; as the Apostle spake in the same place, We are manifest unto God, and I trust als • are made manifest in your consciences. As if he had said, we hope, God hath discovered us to you, and your consciences do also attest with us and for us what we are. Light is sweet (the light of the air, saith Solomon) and it is pleasant to behold the Sun, the Sun in the firmament; how much more sweet is the light of divine favor, as also of our own faithfulness, shining into our hearts, and upon our ways, so that we are able to say, now we see the Lord graciously rolling away our reproach, owning us, and taking our part before and against all the opposing contradicting woe • ld!

Secondly, Note;

It is so often as to our spiri • ual estate, and it may be so, as to our outward state; hence those many complainings which we find in the Psalms, and those many deprecations, as to the hiding of God's face; David would fain have kept sight of God, O how he desired to see him, to behold him! yet many times he did not, neither as to the assurance of his spiritual interest, nor as to the comforts of his outward condition, ( Psal. 13.1.) ( Psal. 27.9.) ( Psal. 30.7.) As God sometimes showeth himself in a kind of cloud or darkness, in fire and tempest, which is very terrible to the soul; so he at other times discovers himself only a little, or gives but a glimpse of himself clearly, to stir up further desi es of seeing him, and to make us weary of all we see in this world: in these cases we may be said not to see God when we see him. Many godly men are in such a dark condition, that they think God hideth his face from them in displeasu • e, when indeed he doth not, but only trieth them, to see what is in them, and whether they will obey him in hope and pa • ience, and keep close to him in holy walkings, even when he seemeth to depart from them, and withdraw his presence.

Thirdly, Observe;

As evil men are apt to make over-good conclusions for themselves, they doubt not but they shall see and enjoy God. O what presumptuous thoughts have men, and what peremptory, though groundless, conclusions do they make for themselves upon false and rotten premises! they will say, they know God, and are known of God, they see God, and enjoy God, when they know not the meaning, much less have tasted the comfort of knowing God, or of being known by him, of seeing God, or of enjoying him. These mysterious experiences are not every man's meat, nor every man's matters, who makes title to the knowledge of God. The Apostle saith expressly, (1 John 2.4.) He that saith I know him, and keepeth not his Commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. And again, ( Chap. 3.6.) Whosoever sinneth (that is, loves and lives in sin) hath not seen him, neither known him. Yet how many are there, far from keeping the Commandments of God, far from a holy life, yea far from a holy state, so far from such a holy life, as of which it may be said in a Gospel sense, that they sin not, that indeed they do nothing else but sin! yet these are apt to conclude, they see God, they see him by faith, they know him, they doubt not but he is their God. Now as many carnal men are apt to make false conclusions to themselves of an interest in God, when there is no such matter, kindling a fire, and compassing themselves about with their own sparks, as the Prophet speaks, ( Isa. 50.11.) that is, with vain conceits of their own blowing up, that all is well with them; when all that they, who do so, shall have at God's hand, is, they shall lie down in sorrow. So on the other side, godly men often times make sad conclusions against themselves, they say (as Job in the Text) they shall not see him; who though (as was shown in opening the Text) he did not conclude against his sight of God by grace, or that he had no sight of him by faith, yet he had not a comfortable sight as to his present enjoyment, and he doubted whether ever he should in this world. Jonah made such a conclusion ( Chap. 2.4.) Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight. As Hezekiah said in his sickness, ( Isa. 38.11.) I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the Land of the living; that is, I shall die, and shall no more go into the house of the Lord, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his Temple, which was the one thing, even the only thing (in this life) which David desired and resolved to seek after, ( Psal. 27.4.) So many, while they live, are apt to make such conclusions, they shall see God no more, they shall not see him as long as they live, they are afraid they shall never have comfort more, nor peace more, while they are in this world, while they are on this side heaven; yet whether ever they shall come to see him in heaven, is their greatest, their saddest, their most heart-disquieting and heart-breaking doubt and fear. And indeed as we cannot see God, until he gives us eyes, so we cannot believe we shall see him, until he gives us hearts. Many times his dealings, both as to outward terrible providences, and inward terrors, are so dark, that we can see nothing but darkness, nor say anything but as Job is here charged to say, that we shall not see him. Yea, God doth often hide himself from his people on purpose to try whether they will trust him and wait upon him under such withdrawings, for salvation, whether temporal or eternal, ( Isal. 45.15.) Thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Savior: Let us therefore take heed of saying, he will be forever hidden, or that we shall never see, nor behold him as a Savior; say not it is so dark with us, that as now we see no light, so our night shall never have a morning.

Fourthly, From these words, Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, Note,

We should watch our hearts, to keep out or cast out vain thoughts, we should strangle distrustful and unbelieving thoughts in the very birth, that so our tongues may never bring them forth, nor publish them to the offense of others. Thou hast said, thou shalt not see him. But when our unbridled tongues have run at random, and spoken what is not right, yet God will do what is right, as the next words assure us.

These words plainly intimate, that Jobs scope, when he said he should not see God, was, that he should not see him as a Judge clearing up his cause, or appearing to vindicate the wrong done him, and to do him right. As if Elihu had said, Whatever thy opinion is concerning God, that he will never appear in thy cause to do thee right, yet know this (O Job) Judgment is before him, and therefore I advise thee, be thou better persuaded both of his presence with thee, and of his providence over thee. The word rendered Judgment, is that from which one of the Patriarchs had his name, and it is a great elegancy, ( Gen. 49.16.) Dan shall Judge his people. The proper name Dan, is the same with the Verb which follows, shall Judge.

When Judgment is said to be before the Lord, it may be taken three ways, (so we find it in the Sc ipture) First, we read there of Judgment as it is opposed to mercy. These terrible and dreadful Judgments of God are everywhere spoken of. Secondly, Judgment is opposed to imprudence and want of understanding or discretion; Judgment is a wise and clear sight or apprehension of things; as we say such a one is a Judicious man, or a man of a great Judgment. Thirdly, Judgment is opposed to injustice or to un • ighteousness; thus we do judgment and justice. Many have a great stock of judgment or understanding, who yet will do little judgment, that is, little justice, they have a right understanding of things, yet will do little or nothing right. Here, when it is said, Judgment is before him, we are to understand it in the two latter senses; for though it be a great truth that judgment as opposed to mercy, is before the Lord, And he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shown no mercy, though (as the Apostle adds in the same place James 2.13.) Mercy rejoiceth (or glorieth) against Judgment; The Lord hath judgments, all manner of judgments about him, yet that notion of judgment doth not belong to this place, but the two latter. Judgment is before him; that is, he is a God of infinite understanding and wisdom, he seeth everything to the utmost, he goes to the bottom of every man's case, yea, to the very bottom of every man's heart; he sees every action quite through, and every person: And as he knows the truth of every man's cause and case, so he will do every man right, according to the merit of his cause and case. Justice and Judgment are the habitation of his throne, while clouds and darkness are round about him, (Psal. 97.2.) that is, though present dispensations are obscure (as in Jobs case) yet both the procedure and dealings of God, as also the issue or determination which he gives in every matter, is just and righteous to all men, as well as gracious and comfortable to good and upright-hearted men. Thus, Judgment, or this judgment is always before him, that is, he hath a clear sight of it, and he is ready to do it.

Hence Note, First,

His understanding is infinite. The Lord is (as Hannah spake in her Thanksgiving-Song, 1 Sam. 2.3.) a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed; That is, he knoweth them exactly, to a grain, as we do the weight of those things which we have laid in an even Balance. It is required of Judges (in that advice which Jethro gave to Moses, Exod. 18.21.) That they should be able men, that is, (not so much men of able purses, as) of able parts, men of able judgment, and of more than common understanding, even such as were able to look through every man's Cause that came before them. Such is the ability of the Lord's understanding to the full, he is Omniscient, He is light, and in him is no darkness at all. And as in him there is no darkness, so nothing is dark to him; the most intricate and knotty Case, the most ravel'd and vext Cause that ever was, is plain and evident before his eyes, with whom we have to do, and who hath to do with us. Judgment is before him; neither is there any Judgment before any other in comparison of him; God hath so much light, that Men and Angels are to him but darkness; God seeth so much, that all others may be said not to see, or to be stark blind; even those Judges may be called blind, who are not blinded, we may say they have no eyes, whose eyes are not put out with gifts, compared with God. How blind then are those Judges, who are blinded? and whose eyes are put out, either by prejudice or passion, by hopes or fears! it cannot be, but Judgment must be before God, because as he clearly sees, and fully understands whatsoever comes before him, so nothing can divert or bias him f • om doing every man right, according to his sight and understanding. Judgment is before him.

Hence Note, Secondly,

There are many who know what is right, who know whose Cause is right, yet will not do right. But as sure as God knows every man's righ • , so certainly he will do him right. Abraham pleaded thus with God, Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right? (Gen. 18.25.) Certainly, he will do right, he cannot but do right; Judgment is before him. The Scripture is express, He will reward every man (and award to every man) according to his works. Every man shall have as he is; for (as the Apostle speaks, 1 Cor. 4.6.) He shall bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the heart; and then shall every man have praise of God; that is, every man shall have it, who is fit for it; every man shall have praise, who is (as we say) praise-worthy, how much soever he hath been dispraised, slurr'd in his credit, unworthily dealt with, and accused in this world. God will not hold, or detain the truth of men in unrighteousness, though men hold both the truth of God, and the truth of men (the truth of their Causes) in unrighteousness. Judgment is before the Lord.

Fu • there, That Particle which we render yet, gives us this Note.

Although thou sayest, thou shalt not see him, yet Judgment is before him. The ways of God are often secret, but none of them are unjust; Judgment is before him, even then, when we think i • is farthest off from him. Therefore, if we will give God the glory of govern • ng the world, and of ordering all our personal conditions, we must not measure him by the things we see, or which appear; for we cannot see the measure of his Judgment by what appears, that which appears to us is not his Judgment, something else is his judgment, and he in the close will make his judgment clear to all men, he will make it appear that judgment is his, though what his judgment is doth not appear. The mis-apprehensions, or mis-constructions of men do not at all retard or stop the righteousness of God, as the Apostle speaks in another case ( Rom. 3.3.) Shall the unbelief of man make the Faith of God (that is, the Faithfulness of God) of none effect? God forbid; God will be Faithful and True, though all the world be Unbelievers and Liars. Now, as the unbelief of man cannot make the Faithfulness of God of none effect; so our not believing that Judgment proceeds, or our saying it is delayed, does not at all take off God from righteousness in doing Judgment; he is doing Judgment righteously, whatever apprehensions men have of his doings. Judgment is before him;

Elihu according to the first reading of the former words, exhorts Job to Repentance, Judge thyself; and here he exhorts him to Faith, Trust thou in him. Judgment is before him, therefore trust thou in him, or wait and hope in him; for seeing God is a Just and Righteous Judge, he will not neglect or slight the Cause of any of his People; therefore they have all the reason in the world to trust in him, and wait upon him. It is unbelief which makes haste, Faith is content to wait and tarry.

The Original word hath several significations. First, More general, to grieve, or be in pain and trouble. Secondly, In special, to bring forth, or the pain of a woman in travel to bring forth; there is much pain in that travel. Thus some translate here, Wait for him, as a woman in travel waits for deliverance. Thirdly, As it signifies to have pain, and to have that pain in bringing forth children, so to attend, to wait, to stay quietly, and expect. Rest in the Lord (saith David, Psal. 37.7.) and wait patiently for him. We may give the reason of this signification from that allusion. The woman though she be in pain, yet she patiently bears it, because she hath hope a man shall be born into the world, ( John 16.21.) A woman in that pain, hath not only patience but comfort under it, because she hopes a child shall shortly be born, who will recompense all her sorrows, in bearing and bringing him forth into the world. That's the force of this word, Trust in him. Thou art in pain, in trouble, in travel for the present, yet thou shalt have a blessed deliverance, thou shalt certainly find, that it is not in vain to trust upon God. Thus Elihu a • viseth Job to such a patience as a woman in travel with child hath, who bears her pains comfortably, being refreshed and supported with an assurance, and fore-sense of that joy which she shall have, being once delivered. Trust thou in him. I have in some other places of this Book, met with this Point of trusting in God, Job said in the 13th Chapter of this Book, ( verse. 15.) Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him; And therefore I shall not stay to open that general duty, or the exercise of that Grace, which here Elihu exhorts Job to, Trusting in, or waiting upon God. Only from the Connection,

Note;

And 'tis such a duty as will keep us close to all other duties; a mind staid on God, is a mind fit to move about any good work whatsoever, which God calleth us unto.

Secondly, Put all together, Thou sayest, thou shalt not see him, (thou art doubtful whether ever things will mend,) yet Judgment is before him, therefore trust.

Hence Note;

We must wait upon God, and trust in him, though we do not see him, yea, though we cannot see him, for Judgment is before him. That of the Prophet ( Isa. 50.10.) is a clear proof of this duty, (and some expound this Scripture specially respecting outward dark providences, as others of inward darkness, or darkness of spirit) Who is among you that feareth the Lord, and obeyeth the voice of his servants, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light (as Job saith here, I shall not see him ) What shall a poor benighted soul do in that case? The answer or advice followeth) Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. How dark soever our condition is, yet it is our duty to trust upon God; and if once we are enabled to give God the glory due to his name, in confessing, that Judgment is before him, we shall readily trust upon him, to order all things for us, though all things seem out of order, even to amazement though we see heaven and earth, as it were, confounded, yet we shall readily trust upon him, because we believe, that even then Judgment is before him. How soon can he turn our darkness into light, who in the first Creation, when all lay together in a confused heap, and darkness over all, b • ought forth light and set all in order? The Lord can command light out of darkness, good out of evil, order out of confusion, and he can do all this easily, and at an instant; therefore whatever the appearances of things are, let not us judge according to appearance, but hope and wait, and stick to what God hath promised. Though providences appear cross to promises and prophesies, yet they never frustrate either. Let us also be sure to stick to the commandments of God, for we may rest assured, God will stick to his promises. To keep Commandments is our work, to keep promises is God's work; though we fail much in our work, God will not fail at all in his work: To believe this, is the highest and truest work of faith. But if we are faithful in our work, the keeping of Commandments, we have a further evidence, that God will be faithful in his work, the keeping or fulfilling of promises, (a great part, the most spiritual part of God's fulfilling promises, being his enabling of us to keep Commandments) and then we shall be able to say, not only in faith, but from experience, that Judgment is before him. And until we come to this conclusion of faith in dark times, when we cannot see him, the soul never sits down in rest. Nothing fixes the soul but trust in God; we are unquiet, yea we boil with unquietness, and toss as the angry Sea with the winds, till we trust fully upon God, upon his wisdom and power, upon his goodness and faithfulness, and can say, let him do as seems good in his eyes; we know he is and will be good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. When we can once stay our minds on God, we are quiet; but when we must bring God to our mind, and must have God go our pace, or come at our time, and work in our way, (none of which he will do, what a do soever we make to have it so) O how restless and troubled are we, even like the troubled Sea when it cannot rest! And O how much of this restless trouble discovers itself in the minds of many (that I say not the most of) men, and all because they cannot trust God when they do not see him, or because when they do not see him (which was Jobs failing) they say, they shall not see him. If matters come not to pass according to their platform, and model, or hit not the dates and days, the times and seasons which they have fixed in their unscriptural Calendar, or by a mistake of the Scripture Kalendar, they are ready to say, they shall not see him, their hopes are as the giving up of the ghost, that is, they give all for lost, and past recovery. Many trust God (as they do some men) no farther than they see him; they are the worst and coarsest sort of men, whom we trust no otherwise. How dishonorable then, how infinitely below God is such a trust? Elihu would have Job (and so should we) trust God, though he could not see him, and said he should not. Thou hast said, thou shalt not see him, yet trust in him.

Lastly, From the illative particle, therefore (that is, because Judgment is before him) trust thou in him,

Note hence;

Trust is not everybody's due; some (as we speak proverbially) are to be trusted no farther than a man can throw a Milstone, that is, they are not to be trusted at all: Trust (I say) is not everybody's due: but to trust God is everybody's duty, yea and interest too, for he is clothed as much with righteousness and justice, as he is with strength and power. Will you not trust an honest man, will you not trust a wise man? We can come to a height of confidence in man sometimes, if we think him a man of judgment and wisdom, of honesty and faithfulness, we can trust all we have in such a man's hand; how much more should we say to God, seeing Judgment is before him, therefore will we trust in him! We have an eminent Scripture, urging this duty upon this ground, ( Isa. 30.18.) The Lord is a God of Judgment (Judgment is there taken in the same notion as here in the Text, he is a wise and a just God, the Lord is a God of judgment, what followeth) Blessed are they that wait for him. There can be nothing said, more urging, more encouraging to wait and trust on God, to do us right, then this, He is a God of Judgment, a righteous God, Judgment is before him.

Thus far of the good counsel which Elihu gave Job in this his dark and deserted state; and counsel it was worthy to be embraced with both arms, and with an open breast; and that Job had need of it, he shows in the next words, while he tells Job and us, it was not so with him yet, as appeared by the sad hand of God upon him, and his own distemper under it.

IN the close of the former verse, Elihu called upon and exhorted Job to a patient reliance, and trust on God, Judgment is before him, therefore trust thou in him; here in the 15 ^th verse he shows, that, the reason why God visited him so sorely, and yet continued his visitation upon him, was because he did not, as he ought, patiently trust in, and rely upon him.

There are several readings of this verse, but I shall only mention one, besides our own, and having stayed a little about that, go on to the explication of the Text, as it lies in order before us. Some render thus;

But know now, his anger hath visited thee but a little, (Hebr: nothing) neither hath he made any great inquisition. The sense of the verse, according to this rendering, riseth thus; As if Elihu had said, God hath dealt with thee O Job, far better than thou hast dealt with him, or then thou hast cause to expect; he hath not laid his hand so heavy upon thee, as thy iniquity hath deserved, and yet thou complainest much of his severity; whereas indeed he hath not strictly inquired into the multitude of thy sins, which if he had done, he would certainly have brought upon thee, a greater multitude of afflictions, he would have afflicted thee much more: Thou art too well used to complain thus; That's the sum of this rendering, which the learned Authors of it make fairly out from the Original, to whom I refer the Reader, and shall only offer two notes from it, for instruction.

There is no condition here actually so bad, but possibly it might be worse; though the darkness of night be upon us, yet it may be darker with us; God can make a night so dark, that the former darkness may be called light; God can add so much bitterness to that which is ve • y bitter, so much weight to that burden of affliction, which is already very heavy, that the former bitter may be called sweet, and that former weight of affliction, light. Are any poo • , sick, or pained, God can make them poorer, sicker, and so increase their pain, that former poverty, sickness, pain, may go for riches, health, and ease. And as present sufferings of one kind or other, are but little to what they may be, so they are but little to what we have deserved they should be: The least mercy is more than we deserve, and the greatest affliction is less than we deserve. He hath visited thee little or nothing, (so the word is) saith Elihu, according to this reading of the Text. The Lord hath not only not visited thee too much, O Job, but he may be said, not to have visited thee at all, or the All of thy visita • ion is nothing to that which the Lord could have brought upon thee. David gives a general assertion near this concerning the dealings of the Lord, in his angry dispensations, ( Psal. 103.10.) He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities; that is, our sins and our iniquities might have born out the Justice of God in laying heavier evils and troubles upon us, than yet he hath done. Sinners never have their full punishment till they come to hell. As the sweetest joys and strongest consolations which the godly find and feel on earth, are only tastes and first-fruits of that they shall have in heaven; so all the sorrows and sufferings of the wicked in this world, are but tastes, light touches and beginnings of sorrow, compared with the pains and sorrows of the next world, where sinners shall be paid their wages in full.

Secondly, From the latter part of the verse thus translated, Neither hath he made any great inquisition; that is, he hath not taken strict knowledge of thy sins, though a multitude, though even past number; though there be abundance of them, and they abounding in sinfulness, yet he hath not made any great inquisition after them;

Hence Note;

( Psal. 130.3.) If thou Lord shouldest mark iniquity, implying that the Lord doth not mark (in the sense here intended) if thou shouldest mark iniquity) O Lord, who shall stand? The word in that Psalm rendered to mark, notes, first, to watch, or to observe with exactest diligence, and is therefore in the Noun rendered a watch Tower, upon which a man is placed to take observation of all things that are done, and of all persons that pass by, or approach and come near. A Watch-man placed upon a high-Tower, is bound industriously and critically to observe all Passengers, and passages, all that his eye can reach: So saith the Text, If thou shouldest mark as a Watch-man, and eye with rigor everything that passeth from us, Who could stand? That is, make good his Cause in the day of his judgment and trial before thee? Secondly, The word signifieth to keep in mind, to lay up, to have, as it were, a store and stock, a memorial or record, of such and such things by us. In that notion it is said ( Gen. 37.11.) Josephs Brethren envied him, but his Father observed the saying; he marked what Joseph spake about his Dreams, he laid it up, and did not let it pass away as a D • eam, or as a vision of the night: Thus in the Psalm, If the Lord should mark iniquity, if he should treasure up our sins in his memory, and keep them by him, who were able to stand when accounted with? The Lord in a way of grace, seeth as if he saw not, and winks at us oftentimes when we do amiss, as he is said to have done at those times, the times of ignorance, when not only many things, but even everything was done amiss, and out of order, in the dark Gentile world, before the approach of Gospel light, ( Acts 17.30.) And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but new commandeth all men everywhere to repent. That is, the Lord took little notice of those untaught times, in comparison of that strict notice which he will take of these times; concerning which, he gave command to his Apostles, Go and teach all Nations; and yet the strictest notice which he takes of our sins in these times, is but little to what he might.

So much from that Translation of the Text; our own runs thus.

We must expound this Verse in Connection with the latter part of the former.

What is not so? what is missing? what is wanting? What had Job done amiss? or what had he mist to do? Elihu seems to answer, he hath mist the doing of that duty to which he was moved in the close of the fore-going Verse, expressed in those words, Trust thou in him, or wait upon him: But now because it is not so; that is, Because thou dost not put forth such acts of holy confidence, and patient waiting upon God as thou oughtest, and as I admonished thee to do, therefore God is engaged, and even compelled to treat thee thus roughly and severely, He hath visited in his anger. As if he had said, Though thou hast professed a trust in God, yet thou dost not trust in him fully, as becomes thee, yea, thou seemest sometimes (as a man forlorn) to cast up thy hopes; therefore, because thou dost not trust in him, because it is not so as I have exhorted and directed thee, the Lord hath visited in anger. Mr. Braughton renders, But now for missing, his anger doth visit. For missing; that is, for missing of duty, or for not acting up to duty, for not trusting fully in the Lord, the Lord hath visited thee in his anger. This sense is obvious and commodious according to our reading. But now because it is not so,

That is, God hath heavily afflicted thee. God is far from all passion and perturbation of mind, only he is said to be angry, or to visit in his anger, when he doth that which anger produceth among men; when he casts down and punisheth, when he lays his hand sorely upon the Creature, then he is said to be angry, then His anger hath visited. The word notes quick breathing in the Nostrils; anger appears, or vents itself there; as it is said of Paul, when Saul (Acts 9.1.) And Saul yet breathing out threatenings, and slaughter against the Disciples of the Lord, went unto the High Priest. You might see anger, as it were foam, yea flame out of his mouth, and evaporate at his nostrils. Thus saith Elihu, Because it is not so, his anger

To visit, is properly to go to, and see any person whom we respect and love; thus we visit friends in civility and courtesy. Secondly, To visit is an act of pity and mercy; and thus we visit the sick, the widow, and the fatherless ( James 1.27.) Pure Religion, and undefiled before God, and the Father, is to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction; that is, to go to them in pity, either for the supply of their wants by our purse, or for the comforting of their hearts by our counsel. Thirdly, We visit in care, as well as in kindness, that is, when we go to our Families or Flocks, or places of charge, wheresoever they are, and see that, or whether, all things are well and right with them, or well, and rightly done towards them, according to the rules that such persons under our charge ought to act, and live by: Thus in Colleges and Hospitals, there is a visitation of care, to make enquiry of persons in trust, about persons and things under their trust.

To the Point in hand; there is a twofold visitation of God.

First, He visits in love and mercy, ( Ruth. 1.6.) Then she (that is Naomi) arose with her Daughter in Law, that she might return from the Country of Moab, for she had heard in the Country of Moab, how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread. That is, God had shown them kindness and mercy in relieving them from that devouring famine. Again, ( Gen. 21.6.) And the Lord visited Sarah, as he had said; that is, he gave her the promised mercy of a Son. Once more, ( Luke 1.68.) Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited, and redeemed his People; and that's a blessed visitation indeed, which brings redemption. Thus the Scripture often speaks of God's visitation in mercy.

Secondly, There is a visitation of God in anger, wrath and judgment. The Law saith ( Exod. 20.4, 5.) Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven Image, &c. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the Fathers upon the Children, unto the third and fourth Generation of them that hate me: That is punishing the iniquity of the Fathers upon the Children, these Children continuing in their Fathers ways, to do sinfully; such Children 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 as take up the evil examples, or tread in the bad steps of their fore-Fathers, shall suffer for it. The Prophet at once upbraided the impudent Jews, and threatened them in this Language, ( Jer. 6.15.) Were they ashamed when they had committed abominations? nay, they were not ashamed, neither could they blush; therefore they shall fall among them that fall at the time that I visit them, they shall be cast down, saith the Lord. Again, ( Isa. 26.14.) Therefore hast thou visi • ed and destroyed them. There is a visitation for destruction, that's a sad visitation. In this sense we read of a time of visitation ( Jer. 8.12. Jer. 10.15.) We read of days of visitation, ( Hosea 9.7.) The days of visitation are come, the days of recompense are come. We read also of a year of visitation, ( Jer. 23.12.) For I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the Lord. As also ( Chap. 11.23.) I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation. This is the visitation here spoken of; it is a time, a day, a year of sore visitation with thee, O Job. Because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger.

Hence Note, First,

Faith hath much work to do at all times, but most in times of affliction. There is also a use of two sorts of patience in our best days; the patience of laboring in God's work, and the patience of waiting for the reward of our work, after all our labors: But in sad days the Lord expects we should exercise both patience in suffering, and in waiting for deliverance out of all our sufferings; then 'tis that both Faith and Patience, trusting and waiting must have their perfect work.

Secondly Note;

This is it which Elihu saith in the Text, Because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger. Job was sorely afflicted before, but now he is visited in anger, because he did not manifest such trust in God as he expected in that condition. As when the wicked repent not of their sins under the punishing hand of God, he will punish them more and more, even seven times more for their sins, ( Levite. 26.41.) So when good men act not their Graces, believe not, trust not under the afflicting hand of God, he usually afflicts them more and more, gives them soarer stripes, and layeth yet heavier burdens on them. When God misseth what he locked for, we may quickly feel what we looked not for. Mr. Braughtons Translation speaks the Point fully, But now for missing, his anger doth visit. Man seldom misseth t • ouble from God, when God misseth duty from man; and 'tis a me cy that he doth not: 'tis man's mercy when God minds him of his deficiencies in duty, though by a smart visiting rod. Thus the Lord spake of David's Seed, (and 'tis to be understood of all the Seed of Christ, whom David typed, Psal. 89.) If his children forsake my Law, (v. 30, 31.) Then (verse. 32.) will I visit their transgressions with the Rod, &c. How true this charge of Elihu was, as to Jobs omission of duty, I shall not stay to inquire; only this we know, Job had professed trust in God, yet because it was mingled with so much complaint, with so many unbelieving expostulations, Elihu might say the Lord missed the patience, trust and confidence, which he expected from Job. Doubtless, more of all these should have appeared in him, and they should have appeared more in that time of affliction. There are two things which God looketh for, and aims at in the time of our affliction; first, the mortifying of corruptions, that they woe • k no more, at least no more so strongly as they have done; secondly, The stirring up, and acting of our Graces, that they may be more woe • king, and work more strongly than ever they have done. Where the Lord sees not these effects of affliction, that our sins grow less, and our graces more, that we complain less, and trust or believe more, we are like to be afflicted more, and he will discover his anger more. Because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger. And thence

Note, Thirdly;

We provoke the Lord to visit us in his anger, when we do not trust in his mercy. Our not trusting God must needs provoke him to anger; for when we do not trust him, we question him; distrust or unbelief questions all that God is, and all that God hath promised, it questions his Truth, and his Faithfulness, his Power, his Mercy, and his Goodness; all these, which are the glory of God, and in all which the sons of men ought to glorify him, these are all questioned and darkened, when we put not forth acts of trust and reliance upon God, in times of greatest affliction and extremity. Is it not then a provoking sin, I say not to with-draw trust from God, and give it to an arm of flesh, but not to put out fresh and full acts of trust upon God, let our affliction or extremity be what it will! The Children of Israel were in great extremity at the Red Sea, a mighty Army pursuing them at the heels to destroy them, and mighty waters being before them, ready to swallow them up; in these straits (whilst they should have done their utmost to get, and assure God to be their Friend) the Psalmist tells us, They provoked him, (Psal. 106, 7.) But wherein lay their provocation? that Scripture saith, They remembered not the multitude of his mercies: The former mercies of the Lord did not strengthen their trust in present troubles; that was one provocation. And as former mercies did not strengthen their trust, so the present trouble drew out their distrust, as another Scripture assures, reporting their behavior in it ( Exod. 14.11.) And they said to Moses, Because there were no Graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the Wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? What were these fearful fore-casts, these amazing bodements of an unavoidable (as they apprehended) ruin, but the overflowings of unbelief, or distrust in God; and this was another provocation. Former mercies are forgotten, yea eaten up by unbelief, as the seven lean Kine in Pharaohs dream, eat up the fat ones, and present difficulties are aggravated by unbelief, as if all the power of God could not remove and overcome them. And will not the Lord (think you) visit in anger for such a sin as this?

Again, As Elihu doth not say barely, he hath visited, but he hath visited in his anger, or his anger hath visited, so consider, who was it that was thus visited in anger? It was Job, a Godly man, a man perfect and upright.

Hence note, Fourthly;

We find the Scripture speaking expressly of the anger of God towards the best of his servants, even towards a Moses, (as himself made confession, Deuter. 1.37.) when they displease him; Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, thou also shalt not go in thither. Moses was a most meek man, the meekest man upon the face of the earth, nor was he an inferior in any other grace, yet the Lord was angry wi h him, and angry with him upon that special occasion, his unbelief, ( Numb. 20.12.) And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, because ye believe me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore &c. We read of the Lord's anger breaking out against Aaron for another sin, ( Numb. 12.9.) The anger of the Lord was kindled against them, that is, against Aaron and Miriam, because they had spoken against Moses, (verse. 1.8.) Aaron was the High Priest, and as he was high in office, so eminent in grace; and doubtless Miriam was a very gracious woman, yet the Lord was not only angry with them, but exceeding angry; his anger waxed hot against them and kindled, when they forgot their duty to Moses, and remembered not their distance with reverence. Solomon in his prayer at the Dedication of the Temple, speaks of the people of God collectively; If they sin against thee, and thou be angry with them. The Lord is not only angry with the world, but angry with his Church, not only angry with Babylon, but with Jerusalem. And as Solomon spake that of the whole Nation of the Jews, supposing they might fall under the Lord's anger all together as a body; so he did experience it sadly in his own person, (1 Kings 9.11.) And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him tw • ce. Wise Solomon departed from God through an evil heart of unbelief and vanity, after the Lord had come and appeared to him more than once in grace and savor; and the bitter effects or fruits of that departure, appeared to him shortly after, the Lord (saith that Scripture) was angry with Solomon; and the sequel of his History tells us, there went out very hot displeasure against him. As these Scriptures are a proof of the Lord's anger kindling against his people when they sin; so we find the Church represented praising the Lord for quenching the fire of his ange • , ( Isa. 12.1.) And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me. When we turn from God, his anger is turned against us, and when we turn to God, his anger is turned away from us. When the Lord is angry, what can comfort us, but the turning away of his anger? And by the very act of turning away his anger, he comforts us, though all the world be angry with us.

But some may say, How doth the Lord, who is said to love his people with an everlasting love, visit them in anger? To clear that, we may distinguish of anger.

First, There is correcting anger: Secondly, there is consuming or destroying anger. Destroying anger is inconsistent with eve • lasting love, but not correcting anger: correcting anger may be very grievous, therefore the Prophet deprecates it, ( Jer. 10.24.) Correct me, O Lord, in Judgment, not in thy anger. The Lord doth often exercise (that is as often as there is cause, and we give him cause too often to exercise) a smart and severe anger towards his own people; but his consuming and destroying anger is the lot and portion of the wicked; If his anger be kindled but a little (namely against his enemies) blessed are they that trust in him; blessed are they that believe, when that anger of the Lord breaks forth against unbelievers. Or we may state it thus;

First, God is angry with sinful persons; thus he is angry with the world, or with wicked men.

Secondly, God is angry with persons for sinning, (there is a great difference between these two; anger with sinful persons, and anger with persons for their sin, or for sinning) and thus he is angry with his own people, even with the godly when they sin, though not for every sin.

Further, We may distinguish of anger thus; There is anger mixed with a desire of taking revenge upon those that we are ang • y with, a revengeful anger: thus the Lord is angry only with the wicked. Of this anger Moses speaks, having described a presumptuous sinner, who believes not only without a word, but against the word, who when he heareth the word of the curse, blesseth himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness unto thirst; then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, &c. ( Deut. 29.19, 20.) Read more of this revengeful anger of the Lord, ( Deut. 32.22, 41, 42.) Secondly, there is anger with a desire to reform, and reclaim those that we are angry with: Thus a loving and indulgent father is angry with his child, when he hath committed a fault; he is angry, not with an anger of desire to revenge, but with an anger of desire to reform. And thus the Lord is angry with his own people, with his choicest servants, and dearest children, when they forget their duty and play the wantons.

Lastly, We may distinguish of anger thus; There is First, a temporary anger: As there is a temporary faith in hypocrites, so (we may say) there is a temporary anger in God against the faithful when offending; that is, he is angry with them for a while, for a season: Sing unto the Lord, O ye Saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his Holiness, (saith David, Psal. 30.4.) But why doth he call them to singing? we have the reason of it given at the 5th verse, For his anger endureth but a moment; he speaks there of the Lord's anger against his Saints and peculiar people: while they indeed have cause to mourn for provoking the Lord to anger, they may also sing, both because his anger endureth but for a moment, that is, because (if that be all) it endureth not at all, (a moment is of no endurance) as also because in his favor is life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Once more, hear the Prophets report of the Lord's anger, ( Micah 7.18.) Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage; he retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy. God do • h not retain his anger forever; that is, not long; yea, that not forever, is but a little while, a moment, and that but a small moment, as the Prophet Isaiah spake, ( Chap. 54.7.) As if he had said, The Lord's anger is not retained so long, as if it should be always retained; his anger towards you is soon blown over, and gone, upon the matter (like a moment) as soon as come. Such is the anger which God discovers towards his own people.

Secondly, There is an anger forever, an abiding wrath, a fire of anger which never goeth out, nor can be put out, which is kindled in the breast of God against ungodly men, and against them only as living and dying without repentance, in their ungodliness. Job a godly man, was visited in the former, not in this latter anger.

Yet for the fuller answer to this query, as it concerns Jobs case, I conceive Elihu speaks with the highest and hardest towards him. For though it be a truth, th • t the Lord discovers, as was shown before, a fatherly anger towards his children when he chasteneth them for their sin, yet he chasteneth them more, or rather, in love than in anger; As whom he loves, he rebukes and chastens, (Rev. 3.19.) so he chastens and rebukes them in love. And as for Job, whom God dearly loved, it is clear from the first and second Chapters of this Book, that God afflicted him not for any special sin, or way of sinning, but for his trial, and to set him up as a great pattern of patience to all succeeding generations. Or we may say that God afflicted Job, not because of any provocation which he had given him, but at Satan's instance and provocation, ( Chap. 2.3.) All that can be said for Elihu's help in saying that God visited him in anger, is only this, That though Job had not provoked the Lord to visit him in anger when he began to visit him, yet some impatient and over-bold speeches of his, or that liberty of speech which he took in expostulating and almost contesting with God about his afflictions, might cause him to visit him in such anger as hath been set forth in answer to the query. And now because it is not so, because the Lord misseth those acts of grace, trust and patience, which thy case calleth thee to the exercise of, He hath visited in his anger; and what followeth?

Elihu seems to have spoken this turning himself to the company, and complaining to them of Jobs insensibleness, Yet he knoweth not, &c.

Some refer this clause of the verse to God also, He hath visited in his anger, and taketh no notice of the great increase, or of that which is greatly increased; that is, God hath spared nothing from his visitation, although the party visited were never so much grieved or damnified in the loss and spoil of his all. There was a necessity (saith this Author) that he who was visited should be so touched as to be sensible of the stroke; which could not be, unless the greatest of his increase, and those things which were most dear to him were taken away from him, or he were stripped naked and bereaved of them.

Our translation refers these words to the person visited, as if he, though reduced to the greatest extremities, yet was not sensible of it, or took no notice of what he suffered, or was done to him; Yet he knoweth it not in great extremity. Who knoweth not? the Antecedent to he is Job, according to this translation; because he knoweth not. But what did not Job know? First, He knew not the dealings of God with him, to submit to them as he should. Secondly, He knew not that there was such a miss or deficiency in the acting of his graces, he perceived not how weak a soul he had in that weak body; his trust, his faith, did not act, and yet he knew it not, or took no notice of his failing in those duties. Thirdly, He hath visited in his anger, yet he knoweth it not, that is, he knoweth not the anger of God, who visiteth him. To know may be taken three ways.

First, For the bare notion or apprehension of a thing; thus certainly Job did know that he was visited, for he spake often and enough of it.

Secondly, To know, is to consider, to lay a thing to heart, ( Isa. 1.3.) My people doth not know, Israel doth not consider, the latter part is exegetical, and expounds the former, My people doth not know, that is, doth not consider. So ( Hos. 2.8.) She did not know that I gave her corn, &c. ( Psal. 90.11.) Who knoweth the power of thy anger? that is, who considers it? who weighs what the anger of the Lord is? we have sweet thoughts, about the mercy, and love, and goodness of God, yet 'tis little, very little of any of these that we know. The love of God, which we delight to know, passeth knowledge, ( Eph. 3.19.) But for the anger of God, which is so dreadful, we seldom set ourselves to the study of it; none can know it comprehensively, and few seek or labor to know it industriously, considerately.

Thirdly, To know, is to be under a due sense of what we know: We may know a thing, and consider it, yet not have a feeling of it. I conceive we are to understand the word know here, in these two latter senses; He knoweth it not; that is, he doth not consider, nor hath he a due sense, either of the defect of his own graces, that his faith acts not as it ought, that his trust performs not its part as it should; nor doth he know the anger of God in this visitation; that is, he knoweth not, nor considereth, the scope and meaning of God in this angry dispensation. Yet he knoweth it not

The word signifieth any kind of increase ( Mal. 4.2.) They shall go forth, and grow up as the Calves of the Stall. So 'tis used ( Jer. 50.11.) Because ye are grown fat, we put in the Margin, big or corpulent. (Lev. 13.5.) If the Plague (of Leprosy he means) increase, grow great, and spread itself, then &c. Jobs affliction was a great one at first, and it grew greater afterwards: He was in great extremity, or in extremities; of what? in great extremity, First, of loss and poverty in his Estate; Secondly, of pain and torment in his Body; Thirdly, of grief and anguish in his Soul: In all these he suffered, and suffered extremely, or in great extremity. Mr. Broughton renders, Because Job knoweth not this great plenty, namely, of sorrows, which compass him about.

This was the censure of Elihu upon Job, and Job had given Elihu too much ground for this censure. Though Jobs Faith and trust were strongly at work sometimes, yet they did not always continue their work in the same degree or strength: and while he often complained in his extremity, that God dealt with him as with an enemy, he did not well consider what that anger of God was, in which he visited him, during the time of that great extremity: Y •• he knoweth it not in great extremity.

As this not knowing is referred to his weakness in acting his Graces; now, it is not so, yet he knoweth it not;

Note;

As some have little or no Grace, who yet conceit they have much ( Rev. 3.17.) Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable, and poor, and naked. So others who have grace, yea, much grace in the habit (as Job had) may be very insensible how little it acts, yea they may suppose it acts much, when the actings of it are intermitted or extremely suppressed by passion and corruption: They may think their Faith strong, or that they trust fully in God, they may think themselves patient and humble under the hand of God, and yet be greatly defective in the working of all these Graces; I mean not such a deficiency only, as is common to all believers (the best come short in the exercise of grace) but some great deficiency may be, and yet the soul not sensible of it. As some are over-sensible of their failings, complaining that they have no Faith, no Patience, when they not only have Faith and Patience, as to their Being, but as to their working also, and possibly, working well. (It is a different work of the Spirit, to act and stir up Grace in us, and to discover to us the actings and stirrings of Grace) Now as some godly men act Grace, and know it not, so in others that are godly Grace acts not, and they know it not; Faith is down, and they know it not; they can bear little or nothing patiently, yet they take no notice of it. Thus the words of Elihu concerning Job, he knoweth it not, refer to the former part of the verse, It is not so; that is, his Graces act not, yet he takes no notice of it, but thinks Faith and Patience, with other Graces, work well enough.

Secondly, As not knowing refers to the visitation of God, He hath visited him in his anger, and he knoweth it not (yea, though) in great extremity, though he have a very hard time of it.

Hence Note, First,

He may be under many extremities at once; extremely visited in Body, extremely in Mind, extremely in his Relations, extremely in his Name, ext •• amly in all his worldly concernments. As there is no outward evil, for the matter, so none for the degree, but a good man may be in it. Let us be moderate in judging those, who are in the extremist extremities of suffering.

Secondly, Note;

As a good man may receive many mercies, and yet not observe (at present) how, or from whom he receives them, so he may be under angry visitations or dispensations in great extremity, and not mind the dealing of God with him in it, nor what he intendeth by it; yea, he may complain of the burden, and cry out under the pressure, yet not know it at that time for his own good, for his humbling or purging. The Prophet saith concerning Ephraim, (Hos. 7.9.) Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: That is, Enemies have swallowed up, or taken away that wealth, those riches, they have subdued those Armies, those Forces, which he looked upon, and boasted of, as his streng • h; they have broken him quite with Warrs & Invasions, yet Ephraim knew it not: and not only so, but as it followeth, Yea, Gray hairs are here and there upon him; that is, he hath many Symptoms or Signs or ruin and destruction, yet he knoweth it not. Grief of heart for great changes in our Estate, change the hair; many grow gray with sorrow. So that, when 'tis said gray hairs are upon him, 'tis an allusion taken from the Body Natural to the Body Politick; for as when the natural Body of a man hath gray hairs appearing, or (as Solomon allegorizeth, Eccl. 12.5.) when the Almond Tree flourisheth, it is an argument that old Age and infirmities are coming upon him (Gray hairs tell us that Death and the Grave are not far off, they signify some decay of nature.) Now as the natural Body hath its gray hairs, so a Politick Body, the body of a State hath its gray hairs too; that is, something may come upon a State, which showeth that it is declining and waxing old, that it is ready to break, and go to the Grave. I shall not stay to inquire what are the gray hairs of a Nation; I only bring that Scripture, to prove that many are insensible of the hand of God; he visiteth in his anger, yet man, possibly a good man, knoweth it not, as Ephraim knew not of his gray hairs.

But did not Ephraim know his affliction? or did not Job know his? what is it to know, or who may be said to know an affliction?

I answer, they only know their afflictions, or that God is visiting in his anger,

First, who labor to find out the cause of God's visitation. If we feel the afflicting hand of God upon us, and inquire not, whence is this? why is it so? what hath moved or provoked the Lord to this manner of proceeding with us? If, I say, we make not such enquiries, we are visited in anger, and know it not. And therefore in that case, the Prophet Jeremy exhorts the afflicted, captivated Church of the Jews in Babylon, to search and try their ways, (Lam. 3.41.) that is, to consider why it was so with them, what was the cause of their captivity. Till we sit down and make diligent search, why we are visited, why any affliction or calamity is upon our Persons and Families, or upon the Kingdoms and Nations respectively where we live, we know neither the day of our visitation, nor what our visitation is. Then only we know God's visitation, when we are studying the causes of it; To know a thing is to know it in the causes of it.

Secondly, They may be said to know the visitation of the Lord, that are studying, as the cause which they have given, so the ends and purposes which God hath in visiting them; for how much soever we find and see the causes of an affliction, yet till our hearts are drawn out to answer the ends of it, we do not truly know it.

But you will say, what are the usual ends which the Lord hath in afflicting his people?

I answer, First, to turn them from sin; Secondly, to unglew and wean them from the world; Thirdly, that they may live nearer to, or more with him; Fourthly, that they may live more unto him, or (w ^ch takes in both the latter ends) that they may enjoy him more while they live, & honor him more with their lives. Now (I say) till we are upon this kind of study, both of the causes of our visitation, and the ends of it, & beg that we may both remove those causes, & comply with or answer those ends, we may be said not to know the visitation of the Lord, though it be, and we are, in great extremity. And if this be to know the visitation of God, surely many are perishing and sinking under the hand of his visitation, w •• yet know it not. How many are there, who neither endeavor to search out the causes, nor to fulfil the ends for which the Lord visiteth them in his anger! I conceive this assertion, or supposition at least of Elihu 's concerning Job, both as to his not trusting God in his affliction, and not knowing his visitation, was, though in part true, and occasioned on Jobs part, yet over-harsh and severe: nor was the inference which he made from it in the next verse, less severe and harsh.

Here's the conclusion of Elihu's third Discourse with Job:

Some connect this verse with the former, according to the first reading of it, before mentioned, that giving a reason of this; But now his anger (or he in anger) hath visited thee but a little, or nothing, &c. Therefore thou, O Job, openest thy mouth in vain. As if he had said, Because the anger of God hath not punished Job sharply enough, nor in proportion to the multitude and greatness of his sins, therefore he speaks thus boldly and rashly.

To open the mouth is a Pariphrasis of speaking; As if he had said, therefore Job speaks in vain. To speak in vain, or to use vain words, is to speak to little or no purpose, as I have had occasion to show upon other places of this Book ( Chap. 15.2. Chap. 16.3.) and therefore shall not stay upon it here. Job was no vain speaker, he used to speak words of weight, words of soberness and truth, yet was overborn by passion, though not to speak vain words in the matter, yet to speak or open his mouth in vain.

Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain. Consider the Inference, therefore, that is, First, Because he doth not humble himself in a patient dependence upon God; Secondly, because he doth not, as he ought, duly take notice of the purpose of God in visiting him; Thirdly, because he seems more solicitous and zealous in defending his own right and credit, than the honor and righte • usness of God: for all these Reasons he openeth his mouth in vain, that is, he loseth his labor, in all this discourse, and might (as we speak proverbially) have saved his breath to cool his broth: Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain. Taking the Charge which Elihu brought against Job in the former verse, to be well grounded and true, we may Note,

Unless our hearts bow to God, he will not bow his ear to us. We only fill the air with words, we are but sounding brass and tinkling Cimbals in all we say to God, unless we do what God saith. Elihu supposing J • bs spirit yet unsubdued or not wrought and brought into a right frame under his affliction, might well say, he openeth his mouth in vain; and as it followeth to the same effect in the close of this verse and Chapter,

Here is another hard censure, upon this good, this holy, and wise man Job. Some Expositors fall heavy upon Elihu, as charging Job too far; he spake (say they) many things that were right, but not rightly; he spake many things that were true, but he did not speak truly in fixing them upon Job; he spake all uprightly, but somewhat too rigorously: And indeed, if he had charged him so far, as to say, he had no knowledge at all, and had not opened his mouth at all to purpose, he had charged him beyond both truth and modesty. But Elihu, who was set up by God for this very end to humble Job, had ground to tell him, that as to some things, he had both opened his mouth in vain, and multiplied words without knowledge; that is, he had spoken many words which seemed not to proceed from any sound or well-grounded knowledge; and I may give a four-fold ground of it.

First, Because he had not sufficiently attended and magnified the Sovereignty of God, in laying those afflictions upon him.

Secondly, Because he had not, as he ought, sat down quietly under the hand of God; but often called to know the cause, and that God would plainly tell him the reason, or give him an account why he suffered: Whereas he should have remembered, that as many of the judgments of God are unsearchable, and his ways past finding out by man, so he hath reserved some of them as secrets in his own breast, and will no more give any man an account of them, than any man ought to desire an account of them.

Thirdly, Because he had not more considered his sin, or had not been so much in considering the greatness of his sin, as he had been in setting forth the greatness of his integrity. For though it were true which Job spake, that his way was upright, and though God had given testimony to his uprightness and integrity in all his ways, yet he should not have insisted so much upon that point, which had so much affinity with self-boasting, though he intended it only for self clearing, or for the righting of himself. It had been more becoming him to have been aggravating his sin, than setting forth his righteousness; this was the point that Elihu struck at, that he had justified himself too much, and judged himself too little. Yea Job was convinced of this at last, Once have I spoken, but I will speak no more, that is, of my own integrity, or righteousness.

Fourthly, He may be said to have multiplied words without knowledge, because he had spoken so much in the aggravation of his afflictions: 'It is true, his afflictions were very great; yet Elihu censures him deservedly, because he took too much notice of them, complaining often and often, how heavy the hand of God was upon him, yea that God was an enemy to him; whereas he should rather have looked upon the visitation of God, as light and easy, or (at least) as but little comparatively, to what the Lord was able to lay upon him, or what his sin might justify God in laying upon him. Elihu having observed Job often and long striking upon that string, hightning his sufferings and troubles, had reason enough not only to call him off from it, but to check him for it. And therefore let us remember and be admonished, that in all our afflictions we should not so much set forth the greatness of our suffering, as the greatness of the mercy of God; we should look upon little mercies as great, (it shows an excellent spirit, when we heighten and greaten the mercy and goodness of God, even in little things) but we should speak of, and look upon our greatest chastenings and afflictions as light, and little. Job failed somewhat in all these things, and in some of them his failings were great; and upon some of, if not upon all these grounds, I judge Elihu gave this judgment upon Job; He openeth his mouth in vain, and multiplieth words without knowledge.

Job also yielded himself thus faulty at last ( Chap. 42.3.) Who is he (there he speaks of himself in a third person, Who is he) that hideth counsel without knowledge; therefore have I uttered that I understood not, things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.

I shall close my thoughts upon this Chapter, with minding the Reader: First, of Elihu his candedness • owards Job, beyond what he found from his other friends; for Elihu chargeth Job here, only with vanity and inadvertency, not with any premeditated wickedness or blasphemy, as Eliphaz had done, ( Chap. 22.13, 14.) Secondly, let me mind the Reader, of that liberty and plainness of speech which Elihu used towards Job, in telling him of, and censuring him for his failings; as also of that patience, meekness, and equanimity, with which Job heard, received, and bare his sharpest censures, not replying one word in passion, nor so much as pleading the least excuse for his former passionateness, but taking all in good part, and, doubtless, improving all for his spiritual profit.