The Book of Job Paraphrased, Chapter 36
CHAP. XXXVI.
ARGUMENT.
Having reprehended ſome of the unwarrantable Expreſſions in Job's Diſcourſes, (which he himſelf would not juſtify,) Elihu comes cloſer to the buiſineſs, and ſpeaks to the very Cauſe it ſelf. Shewing from the Nature of God, and the Methods of his Providence, that if Job had, in ſtead of Diſputing, ſubmitted himſelf humbly to God's Corrections, He would have delivered him: (it being as eaſy for Him to lift up, as to caſt down:) And that his not diſcerning the Reaſon of his Corrections, (which Job had made a great cauſe of his Grief, XIX. 7.) ought not to have hindred his humble Submiſſion; becauſe we are not able to comprehend any of the Works of God, which we ſee every day, and acknowledge to be moſt excellently contrived.
1. ELIHƲ alſo proceeded, and ſaid,1. JOB ſtill keeping ſilence, Elihu proceeded in his Diſcourſe, and ſaid;
2. Suffer me a little, and I will ſhew thee, that I have yet to ſpeak on God's behalf.2. Be not weary, and I will open my mind more fully; for thou haſt not yet heard all that God hath to ſay for himſelf by my mouth;
3. I will fetch my knowledg from afar, and I will aſcribe righteouſneſs to my maker.3. Which ſhall now, from the moſt ſublime Contemplations, aſſert the Righteouſneſs of my Maker.
4. For truly my words ſhall not be falſe: he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee.4. For aſſure thy ſelf I will not ſeek to baffle thee with ſophiſtical Arguments: He that diſcourſes with thee is none of thoſe ſubtle Diſputers, but loves ſincere and ſolid Reaſon.
5. Behold, God is mighty, and deſpiſeth not any: he is mighty in ſtrength and wiſedom.5. Know then that God is moſt mighty, but deſpiſeth not the meaneſt: The excellence of His Power, and the greatneſs of His Mind, will not ſuffer Him to wrong any-body.
6. He preſerveth not the life of the wicked: but giveth right to the poor.6. When men are extreamly wicked, and fit to be puniſhed, He will let them live no longer; but the Poor at laſt ſhall recover their right, and be delivered out of their Affliction.
7. He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: but with kings are they on the throne, yea, he doth eſtabliſh them for ever, and they are exalted.7. For whatſoever Affliction the Righteous ſuffer, God never ceaſes to take a ſpecial care of them; and ſometimes raiſes them to the higheſt Offices that Kings can confer upon them: in which they are ſettled as long as they live, and exalted above the power of their Enemies that would pull them down.
8. And if they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction:8. Or if they ſhould fall into any Trouble, which lies as heavy on them, and holds them as faſt, as if they were bound with chains and with cords;
9. Then he ſheweth them their work, and their tranſgreſſions that they have exceeded.9. It is onelyonly to make them reflect upon their Lives, and to ſhew them their Sins; becauſe they grow ſtrong, and begin to prevail over them.
10. He openeth alſo their ear to diſcipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity.10. He diſpoſeth them hereby to liſten to Inſtruction, and admoniſhes them to forſake their Sins, and return to their Duty.
11. If they obey and ſerve him, they ſhall ſpend their days in proſperity, and their years in pleaſures.11. And if they profit ſo much by their Affliction, as to obey this Counſel, and devoutly ſerve Him, they ſhall regain their former Splendour; and paſs the reſt of their life in Proſperity and Pleaſure.
12. But if they obey not, they ſhall periſh by the ſword, and they ſhall die without knowledge.12. But if they be diſobedient, they ſhall be utterly cut off, and die in their Folly.
13. But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: they cry not when he bindeth them.13. And they that are falſe-hearted do but heap up Wrath to themſelves by their counterfeit Piety: which ſurpriſes them ſo ſuddenly, that it gives them no time ſo much as to cry to God, when his Puniſhments ſeize on them.
14. They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean.14. They die before their time in the flower of their age; and periſh like the impure Sodomites, with an haſty and unexpected Deſtruction.
15. He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppreſſion.15. Whereas He delivers the poor humble man in his Affliction; and makes his Oppreſſion the means of giving him wholeſom Counſell:
16. Even ſo would he have removed thee out of the ſtrait into a broad place where there is no ſtraitneſs, and that which ſhould be ſet on thy table, ſhould be full of fatneſs.16. Even ſo would He have reſcued thee (if thou hadſt humbly ſubmitted to his Correction) out of theſe miſerable Streights to which thou art reduced: and not onelyonly inlarged thee, but ſet thee ſo far from all danger of falling again into them, that Peace and Plenty ſhould have been thy portion.
17. But thou haſt fulfilled the judgment of the wicked: judgment and juſtice take hold on thee.17. But thou haſt maintained the cauſe of the Wicked: and ſuch as a man's Cauſe is, ſuch will the Judgment of God be upon him.
18. Becauſe there is wrath, beware leſt he take thee away with his ſtroke: then a great ranſom cannot deliver thee.18. And becauſe God is angry with thee, take heed leſt thou farther incenſe Him to puniſh thee ſo heavily, that upon no terms He will deliver thee.
19. Will he eſteem thy riches? no not gold, nor all the forces of ſtrength.19. Doſt thou think He will have any regard to thy Riches? No, not if thou hadſt all the Treaſure and all the Force which all the power on earth can muſter up.
20. Deſire not the night, when people are cut off in their place.20. Do not dream that they can doe thee any ſervice; nor entertain thy ſelf with vain hopes, as thou art muſing on thy bed in the night: when God ſometimes deſtroys whole Nations on a ſudden.
21. Take heed, regard not iniquity: for this haſt thou choſen rather then affliction.21. But let thy Sufferings teach thee Caution, and make thee afraid to go on to provoke offended Juſtice: for thou haſt done it too much already, in chuſing rather to accuſe Divine Providence, then to ſubmit patiently to his Chaſtiſements.
22. Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him?22. Conſider the vaſt extent of God's Power, which lifts men up as well as caſts them down. What Lord is there ſo abſolute as He? or who ſhall teach Him how to govern his Dominions?
23. Who hath enjoyned him his way? or who can ſay, Thou haſt wrought iniquity?23. What Viſiter is there over Him, to examine and take an account of His Actions? or who may preſume to ſay, This or that is not well done?
24. Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold.24. See that thou leave off this carping at his Providence; and remember to extoll and magnify it, as well as the wonderfull fabrick of the World, which men behold with admiration and praiſe.
25. Every man may ſee it, man may behold it afar off.25. All mankind contemplate it with aſtoniſhment: there are none ſo dull, but in the farthermoſt parts of the earth they behold, if they open their eyes, the Majeſty of God;
26. Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be ſearched out.26. And muſt confeſs that He is great in Wiſedom and Power, and cannot be comprehended by our ſhallow Underſtandings; which are preſently confounded, when they enter into the Search of His Eternall Being.
27. For he maketh ſmall the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:27. For it is He who diſſolves the Clouds into water, and doth not pour it down all at once; but by ſmall drops ſweetly reſtores to the earth the vapour which was exhaled from thence.
28. Which the clouds do drop, and diſtill upon man abundantly.28. For He hath made the Clouds to be fluid bodies; which diſtill their ſhowrs in ſo many places, that there are multitudes of ſpectatours and admirers of this wonderfull contrivance.
29. Alſo can any underſtand the ſpreadings of the clouds, or the noiſe of his tabernacle?29. And can any one underſtand how He ſpreads thoſe Clouds, and makes them hang in the air, when they are full of water? or give an account of the dreadfull Sounds, which are heard from thence, and which tell us that He dwells in thoſe celeſtial places?
30. Behold, he ſpreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the ſea.30. Obſerve alſo how He ſpreads the beams of the Sun upon the Sea, and covers it all over with light; which raiſes new Vapours and Clouds in the room of thoſe which are exhauſted.
31. For by them judgeth he the people, he giveth meat in abundance.31. Which He uſes for quite contrary ends; both to puniſh mankind by Storms and Tempeſts and Flouds, and to make a plentifull proviſion for them by fruitfull Showrs.
32. With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to ſhine, by the cloud that cometh betwixt.32. By thoſe Clouds alſo He ſometimes quite hideth the Sun from us, that it cannot ripen the Fruits; and ſometimes onelyonly intercepts its beams a while, that it may not burn them up by immoderate heat.
33. The noiſe thereof ſheweth concerning it, the cattel alſo concerning the vapour.33. The very Cattel perceive the Cloud as ſoon as it riſes, and declare what God intends to doe with it; whether to turn it into Storms and Tempeſts, or into fruitfull Rain and Showrs.