The Book of Job Paraphrased, Chapter 5
CHAP. V.
ARGUMENT.
Eliphaz ſtill proſecutes the very ſame Argument; endeavouring to confirm it from the opinion and obſervation of other men, as well as from his own. And thereupon exhorts him to Repentance, as the ſureſt way to find mercy with God; and to be not onelyonly reſtored to his former Proſperity, but to be preſerved hereafter from the Incurſions of ſavage people, or of wild beaſts, and from all the reſt of the Diſaſters which had befaln him. Of this he bids him, in the concluſion, to be aſſured; for it was a point he had ſtudied.
1. CALL now, if there be any that will anſwer thee; and to which of the ſaints wilt thou turn?1. IF thou doſt not believe me, thou mayſt enquire of others. There is no good man but is of this opinion: and if an Angel ſhould appear to thee, (as there did to me,) thou wouldſt have no other information but this;
2. For wrath killeth the fooliſh man, and envy ſlayeth the ſilly one.2. That God in his anger and indignation deſtroys the wicked, and him that errs from his Precepts.
3. I have ſeen the fooliſh taking root: but ſuddenly I curſed his habitation.3. This is ſo certain, that I have predicted his downfall, when he ſeemed moſt firmly ſettled in his Proſperity.
4. His children are far from ſafety, and they are cruſhed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.4. His Children alſo fell with him; Juſtice took hold of them, and would not let them eſcape:
5. Whoſe harveſt the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns; and the robber ſwalloweth up their ſubſtance.5. The hungry Souldier devoured their harveſt; there was no fence could ſecure it, but the reſt of their riches became a prey to the Robber.
6. Although affliction cometh not forth of the duſt, neither doth trouble ſpring out of the ground:6. For we are not to aſcribe the Trouble and Miſery of mankind merely to earthly Cauſes, which are but the inſtruments of God's Juſtice;
7. Yet man is born unto trouble, as the ſparks fly upward.7. Who hath made it as natural to Man to ſuffer, (having offended Him) as it is for the ſparks to fly upward.
8. I would ſeek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cauſe:8. Wherefore, if I were in thy caſe, I would humbly addreſs my ſelf to God, and deſire Him to order all things as He pleaſes.
9. Which doeth great things, and unſearchable; marvellous things without number.9. For He is the Authour of all thoſe wonderfull things, whoſe Cauſes we can no more find out, then we can count their number.
10. Who giveth rain upon the earth, and ſendeth waters upon the fields:10. Of the Rain, for inſtance, in its ſeaſon; and of the Springs which run in the fields;
11. To ſet up on high thoſe that below; that thoſe which mourn may be exalted to ſafety.11. Whereby men of low condition are inriched and grow great; as the plants and corn ſhoot out of the earth, after they are moiſtned with Showrs.
12. He diſappointeth the devices of the crafty, ſo that their hands cannot perform their enterpriſe.12. And, on the contrary, He defeats the craftieſt Deſigns of ſubtle men to raiſe themſelves; and it is not in their power to effect that which they have moſt wiſely contrived.
13. He taketh the wiſe in their own craftineſs: and the counſel of the froward is carried headlong.13. Nay, they produce that which they ſtudied to avoid; and when they think themſelves ſure, make too much haſte to their ruine.
14. They meet with darkneſs in the day-time, and grope in the noonday as in the night.14. They trip in the plaineſt way; and ſee not their danger, when it is viſible to every-body but themſelves.
15. But he ſaveth the poor from the ſword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.15. Whereby many a helpleſs man is delivered, both from the open force, and from the treacherous flatteries or calumnies of thoſe that are too ſtrong for them.
16. So the poor hath hope, and iniquity ſtoppeth her mouth.16. And therefore he that is oppreſſed ſhould not deſpair, nor ſhould the Oppreſſours boaſt themſelves; for there is hope that God will ſave the one, to the utter deſtruction of the other.
17. Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore deſpiſe not thou the chaſtening of the Almighty:17. Behold then, how little reaſon there is to complain of God's Chaſtiſements; which if thou doſt not refuſe, He is able to turn to thy good.
18. For he maketh ſore, and bindeth up; he woundeth, and his hands make whole.18. For He doth not merely wound, but, like a wiſe Chirurgion, by that very means He cures and heals.
19. He ſhall deliver thee in ſix troubles: yea, in ſeven there ſhall no evil touch thee.19. Thy Troubles cannot be ſo many, but if thou ſubmiſſively accept them, He will free thee from them.
20. In famine he ſhall redeem thee from death; and in war, from the power of the ſword.20. He will feed thee in the moſt barren years, and defend thee in the day of battel.
21. Thou ſhalt be hid from the ſcourge of the tongue: neither ſhalt thou be afraid of deſtruction when it cometh.21. Falſe accuſers ſhall not be able to hurt thee; and when whole Countries are depopulated thou ſhalt be ſecure.
22. At deſtruction and famine thou ſhalt laugh: neither ſhalt thou be afraid of the beaſts of the earth.22. When nothing is to be ſeen but wild Beaſts, whom famine forces from their dens, thou ſhalt be chearfull and undaunted:
23. For thou ſhalt be in league with the ſtones of the field: and the beaſts of the field ſhall be at peace with thee.23. For the ſtony parts of the country ſhall not fail to bring forth its fruits plentifully; and the Beaſts of the field ſhall not devour them.
24. And thou ſhalt know that thy tabernacle ſhall be in peace; and thou ſhalt viſit thy habitation, and ſhalt not ſin.24. Whereſoever thou pitcheſt thy Tent, thou ſhalt find it in ſafety: and when thou takeſt an account of thine Eſtate, all things ſhall anſwer thine expectation.
25. Thou ſhalt know alſo that thy ſeed ſhall be great, and thine offſpring as the graſs of the earth.25. Thou ſhalt find thy Poſterity alſo very great and numerous like the graſs; though now thou art as bare as the earth in winter.
26. Thou ſhalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a ſhock of corn cometh in, in his ſeaſon.26. Thou ſhalt not die a violent or untimely death; but be carried to thy grave as corn is to the barn, when it is full ripe and fit to be gathered.
27. Lo this, we have ſearched it, ſo it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.27. Doubt not of this, for we have thoroughly conſidered it, and find it ſo: receive it therefore, and keep it in memory.