The Book of Job Paraphrased, Arguments
THE ARGUMENTS TO THE SEVERAL CHAPTERS.
CHAP. I. ARGUMENT. THIS Chapter is a plain Narration of the flouriſhing condition wherein Job lived, before the envy and malice of the Devil brought upon him the ſoreſt Calamities; which are particularly deſcribed, with the occaſion of them, and his admirable Conſtancy under them: whereby he became as eminent an example of Patience in Adverſity, as he had been of Piety and all manner of Vertue in his Proſperity. fol. 1
CHAP. II. ARGUMENT. The firſt part of this Chapter is a continuation of the Narration, which was begun in the foregoing, of the Calamities which befell this good man; whom God ſuffered the Devil to afflict in his Body, as he had already done in his Goods and Children. And then follows a farther teſtimony of his Conſtancy, notwithſtanding his Wife's angry and profane accuſation of the Divine Providence. Though, it is true, he was ſo much dejected to ſee himſelf reduced to this extremity of Miſery, that neither he, nor his Friends that came to viſit him, were able for ſeveral days to ſpeak a word. fol. 11
CHAP. III. ARGUMENT. Here begin the Diſcourſes which Job and his Friends had about his Affliction; which are all repreſented, by the Authour of this Book, poetically; not, as hitherto, in a plain ſimple Narration, but in moſt elegant verſe. And being overcharged with Grief, (without the leaſt word of comfort from his Friends,) he that had for ſome time born the weight of his Aſſlictions with an admirable Conſtancy, could not contain himſelf any longer, but burſts out (to ſuch a degree was the anguiſh of his ſpirit increaſed) into the moſt paſſionate Camplaints of the Miſeries of humane Life. The conſideration of which made him prefer Death much before it; and wiſh that, either he had never come into the world, or gone preſently out of it again, or, at leaſt, might now forthwith he diſmiſſed. fol. 17
CHAP. IV. ARGUMENT. Eliphaz incenſed at this Complaint of Job, in ſtead of condoling with him, and pitying the Miſeries which had put him into this Agony, and applying fitting Lenitives to his Anguiſh; bluntly rebukes him for not following the good Advice that he uſed to give to others in their Adverſity: and tells him, he had reaſon to ſuſpect his Piety, becauſe the Innocent were not wont to ſuffer ſuch things, but onelyonly wicked Oppreſſours; whom, though never ſo mighty, God had always humbled. Witneſs the Horims, who dwelt in Seir, (II. Deut. 12.) whom the anceſtours of Eliphaz (XXXVI. Gen. 11.) had overcome, though they were as fierce as Lions. To thoſe Beaſts of prey, of all ſorts, he compares the Tyrants whom he ſpeaks of in this Chapter, v. 10, 11. intending, it is likely, to remember him alſo of the deſtruction of the Emims by the children of Moab, (II. Deut. 10, 11.) and of the Zamzummims, (v. 20, 21.) who were rooted out by the children of Ammon, as the Horims by the children of Eſau: from whoſe Grandchild Eliphaz ſeems to have been deſcended, and called by the name of the eldeſt Son of Eſau. He tells Job alſo of a Viſion he had, to confirm the ſame truth, That man's Wickedneſs is the cauſe of his Deſtruction. fol. 22, 23
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. fo 27
CHAP. VI. ARGUMENT. Job, not at all convinced by theſe Diſcourſes, juſtifies the Complaint he had made, (Chap. III.) which Eliphaz had now accuſed; maintaining that his Grief was not equal to the Cauſe of it. And therefore he renews his wiſhes of Death: at which though they might wonder who felt nothing to make them weary of Life; yet he had reaſon, he ſhews, for what he did; and one more then before, which was their Ʋnkindneſs: who pretended to be Friends; but by this rude Reproof of him at the very firſt, without ſo much as one compaſſionate word, or the leaſt ſyllable of Conſolation, ſhewed how little ſympathy they had with him in his Sufferings. Theſe things he deſires them to conſider, and weigh the cauſe of his Complaint a little better, before they paſſed any farther judgment on it. fol. 33
CHAP. VII. ARGUMENT. Job proceeds ſtill in the defence of his Complaint, and of his Wiſhes to ſee an end of ſo miſerable a Life; which at the beſt is full of Toil and Trouble. And, ſince his Friends had ſo little conſideration of him, he addreſſes himſelf to God; and hopes he will not be angry if he eaſe his Grief by repreſenting to him the Dolefulneſs of his condition, and expoſtulating a little with him about the continuance of it, and his releaſe from it. fol. 39
CHAP. VIII. ARGUMENT. The foregoing Apologies of Job, it ſeems, made little impreſſion on his Friends: for, he had no ſooner done, but another of them, called Bildad, continued the Diſpute; with as little intermiſſion, as there was between the Meſſengers that brought him (Chap. I.) the ſad tidings of his Calamities. And it doth not appear by his diſcourſe, that he differed at all in his Principles from Eliphaz. For, though he give him very good Counſel, yet, he ſtill preſſes this as the ſenſe of all Antiquity, (v. 8.) that God ever proſpers the Juſt, and roots out the Wicked, be they never ſo flouriſhing for a ſeaſon. And he being deſcended from Shuah, one of Abraham's Sons by Keturah, (XXV. Gen. 2.) ſeems to me to have a particular reſpect, in this appeal to Hiſtory, unto the Records, which then remained, of God's bleſſing upon that faithfull man's poſterity, (who hitherto, and long after, continued in his Religion,) and of the extirpation of thoſe Eaſtern people, (neighbours to Job,) in whoſe countrey they were ſettled, becauſe of their Wickedneſs. fol. 44
CHAP. IX. ARGUMENT. Job allows what Bildad had well ſpoken in the beginning of his Speech; and very religiouſly adores the Juſtice, Wiſedom, and Sovereignty of the Almighty: with whom he proteſts he had no intention to quarrel or diſpute; but onelyonly to aſſert the contrary Maxime to that which they maintained, That Piety will not ſecure us from all Calamities, which do not ever fall upon thoſe that deſerve them. Witneſs, on one hand, the proſperous eſtate of wicked Princes, v. 24. (particularly of one great Prince, who then ſomewhere reigned in their neighbouring countries;) and, on the other hand, his own Infelicity, notwithſtanding his known Integrity, v. 25. About this he confeſſes he was very much unſatisfied: though he knew it was in vain to argue with God about it; nor would his Affliction ſuffer him to doe it. fol. 49, 50
CHAP. X. ARGUMENT. In this Chapter the paſſionate Complaints and Expoſtulations with God, from which Job tells us (in the foregoing Chapter) he intended hereafter to refrain, break out afreſh; and he earneſtly deſires to know what his Guilt is: which God, who made him, he was ſure could not but perfectly underſtand, if there was any; and needed not, for the diſcovery of it, to expoſe him to theſe ſevere Torments. Which, he ſtill is of the opinion, may juſtify his Wiſhes of never being born, or of dying preſently after. Though, thoſe Wiſhes being vain, he acknowledges it is more rational to deſire, that God would be pleaſed to intermit his Pain a while; if He did not think fit quite to remove it. fol. 56
CHAP. XI. This Chapter gives an account of the ſenſe of Zophar about the buiſineſs in diſpute. It is uncertain whence he was deſcended; but probably he dwelt upon the borders of Idumaea, (for there we find an ancient City called Naama, XV. Joſh. 41.) and from thence came to viſit Job in his Affliction. But in ſtead of joyning with him in his Prayer for a little reſpite from his Pain, (with which Job had concluded his laſt Diſcourſe,) he calls him an idle Talker, and accuſes him of irreverence towards God. Concerning whoſe incomprehenſible Counſels, and irreſiſtible Power, &c. he diſcourſes with great ſenſe, and gives Job exceeding good Advice: but ſtill follows the opinion of the other two Friends, that he would not have been ſo miſerable, if he had not been Wicked. fol. 61
CHAP. XII. ARGUMENT. In this Chapter Job taxes all his three Friends with too great a conceit of their own Wiſedom, which had not as yet, taught them common Humanity to the miſerable. And lets them underſtand, that he need not come to them to learn, but might rather teach them the falſeneſs of that Propoſition, wherewith Zophar had concluded his Speech, concerning the Infelicity of the Wicked. For the contrary, he tells them, was obvious to ſenſe, v. 7, 8, &c. And as for what Zophar had diſcourſed of the Wiſedom and Power of God, he would have them know, that he was as well skill'd in thoſe Points as the beſt of them, and underſtood as much of the Hiſtory of ancient Times: particularly of the vain attempt at the Tower of Babel, unto which it is probable he hath reſpect in the 14. verſ. as, in all the following, he ſeems to have to what you reade in XIV. Gen. 5, 6, 7, 8. of the rooting out of thoſe fierce Giants the Rephaim, and other ſuch like barbarous and rapacious people; of the particulars of which we have now no Records remaining. fol. 66
CHAP. XIII. ARGUMENT. From the foregoing Obſervations, Job ſtill continues to aſſert, firſt, his own Ʋnderſtanding to be equal, or rather ſuperiour, to theirs; who had better therefore learn of him, and know that God was not pleaſed to have his Providence defended by Ʋntruths, nor to ſee men partial, though it was in His behalf: and ſecondly, his own Integrity to be ſuch, that he would ever defend it againſt all Accuſers, even before God himſelf. Whom he deſires to take cognizance of the Cauſe, and to let him, underſtand what the Crimes were for which he was thus ſeverely handled. For he proteſts that he was ignorant of them; though the Puniſhments he had endured were more then ſufficient to awaken the ſenſe of his Guilt, he being almoſt conſumed by them. fol. 72
CHAP. XIV. ARGUMENT. The good man proceeds to plead with God for ſome mitigation of his Miſeries, from the conſideration of the Shortneſs of life, and the trouble that naturally belongs to it; which he thought might move Him not to adde any greater burthen of Suffering: eſpecially, conſidering that when he is dead, he cannot come into the world again, (as the Plants do,) to receive the marks of his Favour. Which he hopes therefore He will beſtow upon him here, notwithſtanding the depth of his Miſery, (which tempted him to the borders of Impatience, v. 13.) It being very eaſy for Him to remove his Affliction, though never ſo heavy, whoſe Power is ſo great, that He removed Mountains out of their place, and brought a Deluge, as we may ſay, of Sand (as they ſaw ſometimes in their Neighbouring Countries) to overflow the moſt fruitfull Regions. fol. 78
CHAP. XV. ARGUMENT. In this Chapter Eliphaz renews the Diſpute with more eagerneſs and fierceneſs then before; being very angry that Job ſlighted them ſo much, and thought himſelf ſo wiſe, (as he interpreted it,) that he diſdained their Exhortations, and would not follow the Counſel they had given him, of Confeſſing his Sins, and praying to God for Forgiveneſs: (V. 8. VIII. 4, 5, 6.) But (except this one Argument, that he need not be aſhamed to confeſs his Guilt, when he conſidered how prone all men are to ſin) there is nothing new in his Diſcourſe: but he merely urges what he had aſſerted at firſt, from his own and the wiſeſt mens obſervations, That they are not the Good, but the Wicked, whom God puniſhes with ſuch Calamities as now were faln upon Job. And with great ornaments of ſpeech he moſt admirably deſcribes the Vengeance which God is wont to take upon impious Tyrants: having his Eye, I ſuppoſe, upon Nimrod, or ſome ſuch mighty Oppreſſour. fol. 83, 84
CHAP. XVI. ARGUMENT. Job reproves the vanity and obſtinacy of Eliphaz, in repeating the ſame things over again, and ſtill perſiſting in his Inhumanity, though he ſaw his Caſe ſo pitiable. Which he again deſcribes, to make him ſenſible how unworthily he was treated by him and the reſt of his Friends: who, in effect, joyned with his Enemies; who took this opportunity to rail at him. Whereas there was no Crime of his appeared to juſtify their Accuſations, and to make good Eliphaz his Argument: which ſignified nothing, unleſs he meant to ſay, that Job was like that wicked Tyrant of whom he had diſcourſed. Which was ſo far from any ſhew of truth, that he proteſts he never hurt any body, and was alway a ſincere lover of God, &c. v. 17, 18. The truth of which God knew; to whoſe Bar he appeals from their unjuſt Sentence. fol. 91
CHAP. XVII. ARGUMENT. Here Job deſires he may be tried preſently before God's Tribunal, his Life being juſt upon the point to expire, as he had ſaid in the end of the former Chapter; and continues to urge again in this, becauſe his Friends were very unfit Judges in his caſe, and had paſſed ſuch a Sentence upon him, as upright men would never approve of. Whereby they had given him a new Vexation, to hear them talk ſo idly, and put him in hope of recovering his Happineſs, if he would follow their Admonitions; when they ſaw him juſt dropping into the Grave, which was the onelyonly thing, he ſaith, that he could hope for. fol. 97
CHAP. XVIII. ARGUMENT. In this Chapter Bildad again takes up the Diſpute, and pretends to reply to what Job had ſaid. But I do not ſee any thing new, ſaving the deſcription he makes (as Eliphaz had done before him) of the Ruine which ſhall inevitably fall, according to the fixed rules of Providence, (ſo he fancied) upon the Wicked and his family; notwithſtanding all the aſſiſtence that his Friends and Allies can lend him for his Preſervation. And this he ſeems to imply was the fate of Job; whom he doth not ſo much as exhort to Repentance, (as he had done in his former Diſcourſe Chap. VIII.) being very angry with him, that he had no higher eſteem of their Wiſedom. fol. 101
CHAP. XIX. ARGUMENT. The purpoſe of this Chapter (in which Job replies to Bildad) is to ſhew, that it would be ſufficient for him alſo merely to repeat the ſame things, as they had done in Ten Diſcourſes: But the more to aggravate their want of Compaſſion, or rather Cruelty, toward him, he repreſents ſeveral new things, which made his condition more deplorable then he had hitherto ſaid. One of which was, that he could not tell the Reaſon why God dealt thus with him: who notwithſtanding was ſo gracious, that in the depth of this Miſery and Anguiſh, He affords Him a glimring of a comfortable Hope, (which began now to appear in his Soul, and which he had hitherto wanted,) that God would at laſt take pity upon him, and ſhew his Friends their errour, by reſtoring him to his former Health and Splendour. That ſeems to be the literal meaning of the 25. and 26. verſes, and of the two next that follow: where, among other things, he ſays he doubted not but his Redeemer ſhould ſtand laſt upon the earth, (ſo it is in the Hebrew, the word day not being there,) that is, quite overcome the Devil, and deliver him from theſe Diſtreſſes; like a mighty Conquerour, who keeps the field, when all his oppoſers are routed and fled away. But in this he was, as S. Auſtin calls him, eximius Prophetarum, and propheſied of the Reſurrection of the Body at the laſt day. fol. 106, 107
CHAP. XX. ARGUMENT. The abrupt beginning of this Speech of Zophar ſhews that he was in a paſſion; which, though he pretends to bridle it, would not let him calmly conſider the Proteſtation which Job had made of his Innocence. But he goes on in the old Common place of the certain Downfall of the Wicked, be he never ſo powerfull and well ſupported. Which he illuſtrates indeed after an excellent faſhion, with great variety of Figures, and remarks upon Hiſtories as old as the World. In ſome of which he had obſerved, that the Wicked after their Fall had made notable attempts to get up again; but by the hand of God were ſo cruſhed, that they could never riſe more. All the flaw in his Diſcourſe is this, (which was common to him with the reſt,) that he imagined God never varied from this method; and therefore Job, without doubt, was a very bad man, though it did not appear he was, any other way, but by his Infelicity. fol. 114, 115
CHAP. XXI. ARGUMENT. To bring the Diſpute to a ſpeedier iſſue, Job (after a ſhort preface, reproving their Incivility) comes cloſe to the buiſineſs: and doth not content himſelf merely with denying what they had ſaid, but ſhews them where the fallacy in their Diſcourſe lay; viz. in concluding an Ʋ niverſal from ſome Particulars. For he maintains, from as good Hiſtory and Obſervations as they could produce, that, though God do make ſome Wicked men ſuch examples of his Vengeance, as they had ſaid, yet He lets others, and they of the vileſt ſort, Atheiſts and Deriders of Divine Providence, live proſperouſly, and die peaceably, and have ſtately Monuments built to perpetuate their Memory. In brief, he ſhews there is great variety in God's proceedings about the Puniſhment of the Wicked; which makes them ſo bold as they are in their Impiety. And ſeems to have reſpect to the Hiſtory of Iſhmael, who was a wild, or barbarous, man, graſping at all he could lay his hands on, and perſecuting Iſaac; and yet had XII Princes deſcended from him, ſettled in their ſeveral Fortreſſes, as we reade XVI. Gen. 12. XVII. 20. XXV. 16. And it is poſſible, to the Hiſtory of Eliphaz his own Country: Eſau his Anceſtour being very rich, (XXXVI. Gen. 6, 7.) and having many Dukes, whoſe poſterity afterward advanced themſelves to the title of Kings, that ſprang from him, before there was any King over the Children of Iſrael. XXXVI. Gen. 15, 31. fol. 122, 123
CHAP. XXII. ARGUMENT. Though Job had clearly ſtated the Controverſy in the foregoing Chapter, yet Eliphaz would not yield; but begins the Combate a third time, without any ground at all, but a pure miſtake, as I have expreſſed it in the firſt verſe. And to avoid the Reproof, which had been given him, of repeating merely the ſame things; he now brings in a catalogue, though without any proof, (ſo much was his anger and bitterneſs increaſed,) of the particular Sins, both againſt God and againſt his Neighbour, of which he ſuppoſes Job to have been guilty. Elſe, he ſtill boldly concludes, God would not have puniſhed him with ſuch ſeverity, that there was not a greater inſtance of his Indignation to be found any-where; unleſs it was in the Old World, and in Sodom. Yet he hath ſo much Moderation, that be invites him at laſt to Repentance, and promiſes him the happy fruit of it; as he had done in his firſt Speech, but not in his ſecond. Nay, he tells him, in concluſion, for his incouragement, that he ſhould be able to doe as much for a Nation, as Ten righteous men, could they have been found there, might have done for Sodom. fol. 131, 132
CHAP. XXIII. ARGUMENT. To the foregoing Diſcourſe of Eliphaz Job thought at firſt to make no Anſwer, but onelyonly by complaints of their Injuſtice, and freſh Appeals to God: by whom he deſires, more earneſtly then ever, to be tried; being aſſured that He would acquit him. And though for the preſent God was not pleaſed to give him andience, (of which he complains with too much paſſion;) yet he maintains that hope which began to appear in his Soul, (in his laſt Diſcourſe with Bildad Chap. XIX.) that God would at laſt clear him from all the Aſperſions which were caſt upon him. fol. 140
CHAP. XXIV. ARGUMENT. Ʋpon farther conſideration Job thought good again to confute their raſh Aſſertion, about the Plagues which always befall the Wicked, by an Induction of particulars that prove the contrary Among which, the wild Arabs, he tells them, are a notorious inſtance, whoſe profeſſion is Rapine, and yet they thrive and proſper in it; v. 5, &c. And ſo do the more civiliz'd Oppreſſours, of whom he ſays ſomething before, and again, v. 11, 12. Where he ſeems to reflect upon hard Landlords, and griping Merchants and Traffiquers in cities. To whom he adds Murtherers, Adulterers, Pirates, with ſeveral other wicked Villains, (in the concluſion of the Chapter,) who notwithſtanding die like other men, and are not called to an account, for their enormous Crimes, in this preſent World. fol. 144
CHAP. XXV. ARGUMENT. The foregoing Diſcourſe of Job, in the XXIV. Chapter, was ſo undeniable, that Bildad begins to break off the Diſpute. For he ſays not a word to it, but onelyonly adviſes him to ſpeak more reverently of the Majeſty of God, then, he imagined, he had done in his appeal to him Chap. XXIII. fol. 152
CHAP. XXVI. ARGUMENT. Job hearing Bildad wander ſo far from the buiſineſs, derides his grave affectation of Wiſedom; and tells him that, though he talk'd as if he thought himſelf fit to be a Coadjutour to God Almighty, yet, as his Diſcourſe was impertinent, ſo it was but mean and flat, in compariſon with what he was able to ſpeak himſelf, concerning the Omnipotent Wiſedom of God: which he ſets forth in a far more lively manner. fol. 154
CHAP. XXVII. ARGUMENT. As Bildad began to decline the Diſpute, ſo Zophar quite gives it over: either looking upon Job as incurably obſtinate, or (as we might more charitably conceive, were it not for what we reade XXXII. 1.) being convinced he had more reaſon on his ſide. Whoſe ſilence ſo raiſed the ſpirit of Job, that he now triumphs over his Opponents: as the word MASHAL, which we render PARABLE, may denote. For it ſignifies among the Hebrews, an elegant ingenious kind of ſpeech, excelling, and, as it were, domineering over, all other, in its pithineſs, or neatneſs, or ſome other rare quality. Such is the following Diſcourſe of Job, which begins (in this Chapter) with a vehement Proteſtation, that he would never deſert his Plea; nor yield to their Doctrine, that a remarkable Vengeance always attends upon Wickedneſs in this world: though he grants, and largely here aſſerts, that ſometimes there doth. fol. 158, 159
CHAP. XXVIII. ARGUMENT. The Connexion of this Chapter with the foregoing, I hope I have truly expreſſed in the firſt verſe. And that being found, it is not difficult to ſee at what it drives; viz. to ſtop the buiſy Enquirie of mankind, who are very wiſe, he ſhews, in other things, but have not wit enough to comprehend the reaſons why God doth not inflict thoſe Puniſhments upon all Wicked men, which fall upon ſome. It is not needfull to ſet down here, how this Argument is managed, (with ſuch admirable elegance of words, and ſuch weightineſs of matter, as make it deſerve the name of Maſhal, Parable, or Proverb,) becauſe it will ſufficiently appear in the Paraphraſe. fol. 165
CHAP. XXIX. ARGUMENT. To ſuch Diſcourſes as theſe, Job preſumes his Friends would have given greater attention, then it ſeems they did, had not the Vileneſs of his preſent condition made his Speeches alſo contemptible. And therefore he puts them in mind, with what reverence all his Orations were formerly received, by great and ſmall: wiſhing God would reſtore to him thoſe happy days; and inſerting, all along, ſome remarkable inſtances of his Integrity (eſpecially as a Judge) in the height of his Princely Proſperity. When he had an uncontrollable Power to doe as he pleaſed, and yet never abuſed it; but imployed it conſtantly for the defence and comfort of the meaneſt people in his Province. fol. 173
CHAP. XXX. ARGUMENT. From the foregoing account of his ancient Splendour, he takes occaſion to annex a no-leſs elegant deſcription of the Vileneſs of his preſent condition. Hoping that the conſideration of ſuch a prodigious Change (which he repreſents in ſeveral particulars, and not without ſome touches ſtill upon his Integrity) might at laſt move his hard-hearted Friends to ſome compaſſion towards him: eſpecially, when they ſaw how near he was to his Grave, notwithſtanding all his Prayers to God for relief. fol. 180
CHAP. XXXI. ARGUMENT. It was poſſible his Friends might make quite another uſe then Job intended of the relation he had made of his miſerable Condition, in the Chapter foregoing: and therefore, leſt it ſhould harden them in their old Errour, and they ſhould take what he had ſaid to be an argument of his Guilt; He gives in this Chapter a large and particular account of his Integrity, which in general he had ſo often aſſerted; laying his very ſoul, and the moſt ſecret Inclinations of it open before them; together with the Actions of his whole life, in his pripate capacity, (for of his vublick he had ſpoken before Chap. XXIX.) both in reſpect of his Neighbours, of all ſorts, and in reſpect of God. To whom he again moſt ſolemnly appeals, in the concluſion of his Diſcourſe, that he did not boaſt of more Vertues then he had; but would moſt gladly be tried before him, by ſome impartial Judge. I need not here enumerate his Vertues, becauſe they are plainly and diſtincily expreſſed in the Paraphraſe; and I do not pretend to give the intire contents, but the deſign onelyonly, of each Chapter. fol. 188
CHAP. XXXII. ARGUMENT. It appears, by the 15. verſe of this Chapter, that there were ſeveral other perſons preſent, beſides thoſe that are named when this Diſpute was held between Job and his three Friends. Among whom there was a young man named Elihu; who was either a Syrian, (in which language this Book was firſt written, and tranſlated by Moſes into Hebrew, ſays the Authour of the Commentaries under Origen's name,) deſcended from the ſecond Son of Nahor, Abraham's Brother, XXII. Gen. 21. or an Idumaean, of the ſame Country with Eliphaz the Temanite, XXV. Jer. 23. I have made him a Syrian in my Paraphraſe, becauſe he is ſaid to be of the kindred of Ram: by whom we are to underſtand either Aram, or, as the Hebrews think, Abraham; by whom ſuch Wiſedom and Piety might be promoted in his Brother's Family, as is apparent in Elihu. Who, though much inferiour to the reſt in years, (for which reaſon he had held his peace thus long,) yet was much ſuperiour to them in Knowledge. Which he diſcovers in the judicious Cenſures he here paſſes, not onelyonly upon the three Friends, but upon Job himſelf: whom he hath nothing to charge with all, relating to any Crime committed before this Affliction befell him; but thinks be had not managed the Diſpute about it with ſo much Calmneſs and Submiſſion to God as became his Piety. In this he differs from thoſe that ſpake before him: For I do not find that he blames him for any Miſcarriages, but thoſe onelyonly which he obſerved in the heat of his Diſputation; and he ſpends his time, rather in juſtifying God, then in carping at Job, as the other had done. fol. 198, 199
CHAP. XXXIII. ARGUMENT. Here Elihu addreſſes his Speech to Job alone, (for he rejected all that the three Friends had ſaid, as ſufficiently confuted by Job in his Diſpute with them,) and tells him, firſt, that he was the man who would now plead with him in God's behalf, (as he had oft deſired,) and that he was no unequal match for him. And then begins to reprehend thoſe paſſages which he thought were blameable in Job's Speeches; particularly his inſiſting ſo much upon his Integrity: which, though true, ſhould not have been mentioned without due acknowledgment, that the Sovereign of the World had done him no wrong in thus afflicting him; and that it was not fit for him to queſtion the Wiſedom and Juſtice of God's Providence, becauſe he did not underſtand it. For the care of God over Man and his kindneſs to him, he ſhews, is ſo apparent, upon ſo many ſcores, that it ought not to be denied becauſe of the unaccountable Afflictions that may befall us; which we ought rather to think are one of the ways whereby He doth Man good. fol. 205
CHAP. XXXIV. ARGUMENT. Here Job ſhews himſelf a far more humble and teachable perſon then his three Friends: for, though Elihu had invited him to make what exceptions he pleaſed to his Diſcourſe in the former Chapter, he would not open his mouth; becauſe he plainly ſaw that Elihu had hit upon the thing wherein he was defective. And ſo this young man proceeds to carry the Charge a little higher, and tells him, with more ſharpneſs then before, that there were ſome words in his Diſcourſes which ſounded in his ears, as if he accuſed God's Juſtice and Goodneſs. For what elſe did he mean when he complained that God did not doe him right; and that he deſtroyed alike both good and bad? Which raſh Aſſertions he overthrows from the conſideration of the Sovereign Dominion, Power, Righteouſneſs and Wiſedom of God: and repreſents to him what behaviour and diſcourſe would have better become him, then that which he had uſed. fo. 214
CHAP. XXXV. ARGUMENT. Job ſtill keeps ſilence, notwithſtanding that Elihu had made the harſheſt conſtruction of his words; becauſe he was ſenſible he meant him well, and had now, in the concluſion of his Diſcourſe, given him very wholſom Counſel; and allowing his Integrity, had onelyonly charg'd him with ſome unhappy Expreſſions, which had faln from him when he was in great anguiſh of ſpirit. Which, I ſuppoſe, was the reaſon he doth not contradict him, though he continue, here in this Chapter, to faſten the very ſame harſh ſenſe upon his words, v. 2, 3. Which he refutes from the conſideration of the infinite diſproportion there is between Man and God: who is never the worſe indeed for any Evil, nor at all the better for any good that we doe: and yet hath ſuch a Love to Mankind, that it is certain He would not have them miſerable, but takes care for their relief when they are oppreſſed, if they addreſs themſelves, as they ought, to Him. fol. 224.
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 have 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. fol. 229
CHAP. XXXVII. ARGUMENT. Elihu continues his Speech, which he had begun before, concerning the incomprehenſible Works of God: and limits himſelf chiefly, as he had in the foregoing Chapter, to the Wonders God doeth in the Clouds. To which, at laſt, he ſubjoyns the amazing extent, brightneſs and firmneſs of the Skie; in which the Sun ſhines with a luſtre, which we are not able to behold. And thence concludes, that the Splendour of the Divine Majeſty is infinitely more dazling, and that we muſt not pretend to give an account of his Counſels. fol. 237
CHAP. XXXVIII. ARGUMENT. What Elihu had ſaid concerning the Divine Majeſty, in the 22. verſe of the foregoing, God declares to be true, by a ſenſible demonſtration, as I have expreſſed it in the firſt Verſe of this Chapter. In which God appears himſelf as a Judge (according to Job's repeated deſires) to decide this great Controverſy. And taking up the Argument begun by Elihu, (who came neareſt to the truth,) and proſecuting it in unimitable words, (excelling his and all other mens in the loftineſs of the ſtyle, as much as Thunder doth a Whiſper,) He convinces Job of his Ignorance and Weakneſs; by ſhewing him how little he underſtood of the moſt obvious things in this World. Intending from thence, at laſt, to infer, that he who found himſelf puzzled, when he went about to give an account of the meaneſt of God's viſible Works, ſhould not preſume to penetrate into his ſecret Counſels; nor queſtion his Goodneſs, no more then he could his Wiſedom and Power, though he knew not why he was afflicted. One inſtance had been ſufficient to bring Job to a Non-plus; but He heaps up abundance, to humble him the more, when he ſaw how much cauſe there was for it: whether he conſidered the Earth, or the Heavens; the Sea, or the Sun; things contained in the boſom of the Sea, or in the bowels of the Earth; eſpecially all the Meteors (as we call them) which are formed in the Clouds, and the Conſtellations in the higher Regions; together with the Beaſts upon the earth, and the Birds which fly in the air; one of each of which he mentions in the end of this Chapter. fol. 244, 245
CHAP. XXXIX. ARGUMENT. This Chapter continues the Diſcourſe begun in the latter end of the foregoing, concerning God's Providence about Beaſts and Birds. And to the Two before mentioned, he adds Seven more. Firſt, the wild Goat or Hinde, whoſe hard labour among the rocks God is wont to help and promote (as the Pſalmiſt obſerves XXIX. 9. and other Authours agree) by a clap of Thunder; the terrour of which puts her into ſuch an agony, that ſhe preſently excludes her young one, which ſticks in the birth. Then he mentions the wild Aſs; and after that a tall Creature in thoſe Countries called Reem: which we render an Unicorn; but Bochartus hath proved to be a two-horned Goat in Arabia of great ſtrength, with an erected head and ears. Of the reſt I need ſay nothing here, they are ſo well known. fol. 254
CHAP. XL. ARGUMENT. Job modeſtly declining to ſay one word in his own defence, (though he was graciouſly invited by God to ſpeak, if he had any Plea remaining,) is ſtill more humbled by a plain declaration from the Divine Majeſty, that Elihu had reaſon to reprove him for his immoderate Complaints, (which ſome might look upon as an Accuſation of God's Providence;) and for maintaining his own Righteouſneſs ſo much, and God's Righteouſneſs ſo little, in the Diſpute he had with his Friends. Shewing him withall, that he was not ſenſible enough of the infinite Diſtance and Inequality between him and God; when he deſired ſo vehemently to argue his Caſe with Him, that he forgot to make thoſe Submiſſions to the Divine Majeſty, which had better become him. This Diſproportion is moſt lively repreſented and illuſtrated, by an admirable deſcription of the ſtrength of the BEHEMOTH, a word of Egyptian termination; ſignifying, not the Elephant, (which ſeldome lies down, and never among reeds, as this doth, v. 21.) but a creature in that Country called by the Greek Writers Hippopotamus, i. e. River-horſe. For it appears by the Second book of Eſdras, Chap. VI. v. 49. that the Hebrews reckon Behemoth, not among the Land-creatures, but among thoſe belonging to the Water, which were created on the fifth day. And there is none, that we know, of that ſort, to whom the Characters here mentioned belong, but the Creature now named. fol. 261, 262
CHAP. XLI. ARGUMENT. In this Chapter another Creature of vaſt bigneſs and ſtrength is deſcribed, called in the Arabian language LEVIATHAN. By which we are not, in this place, to underſtand the Whale; becauſe that Fiſh is not armed with ſuch Scales as Leviathan is here ſaid to have, v. 15. nor is impenetrable, as every body knows; and, to ſay no more, never creeps upon the Earth, which is part of the deſcription of this Leviathan, v. 33. Whereby we are therefore to underſtand the Crocodile, (to whom every part of this deſcription exactly belongs,) a Creature as big again as a Man of the greateſt ſtature, and in ſome places vaſtly greater: there having been Crocodiles ſeen of twenty, nay forty foot long; and in ſome places of an hundred. To this fierce and untameable Creature God ſends Job, that he might learn more Humility, then to contend with his Majeſty; when he ſaw how unable he was to ſtand before one of his Creatures. That uſe he himſelf teaches Job to make of this deſcription, v. 10, 11, 12. fol. 268
CHAP. XLII. ARGUMENT. This Chapter concludes the Book, with an account how Job compleated the Submiſſion which he had begun before to make to God. Whoſe Pardon he ſorrowfully begs; confeſſing and repenting of his Fault; reſigning himſelf intirely to be inſtructed by Him: but reſolving never hereafter to complain, nor to move any queſtions about his Providence. This Repentance God accepts; and for his ſake grants a Pardon alſo to his Friends, whom he condemns as more faulty then Job. Who after this receives extraordinary marks of God's Favour; and hath ſuch an ample Recompence made him for his Loſſes, as may incourage all poſterity to perſevere in well doing and patient ſuffering; believing ſtedfaſtly that nothing can be done or permitted by God without much reaſon, (whoſe Wiſedom ſhines ſo gloriouſly in all his Works,) and humbly expecting a comfortable iſſue out of all our Troubles. fol. 277
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A Catalogue of ſome Books Printed for R. Royſton. (viz.)
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THE Chriſtian Sacrifice: A Treatiſe ſhewing the Neceſſity, End, and Manner of receiving the Holy Communion: together with ſuitable Prayers and Meditations for every Month in the Year; and the principal Feſtivals in memory of our Bleſſed Saviour, in Four Parts. The Third Edition corrected.
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End of the text · Simon Patrick, The Book of Job Paraphrased (1679)