Exposition of Job 1-3, Biblical commentary · Job 3.10, 11, 12, 13
JOB 3.10, 11, 12, 13.
Verſe 10. Becauſe it ſhut not up the doores of my mothers wombe, nor hid ſorrow from mine eyes.
Why died I not from the wombe? why did I not give up the ghoſt when I came out of the belly?
Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breſts, that I ſhould ſucke?
For now ſhould I have lien ſtill, and been quiet, I ſhould have ſlept; then had I been at reſt.
WE are now come to the ſecond generall part of this Chapter. You may remember, the whole was divided into three Sections. The firſt ſhewed us the curſe which Job powred out upon his day. The ſecond, the cauſe or ground of that curſe. And the third, a vehement expoſtulation about the continuance of his life and the lengthning of his dayes.
We have heard the curſe opened already in the nine former verſes: Now followeth the cauſe of the curſe. Iob gives an account or reaſon of his paſſion: If any ſhould check him with, why doeſt thou thus breath out complaints againſt the day of thy birth? why doeſt thou write ſuch bitter things against the night of thy conception? He anſwereth as David did his bretheren in another caſe, 1 Sam. 17. Why, what have I done or ſpoken, Is there not a cauſe? Or as Ionah when God reproves him about his paſſion for the withered gourd, Doeſt thou well to be angry? Ionah replyes, Yes, I doe well to be angry even unto death, chap. 49. So ſaith Iob here to any that ſhould rebuke him, with, doe you well to be thus angry with your day? Yes, I doe well to be angry with my day, and I ſhew you why, becauſe it ſhut not up the doores of my mothers wombe, &c.
The reaſon or the argument ſtands thus. There is cauſe I ſhould curſe that day and that night, which not hindering my conception or my birth, brought me forth upon the ſtage of the world, to act a part in all theſe ſorrowes: But the day and the night did not hinder my conception or my birth, therefore I have cauſe, I have reaſon enough to breake out in ſuch complaints and curſe them. I doe it, becauſe theſe ſhut not up the doores of my mothers wombe. This is the argument or reaſon by which he defends his paſſion: and this argument will be found to have more paſſion in it then reaſon, if we examine it to the bottome. For he complaines of that as the cauſe, which was not the cauſe of his troubles: what did the night or the day, that he thus chargeth them? They had no efficiency in bringing thoſe evills upon him, circumſtances are not cauſes; Effects are produced in time, but time doth not produce effects. Only this we may ſay to helpe it, he doth not curſe the day, as if it could have ſhut the doores of his mothers wombe, but becauſe on that day thoſe doores were not ſhut.
But leaving the reaſon of his ſpeech, we will conſider the ſenſe of it.
The Hebrew word for word is thus rendred, Becauſe it ſhut not up the doores of my belly. Quia non concluſit portas maxillarum mearum, quae ſunt oſtia ventris.And that the Chaldee Paraphraſt renders thus by way of explanation, Becauſe it did not ſhut up the doores of my lips; the mouth (ſaith he) being (as it were) the doore or the in-let to the belly or ſtomack, every thing goeth in by that doore; and ſo he carries the ſenſe thus, let that night be curſed becauſe it did not ſtop my breath, and ſo make an end of mee; The Septuagint hath it thus,foreign. Sept. becauſe it ſhut not up [the doores of my Mothers belly,] which anſwers our tranſlation, the doores of my mothers wombe. Mr. Broughton to the ſame ſenſe, becauſe it ſhut not up the doore of the belly that did beare me, that is, my mothers belly.
I ſhall in ſilence paſſe over that ſecret or myſtery in nature, which may be the ground of this expreſſion. There are two ſecrets in Divinity, which are the grounds of it, and of them I ſhall ſpeake.
The firſt is this, When God layes that affliction of barrenneſſe upon the woman, he according to the phraſe of Scripture, is ſaid to ſhut up the wombe; And when he ſendeth the bleſſing of fruitfulneſſe, he is ſaid to open the wombe. We have both, Gen. 20.18. When Abimelech had taken Sarah Abrahams wife, the Lord faſt cloſed up all the wombes of the houſe of Abimelech. The meaning of it is this, he made all the women barren, or withheld the bleſſing of conception; The Jewiſh Expoſitors render the meaning in the very words of this Text, that the Lord had ſhut up all the doores of the wombes of the houſe of Abimelech. And ſo likewiſe for fruitfulneſſe, God is ſaid to open the wombe, as Gen. 29.31. And when the Lord ſaw that Leah was hated, he opened her wombe, but Rachel was barren. Then, to ſhut the doores of the wombe, notes the power of God in denying, and to open thoſe doores, the bleſſing of God in giving conception and making fruitfull.
Secondly, It may referre to the birth: for, there muſt be an opening of thoſe doores and that by an Almighty power, for production as well as for conception; And therefore David, (Pſal. 22.9.) aſcribes it to the Lord, Lord thou art he who tookeſt me out of my mothers wombe. It was not the Midwife did it, It was not the womens helpe that ſtood about his mother, but Lord thou dideſt it; The hand of God only is able to open that doore and let man into the world; Unleſſe he (as we may ſo ſpeake) turne the key, the poore infant muſt for ever lye in priſon, and make his mothers wombe his grave.
In either or both theſe reſpects Job here ſpeakes againſt the night, becauſe it ſhut not up the doores of his mothers wombe, to ſtop his conception, or ſtay him in the birth: For then, either he had not been, or he had not been brought forth as the ſubject of all thoſe calamities. Hence obſerve, firſt
That fruitfulneſſe or conception is the eſpeciall worke and bleſſing of God: God carries the key of the wombe in his own hand. From him we receive life and breath, (Acts 17.25.) yea in his booke are all our members written, which in continuance were faſhioned, when as yet there was none of them: Wee are fearefully and wonderfully made, Our ſubstance is not hid from God, when we are made in ſecret, and curiouſly wrought in the loweſt parts of the earth. As the holy Ghoſt admirably and moſt elegantly deſcribes the conception and formation of man in the wombe, Pſal. 139.14, 15, 16.
There are foure keyes of nature, all kept in the hand of God.
Firſt, The key of the Raine. The clouds cannot open themſelves, the flood-gates of Heaven cannot be unlocked, nor thoſe ſluces opened to let downe a drop of raine, untill God turne the key, Deut. 28.12. The Lord ſhall open unto thee his good treaſure, the Heaven to give the raine unto thy land in his ſeaſon.
Secondly, The key of Nutrition, or of Foode, Pſal. 145.16. Thou openest thine hand and ſatisfieſt the deſire of every living thing. The ſtrength of the creature is ſhut up in the hand of God, and untill he unlock his hand, the creatures cannot ſtrengthen or nouriſh us, though we have our houſes and our hands full of them.
Thirdly, The key of the Grave, Eze. 37.13. I will open your graves and cauſe you to come out of your graves. We are ſo faſt lockt up in death, that all the power in the world is not able to releaſe us, till God ſpeake the word and turne the key of the graves-doore. That place in Ezekiel is meant (I know) of a civill death: But it is as true of naturall death, And the argument is ſtronger for it; If when a Nation (as the nation of the Jewes then did) lyes in the grave of bondage and captivity, no man can unlock that doore without the key of Gods ſpeciall providence; much leſſe can any hand or power but his, open the doore and bring us out of the grave of our corporall diſſolution.
There is this fourth key belonging to the doore ſpoken of in the Text, the doore of the wombe: Which was ſhadowed in that ceremoniall law among the Jewes, of giving their firſt-borne unto God, as a thankefull acknowledgement, that the beginning of all propagation and increaſe was from him. Further obſerve,
That our birth and production is the speciall worke of God. Thou art he that tookeſt me out of my mothers wombe (ſaith David,) And he apprehended the power of God ſo great in his naturall birth, that he from thence takes an argument to ſtrengthen his faith, that God could doe any other thing for him, how hard ſoever. He knew he could never be in ſuch ſtraights, but the power of God could deliver him, when he once remembred that it was God who tooke him out of his mothers womb: For in the words immediately fore-going, he bringeth in his enemies laughing at, yea reproaching him and ſaying; He trusted in God that he would deliver him, let him deliver him ſeeing he delighted in him; They jeere him with his God, let him deliver him. David anſwers, What doe ye think God cannot deliver me. Lord (ſaith he) thou art he that tookeſt me out of my mothers wombe. Can I ever be in ſuch ſtraights as I was then, can I ever be in a more helpleſſe condition? Can I ever be in more need of an Almighty helpe, then when I was ſtrugling to get into the world? There is more of the power of God put forth in bringing a poore infant into the world, then in bringing him out of any trouble or ſtraight he can fall into, in his travels through the world; And hence the great deliverances of a people from danger, and their reformations from errour are called a birth, as King Hezekiah ſpeakes in his meſſage to Iſaiah, 2 King. 19.4. The children are come to the birth and there is no ſtrength to bring forth. As if he had ſaid, great things are now attempted, but nothing can be perfected; great troubles are diſcovered, but we cannot be delivered by any humane power or policy; Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that is left. Every new deliverance and reformation of a Church is a new-birth of that Church. Who hath heard ſuch a thing? who hath ſeene ſuch things? ſhall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or ſhall a Nation be borne at once? for aſſoone as Zion travailed, ſhee brought forth her children. That is, Sions mercies were ſpeedily and ſuddainely obtained. She uſes to have long travaile and many throes, but now the mighty power of God opened the doore of the wombe, a doore of hope, and Sion was eaſily delivered of a man-child, A glorious mercy, Iſai, 66.8. You ſee how the holy Ghoſt paralels the working of great things for the Church, to the travaile of a woman; whoſe infant ſticks in the birth, if God ſuſpend his helpe, but if he open the doore by a hand of gracious providence, ſhe brings forth, Even before ſhe travailes, (as the ſame Prophet ſpeakes,) and before ſhe is in paine ſhe is delivered. I have adventured to lengthen out this notion ſomewhat further then that hint in the Text doth well beare, only becauſe we being a people now in ſtrong travaile, and wanting ſtrength to bring forth, may be directed to conſider whoſe hand holds the key which opens the wombe of Nations as well as perſons, and at the turning of whoſe hand, we ſhall quickly be delivered; and being delivered, we ſhall quickly forget all our paines and pangs, for joy that a man-child, ſuch a maſculine bleſſing is borne into the world. But the Text goes on ſtill in teares. As followes, Nor hid ſorrow from mine eyes.
foreignThe word which we tranſlate ſorrow, ſignifies more properly labour and wearineſſe, or the wearineſſe that doth ariſe from labour, and ſo from thence it is tranſlated to ſignifie any kind of ſorrow or trouble.
Becauſe it hid not ſorrow from mine eyes.] By the hiding of ſorrow from his eyes, he noteth only thus much, that he ſhould have been delivered from the ſenſe and experience of ſorrow. He had miſt thoſe evills which he met with, ſince his coming into the world, if thoſe doores being ſhut, had ſhut him out of the world. When ſorrow is hid from our eyes, then all evill is removed, as in that ſpeech, (Iſai. 65.16.) Becauſe the former troubles are forgotten, becauſe they are hidden from mine eyes, that is, as if he had ſaid, we feare no trouble, no danger, no evill hangs over out heads, now the former evills are forgotten, they are hidden from mine eyes, As we uſe to ſay of great dangers, that they are imminent dangers, they hang over our heads, or hang before our eyes, becauſe they lye ſo neere and are in ſuch a readineſſe to oppreſſe and fall upon us.
Now when Job ſubjoyneth ſorrow to his birth, as if aſſoone as ever the doores were open for him to ſtep into the world, the firſt object he met with was trouble, and he was ſaluted by ſorrow as ſoone as ever he ſaw the light. Obſerve,
That man is borne to ſorrow. He ſees ſorrow the firſt thing he ſees. Sorrow is his firſt acquaintance. The connection is very cloſe, Becauſe it ſhut not up the doores of the wombe, nor hid ſorrow from mine eyes. Eliphaz tells us, (chap. 5.7.) That man is borne unto trouble, as the ſparkes flie upward. He is born to it, the expreſſion implies that trouble & ſorrow take hold of us, or we enter upon and take hold of trouble, aſſoone as ever we enter upon the world, we are borne to them, trouble and ſorrow are a mans inheritance; as an heyre is borne to his land or eſtate. Man hath a right to thoſe troubles, they are his birth-right, and all his birth-right by nature; and aſſoone as ever he is borne, he takes poſſeſſion of ſorrow, or ſorrow poſſeſſes him. Many a man is borne to riches and a great eſtate, but he ſtayeth a great while for the poſſeſſion of them; man is borne to trouble, and he enters upon that aſſoone as ever he enters the world; ſorrow is not his inheritance in reverſion, but in poſſeſſion; Even as the sparkes flie upward, that explaines it to be ſo, as the ſonnes of the Coale, (ſo the Hebrew) that is, ſparkes aſſoone as ever they are borne out of the coale flie upward, and are preſently aſcending; ſo is man tending unto trouble. Few and evill have the dayes of the yeeres of my life beene, ſaith Jacob, (Gen. 47.9.) How few ſoever they have been, they have been evill: if his life had been but one day, that had been an evill day. If his life had not been lengthened to the leaſt number of days, yet his evills had multiplied to a number: in few houres we have many ſorrowes.
Some make the infants teares a preſage of theſe ſorrowes, as if he wept to thinke upon what a ſhore of trouble he is landed: Or rather into what a Sea of ſtormes he is lanching, when he comes into the world; ſuch ſtormes as he ſhall never be fully quit of, till he is harboured in his grave. Wherefore as the Angell ſaid unto the woman, Luk. 24.5. Why ſeeke yee the living among the dead? So I may ſay to you, why ſeeke ye peace in a land of trouble, and joy in a land of ſorrow? Theſe are reſerved for us in our countrey which is above, expect them not here, for this is not your reſt.
Secondly, We may note from this expreſſion, Nor hid ſorrow from mine eyes.
That the ſight of the eye wounds the heart. He doth not ſay, and hid trouble from my ſoule, or trouble from my ſpirit, but hid ſorrow from mine eyes. It is a proverbiall ſpeech among us, What the eye ſees not, the heart grieves not. And when the Lord would ſhew how he was moved with the ſufferings and knew the ſorrowes of his people in Egypt, he doubles it upon this ſenſe, I have ſeene, I have ſeene, or I have ſurely ſeene the affliction of my people, Exod. 3.7. Your ſorrowes are not hid from mine eyes. Mine eye affects my heart, ſaith the Prophet Jeremie, Lam. 3.51. That is, mine eye afflicts my heart. While Jeremie went about the City, and ſaw ſo many wofull ſpectacles in the ruine and captivity of his people, that ſight ſmote him to the heart. It is ſaid, that when Chriſt came to Jeruſalem and beheld the City, he wept over it, Luk. 19.41. And for the ſorrow of repentance, the ſight of the eye hath a great influence upon the heart, They ſhall looke on me whom they have pierced, and they ſhall mourne, &c. Zach. 12.10. As the eye doth affect, or rather infect the heart with ſin, from ſin-occaſioning objects; a ſin that is in the eye will be preſently at the heart, which cauſed Job to ſay, (Chap. 31.1.) I made a covenant with mine eyes, why then ſhould I thinke upon a maide? He meaneth, ſinfully to luſt after her; as if he had ſaid, there is a quick, a ſpeedy paſſage from the eye to the heart, though in the fabrick of the body there ſeemes a great diſtance betweene them: Therefore I have made a covenant with my eyes to avoide occaſions of ſin, leaſt mine eyes ſhould pollute my heart with motions unto ſin. And as it is in pleaſure-provoking objects, that which is a pleaſure to the eye, will preſently be a pleaſure to the heart, a refreſhing to our ſpirits: And that pleaſure which ſhall laſt for evermore in Heaven, is from a viſion that ſhall laſt for ever. Joy ſhall for ever be before the eye, and therefore joy ſhall for ever fill the heart. The joy of Heaven conſiſts in viſion, in ſeeing God as he is, (1 Joh. 3.2.) or in ſeeing face to face, (1 Cor. 13.12.) which is the viſion beatificall. So likewiſe there is an afflicting viſion. The eye affects the heart with ſorrow-occaſioning objects, if ſorrow be in the eye, it will not ſtay long from the heart. Hence when Sarah-Abrahams wife was dead, Abraham thus beſpeakes the people among whom he dwelt, If it be your mind that I ſhould bury my dead out of my ſight, &c. (Gen. 23.8.) It did afflict the heart of Abraham with ſorrow, to ſee the body of his deceaſed wife, or the coffin wherein ſhe lay, whom he had ſo entirely loved, therefore bury her out of my ſight. It is very obſervable, that when Joſeph would doe ſomewhat purpoſely to afflict and touch the heart of his bretheren with more remorſe for their former unkindneſſe unto him, the hiſtory ſaith, (Gen. 42.24) that hee tooke from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes; He heard them in their private conference, whiſper one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we ſaw the anguiſh of his ſoule, when he beſought us, and we would not heare, therefore is this diſtreſſe come upon us. When Joſeph perceived their conſciences began thus to worke, he reſolves to give them a pill at their eyes, (even a dolefull ſpectacle, yet the lively picture of their dealing with him) to make their conſciences worke faſter, with godly ſorrow: He tooke from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes. And Judah when he pleadeth afterward, chap. 44. for the carrying back of Benjamin, you know what a patheticall oration he makes; O, ſaith he, doe not detaine Benjamin, for when I come to thy ſervant my father, and the lad be not with us, (ſeeing that his life is bound up in the lads life) It ſhall come to paſſe, that when he ſeeth that the lad is not with us, he will dye, ver. 30, 31. That very ſight will kill my father: and for me to ſee my father dye, will be death to me alſo; For ſo he concludes, ver. 34. How ſhall I goe to my father and the lad be not with me, leſt peradventure I ſee the evill that ſhall come upon my father. Oh (ſaith he) let me carry him back, my father will die if he ſee not the lad, and ſo ſhall I, if I ſee the evill that ſhall come upon my father; he knew that ſight would be as a ſword to his heart and as a dagger in his bowels. The Lord threatens his people thus in caſe of diſobedience, Deut. 28.31. Thine Oxe ſhall be ſlaine before thine eyes, thine Aſſe ſhall be violently taken away from before thy face. Thy ſonnes and thy daughters ſhall be given to another people, &c. So that thou ſhalt be mad for the ſight of thine eyes which thou ſhalt ſee, ver. 34. and ver. 67. he ſhewes what convulſions and diviſions of ſpirit, the viſions of the eye would bring upon them. In the morning thou ſhalt ſay, would God it were Even, and at Even thou ſhalt ſay would God it were morning, for the feare of thine heart wherewith thou ſhalt feare, and for the ſight of thine eyes which thou ſhalt ſee. The feare of the heart and the ſight of the eye are neerely joyned. The ſight of the eye cauſed the feare of the heart, and both were as concauſes of thoſe diſtracting thoughts and wiſhes of haſtening the morning to the evening, and againe ſuddenly reducing back the evening to the morning. Unleſſe ſorrow be hid from the eyes, it can hardly be kept from the heart. It is an uſuall cuſtome if a man be but let blood, to bid him turne away his head if he be faint-hearted, for the ſight of his blood will make his heart faint; And ſo from more gaſtly ſpectacles, men commonly turne away their faces, &c. Which is to hide ſorrow from their eyes. It followes, Why died I not from the wombe? why did not I give up the ghoſt when I came out of the belly? why did the knees prevent me, &c.
Theſe two verſes containe a further aggravation of the former reaſon by three other ſteps. Before he ſpake againſt his conception and his birth, now, Why died I not from the wombe? As if he had ſaid, though I were conceived, and ſecondly though I were borne, yet why did not I make my cradle, my grave, or my firſt ſwadling cloathes, my winding ſheet; though I were borne, yet why did not I die ſo ſoone as ever I was borne? why died I not from the wombe? why gave I not up the ghoſt when I came out of the belly? Having received the diſcourteſie of a birth, death would have been a favour: It had been beſt for me, not to have been borne, and next beſt to have died quickly or aſſoon as I was borne; that's the meaning in generall of the 11, and 12th, verſes. But I ſhall a little examine and enlighten the particular expreſſions.
foreign from foreignWhy did not I give up the ghoſt?] The Hebrew is but one word, which coſts us five in Engliſh, I give up the ghoſt, the word ſignifieth, that laſt act of thoſe who are in the agonie of death; In the Greeke and Latine that act is expreſt by one word,foreign, Expiravit. Lenitèr mortuus eſt, ſine morbo & dolore diuturniore: quādo quis ſacile moritur, ita ut non diu decumbat. Luk. 23.46. Where it is ſaid, that Chriſt gave up the ghoſt. The word is conceived to note a willing cheerefull reſignation of our ſelves in death, a dying without much reluctance or reſiſtance, a being active in death rather then paſſive, we call it well a giving up the ghoſt. Some apply it only to the death of the godly, (as Gen. 25.8. of Abraham, &c.) whoſe lives are not violently ſnatcht from them, but willingly ſurrendred. When a godly man dyes a violent death, he doth not dye violently: Whereas a wicked man dies violently, when he dies naturally: and though ſometimes (being weary of his life, or deſpairing of reliefe) he drives out his ghoſt, yet in a ſtrict ſenſe he never gives up the ghoſt. It is ſaid to the wicked rich man in the Goſpell, (Luk. 12.20.) Thou foole, this night ſhall thy ſoule be required of thee, demanded indeed, but O how unwillingly doth the rich man pay this naturall debt, who is ſo able to pay all civill debts. Yet it muſt be confeſt that we find the word often uſed promiſcuouſly, applied as well to the death of the wicked as of the godly; To Iſmael, (Gen. 25.8.) as well as Abraham, to Annanias and Saphira, Acts 5.10. Yea it is applied to the death of any or all living things, Gen. 7.21. And all fleſh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowle, and of cattell; and of beaſts, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man.
Then againe, If I had not ſo much favour to die aſſoone as ever I came from the wombe, or to die in the very birth; yet, Why did the knees prevent me? or the breaſts that I ſhould ſucke?
Here are two ſteps aggravating the cauſe of his curſe againſt his day. If I had not been borne dead ſaith Job, or died naturally aſſoone as I was borne, yet why was I not left to periſh? I ſhould have died quickly, if they had let me alone, though I were born alive into the world; that is the meaning of thoſe words, Why did the knees prevent me? why was there any care taken of me? why did the Midwife and the Aſſiſtant women take me upon their knees? why did they waſh me, ſwathe me and bind me up? If they had not been ſo kind, it had been a kindneſſe unto me, if they had ſpared their labour, they had done me a favour; If they had omitted their care, how many cares had I eſcaped?
Why did the knees prevent me? or (which is a further ſtep and the fift ſtep by which this ſpeech aſcends) why the breſts that I ſhould ſuck? As if he had ſaid, If they would needs be ſo favourable as to take me up upon the knee, to waſh me, to binde me up and cloath me, yet why was the breſt preſented to me? why was I layed to the breſt? If they had kept me from ſucking the breſt, I ſhould have ſuckt but little breath; I had died quickly.
So that in theſe words there are five gradations by which Job aggravateth the cauſe of this curſe againſt his day. Firſt, Becauſe he was conceived. Secondly, Becauſe the doore was opened for him to be borne. Thirdly, Becauſe being borne, he did not preſently give up the ghoſt, or die aſſoone as he came into the world. Fourthly, Becauſe there was ſo much care taken for him, as to take him upon the knee, and bind him up. Fifthly, Becauſe there was a breſt provided, and papps for him to ſucke: If any of theſe latter acts had been neglected, Job had died, and ſo eſcaped all theſe enſuing troubles of his life, ſorrow had been hidden from his eyes.
And it is obſerved (eſpecially in theſe latter acts of this gradation) that Job alludes to the cuſtome of thoſe times, wherein unnaturall women left their children upon the cold earth, naked and helpleſſe, aſſoone as they were borne: or caſting them out, expoſe them to miſery, or the caſuall nurſery of nature lent them by beaſts, more mercifull then thoſe beaſtly mothers, who would not afford them knees to prevent, nor breſts to give them ſuck. As in that place, Ezek. 16.4, 5. the wofull condition of ſuch an infant is expreſt, to ſhadow out the ſinfully polluted and woefuly helpleſſe eſtate of that people, and of all people by nature, till the Lord prevents them by the knees of free grace, and ſuckles them with the breſts of his conſolation. Thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite, (of a barbarous people, and what then?) In the day thou waſt borne, thy navell was not cut, neither waſt thou waſhed in water, thou waſt not ſalted at all nor ſwadled at all, none eye pittied thee to doe any of theſe unto thee, but thou wast caſt out in the open field, to the loathing of thy perſon in the day that thou waſt borne. Parabolae non ſumuntur niſi ab his qu…e crebrò & de more fiunt.Now this is a certaine rule, that ſuch parabolicall and allegoricall Scriptures are grounded upon known cuſtomes and things in uſe; It is certaine there were ſome ſo unnaturall to their infants, that they would beſtow no care upon them when they were borne, neither waſh nor cleanſe nor binde them up, but caſt them out, (as the Prophet ſpeakes) to the loathing of their perſons. Levana dea pro levandis è terra inſantib…s, Auguſt. de Civit. Dei. l. 4. c▪ 11. Thebanorum lex de non exponendis infantibus, Apud Aelian. de Var. Hiſt. l. 11.The Heathen Romanes had a ſpeciall goddeſſe or deity, whoſe name imported her care and office, that children when they were borne, ſhould be taken up from the earth and ſet upon the knee. And for the preventing of this unnaturall cruelty, (very frequent as it ſeemes amongſt them) the Thebanes made an expreſſe law, that infants ſhould not be neglected or caſt out when they were borne, though the parents thought they would be a burden to them by reaſon of the charge, or no delight to them by reaſon of their deformity.
Now ſaith Job, I could wiſh, I had had ſuch a father or ſuch a mother, or ſuch friends, who forgetting naturall affection, would have caſt me out when I came firſt into the world; Why did the knees prevent me? From hence alſo we may obſerve, firſt,
That an infant, aſſoone as he liveth, hath in him the ſeeds of death: So Job ſpeakes of himſelfe, Why died I not from the wombe? why did I not give up the ghoſt when I came out of my mothers belly? Or why was I not ſtifled in the wombe? why was ever that doore opened to let me into the world? I could have died as ſoone as I lived. Not only is man acting ſin, but nature infected with ſin, the ſubject of, and ſubjected to the power of death: So the Apoſtle teacheth us, (Rom. 5.14.) Death reigned from Adam to Moſes, even over them that had not ſinned after the ſimilitude of Adams tranſgreſſion; And who were thoſe? Even little infants, they had life, yet death reigned over them, they were under the dominion of death, and ſubject to that king of terrour. Sin is the ſeed of death, and the principle of corruption. God doth infants no wrong when they die, their death is of themſelves, for they have the ſeed of death in them; We may affirme in one ſenſe, that when infants die, they have no loſſe; and we are ſure (in every ſenſe) when they die, they have no wrong; All death (except death to ſin) is the wages of ſin, and therefore can be no injury to the ſinner.
Secondly, We may obſerve concerning man in his birth, what a helpleſſe creature man is. If I (ſaith Job) had been left a little, I had bin gone quickly, there had been an end of me: I could not have helped my ſelfe, if the knees had not prevented me, if the breſts had not given me ſuck, if I had been deſtitute of theſe ſuccours, then preſently I ſhould have been free among the dead, I ſhould have been quiet and gone into ſilence.
Thirdly, Obſerve,
That every step of life ſtands in need of a step of mercy. When the infant is conceived, there muſt be an act of mercy to quicken it, an act of mercy to nouriſh it in the wombe; an act of mercy for the birth, an act of mercy being borne to take it upon the knee, an act of mercy to binde it up, an act of mercy to give it ſuck. The beginning of our lives, and the progreſſe of our lives, our generation and our preſervation call for acts of mercy, or elſe (poore creatures as we are,) we quickly periſh and returne unto our duſt. We owe our lives to God at firſt, and we owe them every moment; if he did not renew mercy every moment, we could not continue life one moment: As it is with our ſpirituall life, ſo it is with our naturall, Our lives are hid with Chriſt in God, Col. 3.3. Of and from our ſelves we cannot ſubſiſt, either in grace or nature. It followes, For now ſhould I have lien ſtill, and been quiet, I ſhould have ſlept; then had I been at reſt.
Theſe words are an inlargement of the former reaſon, taken from a deſcription of the ſtate and condition of the dead; For now (ſaith Job) I ſhould have lien ſtill, If you ſhould aske me a reaſon of my former reaſon, why I was ſo angry with that day or night wherein I was conceived and borne, wherein I had that (to me unacceptable) mercy to be preſerved and kept alive? This I ſubjoyne for the reaſon of it, If none of thoſe unwelcome favours or naturall rights had been done me, then, I had lien ſtill, I had been quiet, I ſhould have ſlept, I had been at reſt, Either I ſhould have been as one that never was, or I ſhould have been at reſt and quiet. The argument lyes thus; Reſt and quiet are deſireable things, but death, in the omiſſion of thoſe ſuccours, would have given me reſt, therefore I deſire thoſe ſuccours had been omitted. This concluſion is in the 11th, and 12th, verſes, which we heard before. The aſſumption is in this 13th, verſe, which he further confirmes in the 6 verſes following, by an argument which we may thus forme. I will prove, ſaith he, that in death I ſhould have reſt and been quiet, and lien ſtill, for all conditions and ſorts of men are quiet and lie ſtill in death. There (or in that eſtate) where all degrees and ſorts of perſons are at reſt, there ſure I ſhould have found reſt; but in death all ſorts and degrees of perſons have found reſt, therefore I ſhould have found reſt too.
Now that all ſorts of people lie ſtill and are at reſt in death, he proves by an elegant enumeration of the ſeverall ſorts and conditions of men. He makes an argument by way of induction of all or moſt of the rankes of men. Firſt, He ſhewes it in Kings and Counſellours of the earth, theſe men that make ſuch a buſſell in the world, when once they are dead, they are quiet enough. And then he ſhews it in Rich-men and Princes, who load themſelves with thick clay, who toile and moile all their days to heape up and amaſſe much wealth; when theſe come to the grave, ther's an end of all their labours, then they muſt give over all their purſuite of riches. Fourthly, He ſhewes it in children, either abortives, borne before natures time, or borne in full perfection of nature. ver. 16. Laſtly, He ſhewes it in oppreſſors and the oppreſſed; in priſoners and thoſe that impriſon them; in the ſmall and in the great, in the ſervants and in their Maſters; Thus making an innumeration of all theſe, from thence he infers; That if all theſe are quiet, when they are in the grave, then ſurely his condition had been ſo too; I ſhould have been quiet and lien still, then I ſhould have ſlept and been at rest.
We muſt here take notice, that Job ſpeaking of the ſtate of death, ſpeakes only in reference to an outward condition, and our reſting from outward calamities and troubles; he doth not handle the point at all concerning mans eternall eſtate; For, death is not reſt to all ſorts of men in that ſenſe: Kings and Counſellours, and rich men, &c. may reſt from the troubles of this world, and goe to a world of everlaſting troubles. Such a totall reſt is the ſole priviledge of the Saints. Thus only bleſſed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth, yea ſaith the Spirit, that they may reſt from their labours, and their workes follow them, Rev. 14.13. When the Saints die, they reſt from their labours, and their works follow them (through free-grace) in glorious rewards. When the wicked die, they reſt from their labours, but their workes follow them (through divine Juſtice) in everlaſting puniſhments. And Job reſting aſſured of his own eternall reſt,Apertè his verbis oſtendit, ſe adeo de ſuturae v…a de ſecurum eſſe, ut tan…um fuerit ſolicitus de quiete a praeſentibus calamitatibus. foreign wiſhes only a reſt from thoſe temporall commotions.
Further, We may obſerve 4 words uſed by Job to expreſſe the ſame thing. Firſt, I ſhould have lien ſtill. And been quiet, there is a ſecond. I would have ſlept, there is a third, and fourthly, Then I had been at reſt.
I ſhould have lien ſtill.] The word ſignifies to lie down in any kind, and it ſignifies to ſleepe, Gen. 19.4. Before they lay downe, that is, before they went to bed: It is applied likewiſe to the ſleepe of death, 2 Sam. 7.12. Iſa. 43.17. They ſhall lye downe, they ſhall not riſe, (that is, they ſhall die, ſo the next words expound it) They are extinct, they are quenched as towe.
And been quiet.] The word ſignifieth alſo to be ſilent,foreign Securus fuit, in pace degit, etiam filuit. we may put both together, then had I lien still and been ſilent, and you know, death and the grave are called ſilence; I had been like thoſe that goe downe into ſilence (ſaith the Pſalmiſt, Pſ. 115.17.) that is, like thoſe that go down into the grave. And Hezekiah in his mourning deſcribes that ſilence, Iſa. 38.18. The grave cannot praiſe thee, death cannot celebrate thee.
I ſhould have ſlept.] Sleepe is the image of death, and death is more then the image of ſleepe; ſleepe is a ſhort death, and death is a long ſleepe. Many of them that ſleepe in the duſt of the earth ſhall awake, ſome to everlaſting life, and ſome to everlaſting contempt, Dan. 12.2. Our friend Lazarus ſleepeth, (ſaith Chriſt to his Diſciples, J…h. 11.11.) but I goe that I may awake him out of ſleepe. In the 14th, verſe, Jeſus ſaid unto them plainely, Lazarus is dead.
Then had I beene at rest.] We uſually ſay when a man goes to ſleepe, he goes to reſt: Yet reſt is more then ſleepe, for ſometimes a man ſleepes when he doth not reſt, his very ſleepe being troubled, and he troubled in his ſleepe: But when reſt is joyned with ſleepe it is perfect ſleepe. The word here uſed, ſignifies a very quiet, ſetled and peaceable condition: Hence Noah had his name, And he called his name Noah, ſaying, this ſonne ſhall comfort us, foreignconcerning our worke and toile of our hands, becauſe of the ground which the Lord hath curſed, Gen. 5.29. He was reſt and comfort to the old world, by preaching righteouſneſſe, even the righteouſneſſe which is by faith, which alone gives reſt unto the ſoule, and is able to refreſh us in the midſt of all thoſe toyles and labours which that firſt curſe brought upon the world, both new and old. Such reſt and ſweet repoſe had I found (ſaith Job) from all my toile in the houſe of death and bed of the grave.
Having thus, foure words concurring in the ſame ſenſe, we may here not unprofitably take notice of that elegant multiplication of words in the holy Scriptures. There, ſtore is no ſoare, and variety is no ſuperfluity, yea there Tautologie is no ſuperfluity: It is the uſuall rhetorick of the Holy Ghoſt, to ſpeake the ſame thing in divers words, yea ſometime in the ſame words; We find ſuch a congeries or heaping up of words uſed for the moſt part in ſome heate of paſſion, or vehemency of ſpirit; As firſt, when God would expreſſe a great deale of anger and wrath againſt a people, he ſpeakes thus, (Iſa. 14.22, 23.) I will riſe up againſt them, ſaith the Lord of hoſtes, and cut off from Babylon the name and remnant, and ſonne and nephew, I will alſo make it a poſſeſſion for the Bittern and pooles of water, and I will ſweepe it with the beſome of deſtruction. Here are a multitude of words, and all tending to the ſame purpoſe, ſetting forth the fierceneſſe of Gods anger, and the reſolvedneſſe of his judgement for the ruining of Babylon. The towring confuſed pride of the King of Babylon, is preſented to us in ſuch a heape of words, (Iſa. 14.13, 14.) heare the pure language of pride from that Kings heart; Thou hast ſaid in thine heart, I will aſcend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the Starres of God, I will ſit alſo upon the mount of the Congregation, I will aſcend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the most High. The manifold apoſtacies and backſlidings of Judah, are deſcribed in many words by the Prophet Zephanie, chap. 1.6. And them that are turned bank from the Lord, and thoſe that have not ſought the Lord, nor enquired for him; (Chap. 3.2.) She obeyed not the voice, ſhe received not correction, ſhe truſted not in the Lord, ſhe drew not neere to her God. When our Lord Chriſt would ſhew the extreame ignorance and darkneſſe of his Diſciples, in thoſe great Articles of his ſufferings, death and reſurrection, having taken the twelve unto him, and diſcourſed of thoſe points, he concludes, Luk. 18.31, 34. And they underſtood none of theſe things, and this ſaying was hid from them, neither knew they the things that were ſpoken. As if Chriſt had ſaid, their ignorance in theſe myſteries was ſo great, that they had not the leaſt glimpſe or glimmerings of light about them. So here, I ſhould have lien still, and been quiet, I ſhould have ſlept, and been at reſt, and all to note the interrupted-quiet and tranquility of the grave. As if he had ſaid; Had I died then, not only had not theſe ſtormes been upon me, nor theſe waves gone over me, but the leaſt breath of wind had never blowne upon me. Hence we may obſerve, Firſt,
That in regard of all outward troubles, death is the reſt of man. Bleſſed are the dead that die in the Lord, for they reſt from their labours And they who die out of the Lord, reſt from all that labour they have had in this world. There is no worke, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wiſedome in the grave whither thou goest, Eccleſ. 9.10. This life is a day of working, and death is a night of reſting. The Sunne ariſeth, man goeth forth to his labour untill the evening, Pſal. 104.23. When the Sunne of our life ariſeth, we goe forth to our labour, untill the evening of death. This life is a continued motion, death is a continued reſt. This life is but noiſe and tumult, death is ſilence. Our life is a ſtormy paſſage, a tempeſtuous ſea-voyage, death bringeth us to the harbour.
There is a foure-fold reſt which we obtaine in death. Firſt, A reſt from labour and travaile, no working there. Secondly, There is a reſt from trouble and oppreſſion, no warres, no bloody battels there. Thirdly, There is a reſt from paſſion, no ſorrow, no griefe ſhall afflict us there. In the grave there is a fourth reſt better then all theſe, a reſt from ſin, a reſt from the drudgerie of Satan, a reſt from the winnowings and buffetings of Satan; a reſt from the law of our members, warring againſt the law of our minds. When Saul went to the witch of Endor for adviſe with Samuel, that Samuel, or the Devill in the appearance of Samuel, ſpeakes as one diſturb'd being raiſed from the grave; Why, (ſaith he,) haſt thou diſquieted me to bring me up, 1 Sam. 28.15. I was at reſt, why diddeſt thou call me up to a land of trouble? It is the obſervation of an ancient Father, and the reſolution of an ancient Councell, concerning Chriſts weeping over Lazarus, Joh. 11.Planè Lazarum mortuum flevit Chriſtus, ſed non tuas lachrimas fudit, doluit Lazarum non dormientem ſed potius reſurgentem, Hieron. Ep. ad Tyraſiam ſuper mortem filiae. That not his death, but his riſing drew thoſe teares. When Chriſt came to the grave where Lazarus lay, the Text ſaith that Jeſus wept. Why did Chriſt weepe ſaith Jerome, in comforting a mother that had loſt her daughter? It is cleare that Chriſt wept over Lazarus that was dead, but he did not weepe thy teares; Chriſt did not weepe becauſe Lazarus was dead, but he wept rather becauſe Lazarus was to be raiſed up againe; he wept to thinke that his friend Lazarus ſhould be brought back into ſo troubleſome a world. And it was the reſolution of the third Toletane Councell, that Chriſt did not weepe over Lazarus becauſe he was dead,Chriſtus non ploravit, Lazarum mortuum, ſed ad hujus vitae aerumnas ploravit reſuſſcitandum, Concil Tolet. tert. but becauſe he was to be raiſed up againe to feele the burdens and afflictions of this life: that was their apprehenſion of it. And it is a truth, that whoſoever lives the common life of nature, lives in trouble: But ſuch is not the life of him who is raiſed from the dead: The lives of ſuch though here upon the earth, muſt needs lye out of the common courſe: And what their condition is, is ſuch a ſecret as we cannot underſtand but by enjoying it.
Againe, from that particular expreſſion, in that he ſaith, I ſhould have ſlept, We may obſerve,
That as death it is the reſt of the whole man, ſo death it is the ſleepe of the body. So you find it often in the Scripture; Our friend Lazarus ſleepeth, ſaith Chriſt, when he was dead; Joh. 11. And the Apoſtle, 1 Theſ. 4.13. I would not have you ignorant concerning thoſe which ſleepe, that is, concerning thoſe who are dead. Lighten mine eyes (ſaith David) l…ſt I ſleepe the ſleepe of death, or as the Hebrew, Leſt I ſleepe death, Pſal. 13.3. And hence the grave is called a bed, Iſa. 57.2. The righteous are taken away, &c. they ſhall enter in to peace, they ſhall reſt in their beds. When a righteous man dies or is taken away, he is but gone to bed. Therefore we call thoſe places where the dead are laid up and buried,foreign, Dormitorium. dormitories or ſleeping places. Both the Greek and Latine words meete in the ſame ſignification.
Some of the Ancients were of opinion that this ſleepe tooke hold of and ſeaz'd upon all man, namely upon his ſoule as well as upon his body; Aſſerting that the ſoule is in a ſleepe or ſlumber, that is, that the ſoule from the time of its diſunion from the body untill the reſurrection, lyes ſtill without any motion or operation. I giant that many operations of the ſoule doe ceaſe when it parteth from the body. There are ſome acts of the ſoule which are organicall, and there are other acts that are inorganicall or immateriall: The organicall acts, that is, whatſoever the ſoule acts by the members of the body, thoſe acts I ſay muſt needs ceaſe; but the ſoule can act of it ſelfe without the aſſiſtance of the body; as we may collect by many experiments while our bodies and ſoules are joyned together. How often doe we find our ſoules at worke, when our bodies lie ſtill and doe nothing; when ſleepe binds up all our ſences, and ſhuts up the windowes of the body ſo cloſe, that we can neither heare nor ſee: yet then the ſoule frames to it ſelfe and beholds a thouſand various ſhapes, and heares all ſorts of ſounds and voices, then the ſoule ſees, and the ſoule heares, the ſoule deviſeth, and the ſoule diſcourſeth, the ſoule greeves, and the ſoule rejoyceth, the ſoule hopes, and the ſoule feares, the ſoule electeth, and the ſoule refuſeth: All this the ſoule doth in dreames and viſions of the night, when deepe ſleepe falls upon man. So alſo in extaſies and raviſhments, the body is as it were laid by, as uſeleſſe and uninſtrumentall to the ſoule. I knew a man in Chriſt about fourteene yeares agoe, (ſo the Apoſtle Paul ſaith,) whether in the body, I cannot tell, or out of the body, I cannot tell, God knoweth, 2 Cor. 12.2. As if he had ſaid, I was loſt as to my body, I could not tell what I was, I did not feele my ſelfe; yet he had mighty operations in his ſoule, his ſpirit wrought ſtrangely, and then tooke in ſuch revelations of God and from God, as his bodily organs could never faſhion into words, or repreſent by ſpeech: He heard *Quae ſando explicari a quequam homine non poſsunt. Beza.unſpeakeable words, which it is not aQuae nulla vine Sanctorum quidem poſſit explicari, nempe quia divinū eſt numen Sic explicat Clemens Alex. Strom 5. Beza.lawfull (or poſſible) for man to utter. The ſoule hath an eare to heare ſuch words as the body cannot find a tongue to expreſſe. So the Apoſtle John in his divine raviſhments, I was in the Spirit upon the Lords day. As for his body, that was, as to that buſineſſe laid by and ſuſpended as uſeleſſe in that day; and his ſpirit called up to that angelicall worke, the receiving of viſions and revelations from on high. And among other things which John ſaw, he ſaw under the Altar the ſoules of them that had beene ſlaine, for the word of God and for the teſtimony which they held; Theſe ſoules were not aſleepe though their bodies were, for they cried with a loud voice ſaying, How long, O Lord Holy and true, doeſt thou not judge and avenge our blood, &c. Rev. 6.9, 10. From all theſe texts and experiences we may conclude, that the ſoule wakes while the body ſleepes that ſleepe of death. And the death of the body is called a ſleepe.
Firſt, Becauſe as ſleepe, ſo death brings the body to reſt, as was obſerved in the former point.
Secondly, Naturall ſleepe is not perpetuall, we ſleepe and wake againe; ſo though the body lye in the grave, yet death is but a ſleepe, the man ſhall awake and riſe againe.
Thirdly, As a body aſleepe can eaſily be awaked and called up by the power of man; ſo the body when it is dead, can with infinitely more eaſe be raiſed by the power of God; It is but a call from Heaven and we awaken out of the duſt. God can beyound all compariſon more eaſily awaken us from that dead ſleepe of death, then we can awaken one another from the lighteſt ſlumber.
There are two queſtions which I ſhall propound and endeavour to reſolve upon the whole matter of this context.
Firſt, We find Job complaining, becauſe things were not otherwiſe ordered about him, he is troubled, becauſe he was borne, or becauſe he was not caſt away in the birth; for then it had been better with him, he had beene aſleepe and quiet; he was troubled things were with him as they were. Hence it may be queſtioned, Whether it be lawfull for us to wiſh or to deſire, that had not come to paſſe, which we ſee come to paſſe? And are we not bound to reſt ſatisfied with the preſent and fore-paſt diſpenſations of God, and ſo be content with the things that are, or with things as they are?
For this, I ſay in generall, ſuch wiſhes or deſires are not ſinfull. It is not abſolutely ſinfull, to wiſh that not to be, which is; Nay ſome things which are, ought to be wiſhed they had not bin, and it is a ſin not to wiſh, they had not been. As thoſe things that are diſpleaſing to God, provocations to the eyes of his glory; things that are diſhonourable to God, we ought to wiſh that ſuch things had never been. God himſelfe wiſheth in that manner, Pſal. 81.13. O that my people had hearkned unto me, and Iſrael had walked in my wayes! They did not walke in his wayes, he wiſheth they had, he deſireth they had been better, more holy and more obedient then they were. To wiſh that a thing had not been, out of a tenderneſſe that God ſhould be offended by ſin, is not only lawfull, but very commendable. But to wiſh things otherwiſe then they are, as murmuring againſt and miſliking Gods adminiſtration, or out of a tenderneſſe, becauſe we ſuffer, is not only ſinfull but abominable; When our wills riſe up againſt the will of God, when we cannot be contented to be what God will have us to be, and to ſuffer what God would have us ſuffer, when we who ſhould learne to be content in every eſtate, are angry with our eſtates, and on that ground wiſh, O that this had never been, O that I had never ſeene this day, becauſe it hath ſo much trouble in it; this wiſh hath I know not how much evill in it. So likewiſe when man ſhall (as it were) take upon him to direct the Almighty and only wiſe God in governing the world, ſecretly ſurmizing, or openly complaining, that things might be diſpenced and manag'd with more wiſedome, juſtice and moderation; ſuch boldneſſe is plaine blaſphemie. Some are ready to ſay in their hearts about the Lord Chriſts governing the world, as Abſalom did concerning his father Davids government of Iſrael; Things are carried, as if there were none deputed to heare or redreſſe the wrongs of men. O that I were made Judge of the world, that every man which hath any ſuite or cauſe might come to me, and I would doe him juſtice: 2 Sam. 15.3, 4.Things ſhould not goe thus if I had the ordering of them; ſuch boldneſſe is higheſt blaſphemy. And yet with caution of due reverence to the Name of God, he gives us leave to debate the matter with him, both concerning the ſtate of things in publike, and our own perſonall eſtates.
Firſt thus, If we, while we are debating, adore his ſecret Juſtice and uſearcheable wiſedome, in that which we neither ſee nor are able to underſtand. Thus while the Prophet Jeremie tooke liberty to pleade with God about the adminiſtrations of the world, he humbly praemiſes, Righteous art thou O Lord when I pleade with thee, yet let me talke with thee of thy judgements, Illud ſemper retinere debemu…: foreign eſse Deum.why doth the way of the wicked proſper? we may aske God the queſtion, and pleade with him about his judgements, but we muſt not have the leaſt jealouſie or ſuſpition of his righteouſneſſe or of his judgements.
Secondly, We may ſit downe and bewaile the ſtate of things, or our private eſtates; In that ſenſe we may wiſh things not to be that are, ſo as to bewaile that ſuch things are, and this is it which Job eſpecially doth in this Chapter, he ſits downe bewailing his condition; And ſo may we while we keepe within our bounds, and duely regulate our lamentings. The bounds and rules may be ſuch as theſe. Firſt, Deale not too much with the creature, either in complaining of the creature, or in complaining to the creature. Let ſecond cauſes paſſe, or looke upon them but in the ſecond place: powre your complaints into the boſome of God. Secondly, Conſider from whence your bewailings move; take heed they ſpring not from delicacie of ſpirit, or an unwillingneſſe to lie under the croſſe, becauſe it ſpoiles your faire ſhew in the fleſh: Gal. 6.12.While we bewaile our own croſſe or publike croſſes, we ſhould be working our hearts to a willing and cheerfull ſufferance of the croſſe. Though a man doth not love that which he beares, yet let him love to beare: It is an high ſtraine of ſpiritualnes in bearing,Tolerare eſt patientia neceſſitatis, amare tolerate eſt patientia virtutis▪ when a Chriſtian can ſay, I love not that which I ſuffer, yet I love to ſuffer: I love not that which I beare, yet I love to beare. To beare is the patience of neceſſity, to love to beare is the patience of vertue: to love to beare, hath in it the higheſt affection and the loweſt ſubjection unto Chriſt. The Apoſtles ſpirit was raiſed to this heroick pitch, and ſomewhat above it, when he ſaid, I rejoyce in my ſufferings, Col. 1.24. (Joy is a degree beyond love) when he ſaid, I take pleaſure in reproaches, in neceſſities, in perſecutions, in diſtreſſes for Christs ſake, 2 Cor. 12.10. (Pleaſure is a degree beyond joy.) But eſpecially when he ſaid, I glory in tribulations, Rom. 5.3. And God forbid that I ſhould glory (in any thing elſe) ſave in the croſſe of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, Gal. 6.14. To glory in a thing is more then to take pleaſure in it. Againe, Take heed your complaints and bewailings doe not ariſe out of diſtruſt and unbeliefe; ſuch complainings are provocations. It was called the provocation, when the people of Iſrael made ſuch diſtruſting complaints, Pſal. 95.8. Harden not your hearts as in the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderneſſe. And that the provocation lay in their unbeleefe, the Apoſtle is expreſſe, Heb, 3. where quoting this text of the Pſalme, he concludes his whole diſcourſe thus, ver. 19. So we ſee they could not enter in becauſe of unbeliefe. If we mixe faith with our teares, and while we bemoane our condition, yet beleeve, that God is good and good to us, that God is alſufficient, and alſufficient to deliver us; we may wiſh that the things that are, were not, and that God who changes not, would make a change in our eſtate,
For the cloſe of this point, I ſhall lay downe theſe three Concluſions,
Firſt, A man may deſire that, which God wills not, and not ſinne in that deſire: As the deliverance of a people whom God will deſtroy.
Secondly, A man may ſin in deſiring that which God wills: When it is the will of God that the father ſhall die; the child ſins in deſiring it.
Thirdly, A man may without ſin deſire that not to be, which God wills; or which is the ſame, that not to be which is; ſuch deſires being qualified according to the cautions before given.
There is a ſecond queſtion ariſing upon a part of this complaint: For Job complaines not only of his troubles, but of his life: And ſeemes to have been angry with his very being; while he wiſhes he had never been conceived, or that his mother had been denied the bleſſing of conception. The queſtion then is, Whether an evill or a troubleſome being be worſe then no being? Or whether it be better not to be then to be miſerable.
I anſwer, There is a two-fold miſerable being, one Temporall, the other Eternall. An eternall miſerable being is eternally worſe then a not being. But a temporall miſerable being, at the worſt, is better then a not being. And the reaſon is, becauſe our being is farre more excellent then the outward comforts of our being, theſe being only accidentall to our being; and therefore it neceſſarily followes, that it is better to be without outward comforts, then to be without a being. Againe, Life is better then all outward things, (Satan ſpake truly in the former chapter, All that a man hath will he give for his life.) That which a man parts with rather then his life, is below his life. If then life be better then riches, or health, or pleaſures, then much more is our being better then all theſe. As a man may hold his life when all his eſtate and comforts are gone, ſo he doth hold his being when his life is gone; Life is brittle ware at the beſt, but mans being is of an everlaſting make. I know there are ſome who diſpute and conclude, that a being, even an eternally miſerable being is better then no being: And I grant it is ſo in a metaphyſicall or a philoſophicall notion, but in a theologicall notion it is not. A Philoſopher (keeping within the ſpheare of nature) can ſee no miſery ſo miſerable, or evill ſo bad, as not to be.Si natus non ſuiſset ille homo-i. e. ſi nunquam proceſſiſſet a non eſſe ad eſſe. Melius quippe ſuiſſet nunquam ſu…ſſe quam tanta ſlagitia perpetrare, gratia quo que & gloria in aeternum privari, ſed & appetibilius eſt homini abſolutè non eſſe, quam eſſe damnatum, propter aeternam poenatiſſimam que miſeriam, Dioniſ, Carthuſ in Mat. 26. v. 24. But a Divine can, he ſees two things worſe. Firſt, An everlaſting ſtaine and guilt of ſin lying upon the ſoule. Secondly, The everlaſting wrath and diſpleaſure of God powred out upon the whole man. Hence Chriſt ſaith of Judas who betrayed him, Mat. 26.24. It had beene good for that man, if he had not been borne; becauſe that accurſed act joyned with his impenitence and unbeleefe, ſubjected him to everlaſting miſery, to wrath for evermore; It had been good he had never been borne, rather then to fall into ſuch a ſin, and from that to fall into Hell. Not to be borne, is in this place, as much as not to be. And it had been good for him not to have beene borne, is as much as to ſay, it had been better for him not to have beene borne. It had been better for him not to have been, then to have committed ſuch a ſin, to lie under ſuch wrath, and to looſe ſuch happineſſe for ever. Though a ſtate of damnation (conſidered abſtractedly) be better then no ſtate at all, that is, then a not being, yet, in the concrete, it is not better to be damned then not to be: In it ſelfe, eternall miſery is better then a non-entity, but a man eternally miſerable, is worſe then a non-ens. And without doubt it will be the eternall deſire of the damned (and that deſire is both a part and an encreaſe of their miſery) that they never had been, or now might ceaſe to be, rather then continue to be miſerable.
Now to ſhut up and reſolve the queſtion, as to the ground of it, Jobs complaint in this Text, I ſay, Job was only in the preſent feeling of temporall troubles, and he was beyond the feare of eternall: Therefore number this among his failings, that he wiſht he had never been conceived, becauſe he was thus afflicted.