Exposition of Job 4-7, Commentary on Job · Chapter 5 · Verses 17-18

Exposition of Job 4-7 · Commentary on Job · Chapter 5 · Verses 17-18

p. 309JOB Chap. 5. Verſ. 17, 18.

Behold happy is the man, whom God correcteth, therefore deſpiſe not thou the chaſtning of the Almighty.

For he maketh ſore and bindeth up: he woundeth and his hands make whole, &c.

VVE have finiſhed the firſt branch of exhortation, begun ver. 8. wherein Eliphaz moves Job, To ſeek to God, and unto God to commit his cauſe; with the ſeverall arguments and reaſons, ſtrengthning that Exhortation. At this 17. verſ. Eliphaz begins a ſecond branch of exhortation, and it is continued to the end of the Chapter. We have the exhortation (or dehortation rather, for it is expreſt in the negative) in the latter clauſe of the 17. verſ. Deſpiſe not thou the chaſtning of the Almighty.

The firſt argument by which he quickens Job to receive this counſel, lyes in the former part of the ſame verſe, Behold happy is the man, whom God c…rrecteth: The argument may be framed thus. That condition is not to be deſpiſed, wherein a man is truly happy. But, under the correcting hand of God, a man is truly happy. Therefore that condition is not to be deſpiſed. Behold (ſaith he) happy is the man, whom God correcteth, therefore deſpiſe not thou the chaſtning of the Almighty.

Behold, happy is the man.

To behold, cals here both for attention and admiration: For here is a ſtrange ſight, An afflicted man, a bleſſed man, N…ll p. 310ſence and reaſon cannot agree about this conjunction. They know not how happineſſe and correction ſhould meet, and kiſſe the ſame perſon: Therefore raiſe up thy attention (ſaith Eliphaz) to conſider this wonder. When the Angell of the Lord appeared unto Moſes in a flame of fire out of the midſt of a buſh, he looked and behold the buſh burned with fire, and the buſh was not conſumed. And Moſes ſaid, I will now turne aſide, and ſee this great ſight, why the buſh is not burnt, Exod. 3. 2, 3. Such a great ſight, this text ſhewes us. A buſh burning, and not conſuming, yea a buſh burning, and yet flouriſhing, a buſh on fire, and yet a fruit-bearing buſh, a buſh blooming and bloſſoming with the pleaſanteſt and ſweeteſt fruit on earth, or rather with the fruit of heaven, fruit upon which we ſhall feed for ever in heaven, Fruit, the taſts of which, make a heaven here on earth, Happines. Well then, is this ſtrange ſight preſented to us, with A Behold.

Happy is the man whom God correcteth, &c.

Happineſſe is the enjoyment of good commeaſurate to all our deſires. That's perfect happineſſe. Happineſſe is the ſumme of all our deſires, and the aime of all our endeavours: And when we have attained perfect happineſſe, we ſhall be at a full point, both of our deſires and endeavours.

But though all men have happineſſe in their eye (to be happy is their end, and this happineſſe is but one) Yet the wayes, which men have chalked out, as leading to happineſſe, have been not only various, but almoſt infinite. Some of the learned have reckoned up two or three Centuries, or hundreds of opinions, concerning this one point. And it is well obſerved, that men varied thus in opinion about happineſſe, becauſe they thought the enjoyment of that, wherein any of them was defective, would make them happy. He that was poore, ſaid, I ſhould be happy, if I had riches, and thence grew his opinion, that happineſſe conſiſted in riches: The ſick man ſaid, I ſhould be happy, if I had my health, and thence grew his opinion, that happineſſe conſiſted in health: Another was obſcure, meane and low, O (ſaid he) how happy were I, if I were honourable, and thence grew a third opinion, that happineſſe conſiſted in honour; Thus they varied according to their particular neceſſities and intereſts. But amongſt all thoſe Opinioniſts; we meet not with any one, who pitcht upon this in the Text. This is a Paradox to them all, A naturall man cannot place happineſſe in p. 311correction. No Philoſopher or pure Moraliſt ever ſaid, happy is the man, that is ſore; happy is the man, that is ſicke; happy is the man that is diſgraced; or happy is the man, that is in priſon; Theſe are riddles, ſuch as nature is not able to expound or make out; the Philoſopher would as ſoon place light in darkneſſe, the Sunne in a cloud, heat in coldneſſe, the element of fire in the water, as bleſſedneſſe in ſufferings. Therefore no marvell if Eliphaz uſher it in, with a Behold, Behold happy is the man, whom God correcteth.

The word, Happy, is of the Plurall number, or rather of the foreign Beatudines conſtat indeclinabile eſſe, & formam habere n…n tam pluralis quam dualis;Duall in the Hebrew. Some tranſlate it in the Abſtract, Behold the bleſſedneſſes of that man whom God corrects: But it is fully rendred by the Adjective, as we, Behold happy is the man, &c.

There is much contention among the Grammarians about the word, whether it be abſtract or concrete, a Nown, or an Adverb: But I will not ſtay on thoſe, only conſider a little what account is given, why the word is uſed plurally or dually.

Firſt, it is to increaſe the ſignification, and heighten the ſenſe; as noting the confluence of many good things in happineſſe. Happines Beati, beatitu do in multis bonitatibus conſiſtit…. Rab. D.is not a ſingle good; happineſſe conſiſts in the concurrence or meeting together of many good things: God, who is infinitely happy, infinitely bleſſed in himſelfe, and an infinite bleſſing, all bleſſing to his people, is not a ſingle good, or a particular good, but he is all good, both to himſelfe, and to his people. A godly man is happy in the largeſt ſence, in all ſences; becauſe his, is not this or that particular good, but all good. And he is not happy only at this or that particular time, but at all times. He is as happy, when he is ſuffering under the hand of God, as when he is ſerving God, as happy in his paſſive as in his active obedience. And therefore the ſame word expreſſes his condition, both in the one, and in the other.

Secondly, becauſe there is a two-fold happineſſe: Firſt, the happineſſe of this life. And ſecondly, the happineſſe of the next; Temporall happines, and eternall happines; Corporall happines and ſpirituall happines. To note a complication of all theſe, the word may be given in the Duall or Plurall number; He that is thus corrected, looſes not temporall happines, and he gains in ſpirituall, and toward eternall happines. The preſent and future happines of the Saints, the happineſſe of grace and of glory, differ but in p. 312degrees; It is the ſame ſtate in a higher ſtature: The ſame book in a more correct edition and fairer letter. Theſe differ as a child from a man, or as the morning light, from the light at high-noon; So then, this word includes all kinds and degrees of happines: yet, here it is properly to be underſtood of the happines of this life, which only is conſiſtent with correction; There are no rods in Heaven, and we ſhall be paſt children, before we come thither.

Thirdly, we may anſwer plainly, that the word in the Hebrew Simplex & genuina reſponſio eſt quod nomen ipſum quo He braei bea…itudinem notant, eſt plurale tantum, ut latinis opes d…vitiae Ames: in Pſ 3.Ps 3is only Plurall or Duall, being never read in the ſingular number: As in the Latine we have many the like words.

It is further obſervable concerning this word, that it is alwayes applied unto man, whereas the word (Barac) bleſſed, is applied both to God and man. This happineſſe is a ſpeciall and peculiar happineſſe of man: The Lord being infinitely above, both obeying and ſuffering.

Happy is the Man.

Enoſh, the Hebrew word for Man (of whom happineſſe under correction is predicated) is very ſutable to this buſineſſe of correction. Enoſh ſignifies a ſickly, weake, miſerable man: We might render the full ſence of the word thus, Happy is that miſerable man, whom God corrects. That is look upon a man according to the ordinary account of the world, and calculation of reaſon he is a miſerable man, a weake, ſickly man; yet happy is this weake, ſickly, miſerable man in the account of God, and by the calculation of faith. Grace makes that good ſence, which is a contradiction, both in nature and in reaſon, A miſerable man, and a happy man, one and the ſame.

In Pſal. 1. the word Iſh is uſed, Bleſſed is the man, that is, Bleſſed is that excellent man, that holy man, that ſtrong man, walking and delighting in the Law of the Lord. Yea bleſſed with the ſame bleſſedneſſe is that miſerable man (ſmarting under the rod of the Lord) whom God correcteth.

And yet bleſſedneſſe is joyned with all the words, by which man is expreſſed. It is joyned with Adam, Pſal 32. 1. Bleſſed is the man whoſe iniquity is forgiven. Adam is the generall word for Man, and is therefore moſt fitly joyned with bleſſedneſſe in pardon of ſinne, becauſe all men are ſinners, and no man can be bleſſed, except he be pardoned. Bleſſedneſſe is joyned alſo with Geber, a ſtrong, powerfull and mighty man, Pſal. 94. 12. Bleſſed is the p. 313man whom thou chaſteneſt, O Lord, and teacheſt him out of thy Law; Bleſſed is (Geber) the great man, the honourable man, the higheſt by birth or place, whom thou chaſtneſt.

The Chaldee Paraphraſe reſtraines the word [Man] to an individuall, Beatus Abrahā, virpius quem corripuit Deus. Chald. Pa…ap.to Abraham, as if Eliphaz had put the inſtance in Abraham, and ſaid, Behold, happy was that holy man Abraham whom God corrected, therefore deſpiſe not thou the chaſtning of the Almighty; I can give thee a famous example of a godly man corrected, Abraham (thy Anceſtor) met with afflictions as well as thou, and yet he was a moſt happy man: therefore despiſe not thou the chaſtning of the Lord. But the word is generall, and ſo we are to underſtand it; though this be a truth in any or every inſtance among the ſervants of God

I muſt yet put in a caution for the right underſtanding of this propoſition, Bleſſed is the man, whom God corrects. The meaning is not, as if happineſſe were the portion of every miſerable man, or of every man that is afflicted, doe not thinke ſo; many are at once, corrected and curſed, troubled and miſerable in trouble. To many, their preſent ſorrows, are but the fore-taſts of eternall ſorrowes; As Chriſt ſpake in a common caſe; Theſe things are but the beginning of ſorrowes: So we may ſay to the particular caſes of many groaning under ſickneſſe, poverty, diſgrace, &c. Alas, poore ſoules, ye are ſo far from being happy in theſe, that theſe are but the beginnings of your unhappineſſe; God doth but begin to call for ſome arreares, due to his juſtice, which you muſt be a paying and ſatisfying to all eternity.

There is no happineſſe in affliction naturally conſidered; it is accidentall to afflictions, that happineſſe is aſſociated with them. Affliction in it ſelfe is grievous and it would be only ſo to us, did not the over-ruling, admirable diſpenſations of God, temper, order, diſpoſe, and worke it to an end above its own nature; it is the art and wiſdome of the Phyſitian, which corrects poyſonous ſimples and ingredients ſo, as to make them medicineable. And did not the wiſedome and goodneſſe of of God, correct our corrections, they would not be medicine to us, but poyſon. It is not correction, but the hand of God with it, and in it, which makes us happy.

Happie is the man, whom God correcteth.

The word, which we tranſlate **foreign Arguit, redarguit, corripuit, praeparavit verba contra aliquem, diſputā do & oſtendendojus. Quod et ſi verbis plerum que fiat pertinet tamen ea vox ad ſevirorem diſcip inam & verbera, quae cujuſpiā peccati reprehenſionem comitari ſolet. Pined.correct, ſignifies to reprove or p. 314to convince, by arguments or diſpute; To argue a man down from his errour, by the ſtrength and clearneſſe of reaſon or divine authority. So Levit. 19. 19. Thou ſhalt not ſuffer ſinne upon thy brother; thou ſhalt ſurely rebuke him. Thou ſhalt rebuke him, it is the word here uſed, that is, thou ſhalt bring ſuch arguments, as may convince him of his ſin, and lay his wickedneſſe open before him. This word is applied to corrections and afflictions in Scripture, becauſe with convictions, we feele corrections frequently joyned; The Lord argues the matter, and (as it were) diſputes with ſome very long, who yet will not let in divine truth, nor be perſwaded, though they are perſwaded; What doth he then? Then he ſends correction with his redargution, he cloaths his words with blowes, diſputes with a God in his hand, and brings an argument from feeling, when reaſoning prevailes not. In this booke of Job, Elihu ſhewes it, Chap. 33. 16, 19. Then he openeth the eares of men, and ſealeth their inſtruction, he is chaſtened alſo with paine upon his bed.

Hence obſerve, Firſt,

That afflictions to the children of God at ſoreſt, are but corrections.

Bleſſed (or happie) is the man whom God corrects. You will ſay, but what is a correction? And how (in a ſtrict ſence) differenced from judgements and puniſhments, and wherein doe they agree?

They agree firſt in the efficient cauſe. God layes his hand on man in both.

Secondly, They agree in the matter; the ſame evill, the ſame trouble to one man, is a correction, to another a judgement.

Thirdly, they may agree alſo in the degree; A trouble or an affliction may fall and lie as heavy, and be as painfull to ſence upon a child of God, as upon the vileſt wretch in the world; he may be as poore, as friendleſſe, as ſicke, as ſorrowfull in his outward man, as any wicked man; he may lie in the ſame dungeon, and be bound with the ſame chaine, he may be ſlaine with the ſame ſword, burnt at the ſame ſtake, eaten up with the ſame famine. So that both in the materiality, and likewiſe in the graduality of it, it may be the ſame on both, yet, upon one it is a correction, upon the other, a judgement.

What then is this correction? And where will the correction and the judgement part?

p. 315I conceive, that the infirmities of the Saints, and the ſins of the wicked differ, as judgements and corrections differ. Now look upon thoſe ſins, which we call the infirmities of the Saints; they may be the ſame in the matter, the ſame in kind, yea (poſſibly) the ſame in the degree (I meane reſpecting the outward rule given by God, and the outward act committed by man) with the ſins of thoſe, who know not God, or who, in ſinning, go againſt their knowledge.

Then, where doe they part?

Surely, where corrections and judgements part. And where is that? Eſpecially in two things.

Firſt, in the manner how. 2. In the end why, they are inflicted.

Firſt, the Lord never corrects his children with ſuch a heart, as he carries in laying trouble upon the loynes of wicked men. The heart of God is turned toward his children, when he corrects them, but his heart is turned from a wicked man; when he puniſhes him. The Lord is even pained (that I may ſpeake as the Scripture often doth in this point, after the manner of men) I ſay the Lord expreſſes himſelfe as pained, as grieved, as if every ſtroake went to his owne heart, when he ſtrikes his children. When he is about to ſtrike, he is (as it were) unreſolved whether he ſhall ſtrike or no, and as ſoon as he hath ſtricken, he (as it were) repents that he did ſtrike them. All which motions of his heart the Lord ſhews us in the higheſt ſtrains of paſſionate Rhetorick, Hoſ. 11. 8, 9. But when he takes the wicked in hand to puniſh them, we reade of no paſſion aſcribed to him, but theſe, delight or joy, and the effect of them, laughter: hatred or indignation, and the effect of theſe mocking at them, Pro. 1. 26. I will laugh at your calamity, and mock when your fear cometh. And when he reſolves upon the deſtruction of his enemies, he ſpeaks as if then he had unburden'd himſelfe, and his heart were lighter then before, Iſa. 1. 24. Ah I will eaſe me of my Adverſaries, and avenge me of my enemies.

Secondly, the difference is as broad about the end. When God layes the rod of correction upon his child, he aimes at the purging out of his ſin, at the preventing of his ſin, at the revealing of a fatherly diſpleaſure againſt him, for his ſin; The Lord would only have him take notice, that he doth not approve of him in ſuch courſes. When theſe ends are propoſed every affliction is a correction. But the afflictions of the ungodly are ſent for other ends. Firſt, to p. 316take vengeance on them. Secondly, to ſatisfie offended juſtice; juſtice cries aloud againſt them, and they have nothing to interpoſe, but their bare backs or naked ſoules. The Lord comes as a ſevere Creditor, and bids them pay that which they owe, or ſuffer and to priſon, becauſe they cannot pay. Secondly, obſerve.

A child of God is in a happy condition under all corrections.

As man (in a naturall or civill capacity) at his beſt eſtate is altogether vanity, Pſal. 39. 5. So in a ſpirituall capacity, he is altogether happineſſe, in his worſt outward eſtate; Happy is the man whom God corrects, he is a gainer by correction: If he looſeth any thing, it is but the droſſe of his corruptions, By this therefore Iſa. 27. 9.Isa 27:9ſhall the iniquity of Jacob be purged, and this is all the fruit to take away his ſinne: Corrections are not ſent to take away his comforts, but to take away his corruptions. That fire which God kindles upon his children, ſhall burne only (as it did the materiall bonds of the three children in Daniel) the ſpirituall bonds of their iniquity, that they may be more free to righteouſneſſe. Againe, Crrections are not manifeſtations of wrath, but an evidence of his love, and of their ſon-ſhip: Whom I love I chaſtiſe, Rev. 3. 21. And if ye endure chaſtning, God dealeth with you as with ſons, Heb. 12. 7. The love of God is better then life, and to be a ſon of God is the higheſt priviledge of his love. Where ſhall we be happy if not in that which aſſures us of ſuch love, and of love in ſuch a relation? Hence the Apoſtle concludes (2 Cor. 4. 12.) So then, death worketh in us; death, that is, our daily ſufferings and endurings. He ſpeakes (indeed) eſpecially of ſufferings for the truth, from the cruell hand of man: but it is true likewiſe of all ſufferings under the correcting hand of God: Thoſe ſtroakes which are deadly to our bodies, may yet worke for us. And what worke they? The ſeventeentth verſe anſwers the queſtion, Our light afflictions which are but for a moment, worke for us a farre more exceeding and eternall weight of glory. The ſufferings of the Saints are active, and their paſſions opperative: But how doe they worke? Not by way of merit or earning (Our blood cannot oblige God) but by way of preparation. The Lord ſends afflictions, to faſhion and cleanſe our hearts, as fit veſſels to hold an exceeding weight of glory: Our bearing the heavieſt afflictions doth not weigh ſo much as the leaſt graine of glory, yet they fit our hearts for an exceedingly excellent weight of glory. We cannot ſay properly, foreign.that they worke any glory, but by an Hyperbole in ſpeech, p. 317we ſay, they work towards an Hyperbole in glory.

And if any doubt, can a man be happy when his outward comfort is gone? Doubtleſſe he may: For a man is never unhappy, but when he hath loſt that wherein happineſſe doth conſiſt: The happineſſe of a godly man, doth not conſiſt in his outward comforts, in riches, in health, in honour, in civill liberty, or humane relations; therefore in the loſſe of theſe he cannot be unhappy. His happineſſe conſiſts in his relation to, and acceptance with God, in his title to, and union with Jeſus Chriſt, While he keeps theſe priviledges (and theſe he ſhall keepe for ever) what hath he loſt, if he looſe all beſides theſe? He hath not loſt any thing diſcerneable, out of his eſtate. Suppoſe a man were worth a million of money, and he ſhould looſe a penny, would you think this man, an undone man? No: His eſtate feeles not this loſſe, and therefore he hath not loſt his eſtate. If a man ſhould buy a thouſand meaſures of corne or cloath, and ſhould looſe the given handfuls of the one, or inches of the other, would ye ſay, that this man had loſt either his corne or his cloath. All the things of the world (and they only are looſeable) which a godly man hath, are not ſo much to his eſtate as a penny to a million; They are indeed no proper part of his eſtate, they are but an additionall over-plus to his eſtate: As the handfull of graine, or inch of cloath, are no part of the meaſure agreed or bargained for: Only ſo much that ſpeech of Chriſt imports, Mat. 6. 33. Seek firſt the Kingdome of God and the righteouſneſſe thereof, and all other things ſhall be added or miniſtred to you; your kingdome is whole & ſafe to you, though you have not theſe: Theſe things are extrinſicall and forreigne to all that, which I reckon upon as your eſtate: God having given us Chriſt, caſts us in the creatures, as not comming upon any account in that vaſt act of his free love and bounty: And ſhall we account him unhappy, who hath loſt theſe things, which were never brought to account as any part of his happineſſe? Then happy ſtill, though corrected. And which is yet more, correction takes nothing from the ſtock, but it addeth ſomewhat; correction brings in a revenue of profit with it: They (ſaith the Apoſtle, meaning our earthly parents) chaſtned us after their own pleaſurs, but he for our profit. What profit? doe houſes and lands: gold and ſilver, bloſſome from the correcting rod? Surely they may: But he meanes better profit then theſe, and a farre more noble merchandize: Gold and ſilver are poore and baſe, to the profit which comes in by chaſtnings; p. 318grace and holineſſe come in this way: He for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holineſſe, Heb 12, 10. We want nothing of the happineſſe in heaven, but ſo much holineſſe, as we ſhall have in Heaven. Surely then, whatſoever affliction takes away, it cannot take away our happineſſe, for as much as it makes us greater ſharers in, and partakers of holineſſe.

And the corrected children of God, are unhappy only in the opinion of other men, not in their own; When did you ever heare any Quamvis ſancti videantur ignorantibus eſſe miſeri, non poſſunt tamen eſſe aliud quam beati. Nemo aliorum ſenſu miſer eſt ſed ſuo Nulli enim beatiores ſunt, quam qui ex ſententia ſua & voto agunt. Humiles ſunt religioſi, hoc volunt: paupe res ſunt, pauperie delectantur: Lugent, lugere geſtiunt, &c. Salv. de gub. Dei. l. 1.of them ſay, they were unhappy, becauſe they were corrected. I do not remember that I ever read or heard any of them ſay, O unhappy we, who are thus afflicted! Salvian anſwered this objection well, when he ſaw many ſcandalized at the afflictions of the Godly, thinking theirs a very ſad and pitifull condition: Doe you heare them complaining (ſaith he) or did they ever complaine to you? No man is to be aceounted miſerable in another mans ſenſe, but in his own: You make the complaint not they. The truth is, a holy heart can beare trouble with more eaſe, then a carnall heart can ſee it. Paul (whoſe whole life after converſion was but one continued affliction) was ſo farre from complaining and ſaying, O unhappy man that I am, that he rejoyced in tribulation, and was but as ſorrowing, yet alwayes rejoycing I confeſſe, it becomes us to be more ſenſible of corrections, then of perſecutions, the former being uſually, ſufferings upon our defects in grace, and the latter upon our higheſt actings and puttings forth of grace. It becomes the Saints to be humbled under corrections; but who hath heard them (when they were themſelves) complaining of corrections? I have often heard them bleſſing God for corrections, I have often heard them ſay, it was, and it is good for us, that we have been corrected; And while the Saints write their afflictions upon the I…vrntory of their goods; we have no reaſon to put them to account or caſt them up among their evils.

Laſtly, A godly man cannot be unhappy while he enjoyes God And he uſually enjoyes God moſt, when he is moſt afflicted. A wicked man is never unhappy in his own thoughts, till he hath loſt his god, ſuch a one as he is, his riches, his pleaſure, his credit, theſe he makes his god, inſtead of a better, indeed, inſtead of Him, who is Beſt of all: Theſe are looſeable gods, and ſo his happineſſe may ſoon be loſt; but he that once enjoyes the true God, can never looſe him and therefore can never looſe his happineſſe.

That of Saul, is one of the ſaddeſt ſpeeches in all the booke of p. 319God, 1 Sam. 28. 15. I am ſore diſtreſſed, for the Philiſtines make warre againſt mee, and God is departed from me. When trouble comes, and God departs, when ſickneſſe and poverty make war upon a man, and God be departed from him O how unhappy I what words can expreſſe the unhappineſſe of ſuch a man? But they who can take liberty, and eſtate, and life from us, cannot take God from us; and if God ſhould take all theſe from us; he will not, he cannot (becauſe he hath promiſed he will not) take himſelfe from us: L (ſaith the Lord) will never leave thee, nor forſake thee Heb. 13. 5. And if God forſake us not, happineſſe cannot, for he is our happineſſe.

A Heathen could ſay, it was unbecomming a Roman ſpirit, to cry out (in his loſſes) I am undone, while Caeſar was ſafe: It is infinitely below a Chriſtian ſpirit, to ſay, I am undone, while Chriſt is ſafe; ſuch language is groſſeſt barbariſme in all the Churches. They who cannot looſe either their ſoules or their Saviour in the worſt condition, cannot be unhappy in any condition, much leſſe then under the fatherly correcting hand of God.

Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects, is a truth which no ſtormes of trouble ſhall ever ſhake or weaken.

Therefore despiſe not thou the chaſtening of the Almighty. That's the inference.

The word which we tranſlate [deſpiſe] hath various ſignifications, and they will all be profitable for the clearing of this point: therefore I ſhall open them diſtinctly, and give ſome briefe notes upon every one in order.

Firſt, It **foreign Significat, ſpernere, faſtid…re, reprobare vel rejicere aliquid cum faſtidio, tanquam vile & contemptum, Sept. Reddun… aliquando per foreign & hic per foreign, ne renuas aut averſeris.ſignifies to reject a thing, or caſt it off with loathing; when a mans ſtomach turnes againſt ſome meates, or they goe againſt his ſtomach, loathing ariſes from it. So the word is uſed, Numb. 11. 20. when the people murmured becauſe they wanted fleſh, God threatneth them with ſatisfying their deſires; Fleſh would you have? You ſhall have fleſh: it is a threat: But how ſhall they have it? You ſhall not have it one day, nor two dayes, nor five dayes, neither ten dayes, nor twenty dayes; but you ſhall have fleſh even a whole monethmonth, untill it come out of your noſtrils, and it be **Ʋt ſicut faſtidio illu fuiſſet Deus op…mus, ita etiam foſtidio illis ſint creaturae, & ſuae ipſorum voluptates.loathſome unto you, or till you your ſelves despiſe it. It is moſt juſt with God, that they who loath his will, ſhould at laſt loath their own deſires. And that the creatures ſhould not long pleaſe them, who take no heed to pleaſe the Creator. The leaſt mixture of Gods diſpleaſure, ſowres our ſweeteſt contents, and makes our very pleaſures loathſome.

p. 320Where alſo (by the way) we may obſerve the great difference between earthly, and ſpirituall things: The beſt of earthly things, uſed too much or too often, grow loathſome: Angels food (Manna or Quailes) will not goe down long with us. But Chriſt, the ſpirituall Manna, and all heavenly things, the more we have of them, and the longer we are dieted with them, the more we ſhall delight in them: Theſe will not loath us, after two, or five, or ten, or twenty dayes, or after a whole months feeding on them: No, we ſhall feed on them dayes without number, or the whole day of eternity, without any loathings; uſe and delight, ſhall never ceaſe or abate; appetite ſhall renew every moment, though our enjoyment be but one and the ſame, Yea, the Saints ſhall be ſo farr from loathing the pleaſant cup of glory, that they ought not to loath, and (Chriſt ſtrengthning them) they ſhall not loath the bitter cup of ſorrow: Their ſtomachs ſhall not turne, though dieted more then two, or five, or ten, or twenty dayes with the bread of adverſity, and the water of affliction. That is the firſt ſenſe of the word, in alluſion to nauſeating at the ſight or long uſe of meate: Loath not the chaſtning of the Lord.

Or the word may ſeeme to carry a reference to phyſick▪ or medicines, as well as meate, which you know is many times given in a better pill, or in a diſtaſtfull potion; The ſick man is apt to loath the potion brought him, and turne his head away from it; what he take it? no not he. He had rather die then drink ſuch a draught, he is ready to through it againſt the wall, and ſpil it one the ground rather then drinke it: But then his friends or the Pbyſitian perſwade with him; Be not angry, though it …e loathſome to your ſtomach, yet it is wholeſome for your body: It is an enemy only to your diſeaſe therefore loath it not. So here, Eliphaz (as it were) brings in God, ſtanding like a Phyſitian, or a father, or a tender mother at the beds-ſide, where a ſick child o… friend lies, uſing many entreaties and perſwaſive reaſons to take a bitter potion; my child, or my friend, doe not loath, doe not diſpiſe, no, nor diſtaſt this medicine, doe not caſt it away; though it …e bitter in your mouth, yet take it downe, and the effects of it will be ſweet to your whole body. We find in Scripture, afflictions compared to a cup; Our Lord Jeſus calls all his ſufferings for our ſalvation, a cup, and it was a cup tempered with the venome and poiſon, with the gall and wormewood of all our ſinnes; it was a loathſome potion indeed; and ſuch as would have turned the ſtomachs of all men and Angels p. 321to have drunke it. So much of the firſt ſenſe of the word, as it ſignifies loathing, whether in reſpect of meates or medicines.

Now foraſmuch as here is a charge given under this notion, not to loath chaſtnings. We may obſerve,

There is, or poſſibly may be an averſneſſe in the beſt of Gods children for a time, from the due entertainement of chaſtnings.

He ſpeakes as if moſt were loth to take them downe, and therefore he exhorts, not to loath them: Even the Lord Jeſus Chriſt (ſo farre as he was partaker of our nature) ſeemed to loath the bitter cup of ſufferings. Hence he prayed hard, once, and againe, ye a third time, Father, if it be poſſible, let this cup paſſe from me, (Mat. 26. 39.) Yet at another time, he ſpeakes as if he had been a thirſt for that cup, and angry with Peter who would have hindred his draught, The cup which my Father giveth me, ſhall I not drinke it? Joh. 18. 11. and ſhortly after, he indeed drunke it up to the bottome. Affliction is alſo a bitter cup to the Saints, and they (as Chriſt) pray again and again, yea thrice againſt it, becauſe to ſenſe, no chaſtning ſeemeth joyous but grievous, Heb. 12. 11. through grace perſwades them to drinke it, and faith gives them a taſt of much ſweetneſſe, when they have drunke it: As a ſick man is backward to take a diſtaſtfull medicine, till his reaſon hath overcome his ſenſe, ſo a godly man is unwilling to beare afflictions, till his faith hath overcome his reaſon; Nor can he quietly endure the troubleſome ſmart of the rod, till he is aſſured of the peaceable fruits of righteouſneſſe which grow from it, to thoſe who are exerciſed by it. When the Apoſtle is carryed up on thoſe Eagles wings of aſſurance, to ſee a houſe not made with hands eternall in the Heavens, then he groanes earneſtly under the burden of his earthly Tabernacle, and deſires to die; yet looking upon death, he ſaw no forme or comelineſſe in that, why he ſhould deſire it; and therefore he ſeemes to correct himſelfe, at leaſt to draw his mind plainer with the next drop of his pen; Not for that we would be uncloathed, but cloathed upon, that mortality may be ſwallowed up of life. He ſpeakes ſomewhat like a man, who in a time of heate, haſtily ſtrips himſelfe to goe into the water, but putting a foot in, and finding it cold, calls for his cloathes againe. The Apoſtle in a true holy heate of ſpirit, had in his deſires almoſt ſtript himſelfe of his body, but putting a foot into the grave, he found that ſo cold, that he had no great mind to it, and therefore had rather keepe on the cloathing of his body, and have a ſuite of p. 322glory over it, then lay it downe. The Saints deſire to live with Chriſt, but in it ſelfe, they deſire not to die: They had rather their mortality ſhould be ſwallowed up of eternall life, then their temporall life ſhould be ſwallowed up of mortality. They that have grace, like not the diſunions of nature. Now, as it is in the caſe of death (which i… to the Saints the laſt and greateſt affliction) ſo likewiſe in the caſe of all afflictions, which are as renewed and leſſer deaths, Though they embrace and kiſſe them (both in a holy ſubmiſſion to the will of God, and in an aſſured expectation of their own good) yet they have nothing pleaſing in them; much, which creates ſo much loathing, that the beſt doe but need counſell and encouragement to take and digeſt them.

And then if there be ſome averſneſſe even in the beſt from theſe potions of affliction, tempered with the mercy and goodneſſe of God; no wonder if there be an abhorrence in wicked men, from thoſe deadly potions, mixt only with his wrath and juſtice. The Pſalmiſt preſents the Lord to us, with a cup in his hand (Pſal. 75. 8.) In the hand of the Lord there is a cup, the wine thereof is red (which notes fierce wrath) and it is full of mixture: (This mixture, is of judgements, plagues, and puniſhments, this is the portion of their cup, Pſal. 11. ult.) But what will the Lord doe with this mixed cup? who ſhall ſip, at the top of the cup, he tels us not, but he is expreſſe, whoſe the bottome is, He powreth out of the ſame (ſome drops are ſpilt here and there) but the dreggs thereof, all the ungodly of the earth ſhall wring them out and drinke them; Alas they loath it, their ſtomacks turne at it: They have not been brought up to drink dreggs, they have had their wine well refined, and ſparkeling with ſpirits in Chriſtall glaſſes; and how can they get this down? They who have drunke ſo willingly and freely of the cup of ſin, ſhall be forced whether they will or no to drink the cup of judgement. And it is not a ſip or two ſhall ſerve their turnes, they muſt drinke all, dreggs and all, they ſhall drinke it to the bottome, and yet they ſhall never come to the bottome; they have loved long draughts, and now they ſhall have one long enough there is eternity to the bottom: If a cup of affliction, which (in the effect) is a cup of ſalvation, be ſometime, or for a time, nauſeous to the godly, how deadly ſick will the ungodly be, who muſt for ever drinke a cup of wrath and death?

Secondly, The word which, we tranſlate deſpiſe, notes the rejecting of a thing as unprfitable, or unuſefull: That which a man p. 323deſpiſeth, he thinkes he ſhall have no good by it: Things which are unprofitable are deſpicable: So the word is uſed (Pſal. 118. 22.) The ſtone which the builders refuſed or deſpiſed, is become the head ſtone of the corner. There were maſter builders in the Church, who (when they ſurveighed all ſorts of materials or ſtones for their fabrique of faith) looking upon the perſon of Chriſt, thought him fit only to caſt out among the rubbiſh, as altogether unuſefull; They layed him by, as a refuſe-ſtone, who is the head corner-ſtone, both the ſtrength and beauty of the whole building Thus the word is very appliable to the preſent Text, refuſe not corrections, as unprofitable and uſeleſſe: Say not (as the Jewes of Chriſt, Can any good come out of Nazareth? ſo) can any good come out of chaſtnings? Deſpiſe not the chaſtning of the Almighty.

And from this Notion of the word, we may obſerve a ſecond prejudice againſt the rod: Even the Saints are ready to conceive afflictions to be unuſefull, and that they could well enough ſpare, and be without their troubles. A naturall eye never ſees nor finds any thing but dammage by affliction; and a ſpirituall eye doth not alwayes ſee the advantage that comes by them Yea, he may ſometime ſay of an affliction, it will be my undoing, and the ruine of my houſe, and yet, afterwards find it as a corner ſtone, the choiceſt outward meanes, which (through the bleſſing of God) hath united the walls both of his ſpirituall and civill building, the frame both of grace within, and comforts without. The Apoſtle Peter, hath a ſtrange Parentheſis (1 Pet. 1. 6.) For having told them of their rejoycing in the ſafety of their ſpirituall eſtate, being kept (or ſecured as with a Garriſon from Heaven) by the power of God, through faith unto ſalvation. Though now for a ſeaſon (if need be) ye are in heavineſſe through manifold Temptations, or afflictions. Obſerve how he puts an If need be, or a ſuppoſition of neceſſity upon the afflictions of believers. As if he had ſaid, ye who are the Candidates of eternity, and heirs of ſalvation, may judge your ſelves paſt the rod or the ferula, and thinke, now ye have need of nothing but comfort or rejoycing in the hope of that ſalvation, ready to be revealed; but I tell you, you may have need of heavineſſe yet, before you come to Heaven: and of manifold temptations, for the removing or ſubduing the corruptions of your hearts, before you enter upon your incorruptible inheritance. We are apt to conceive chaſtnings to be of no uſe, when they are as neceſſary as our daily bread; Therefore p. 324deſpiſe not chaſtnings, as uſeleſſe or unprofitable.

Thirdly, the word is applied often to the rejecting of a thing or perſon, as low, diſhonourable and diſgracefull: In this ſenſe alſo it is appliable here. Deſpiſe not cheſtnings; That is, doe not thinke thy ſelfe diſgrac'd when thou art chaſtiſed: the heart of man is naturally full of pride, Man is a proud peece of fleſh. Nor doth he reſent any thing more then his own diſhonour; many can beare the paine of the croſſe, better then the ſhame of the croſſe. It is very obſervable to this purpoſe, how the Apoſtle deſcribes the Lord Chriſt in his ſufferings, Heb. 12. 2. He endureth the croſſe, deſpiſing the ſhame: as noting, that his being above the ſhame of the croſſe, bore up his ſpirit under the croſſe. To deſpiſe ſhame, is to looke upon that, which the world counts ſhamefull, not only as deſpicable in it ſelfe, but as not hurtfull to us: When a man deſpiſes an enemy, as Goliah diſdained David (1 Sam 17. 42.) he preſumes himſelfe above his enemies power to hurt him: So to deſpiſe ſhame is to make nothing of it, or to thinke our ſelves no whit the worſe for it; yea rather to thinke our ſelves honoured by it, And untill in this ſenſe we can deſpiſe ſhame, we ſhall deſpiſe correction and the croſſe. Who is it almoſt, that finds not this the hardeſt text in all the chapter of afflictions? Zedekiah was more afraid to be mocked by the ſugitive Jewes, then to be a priſoner to the King of Babylon, Jer. 38. 19. If a man be poore, preſently he thinks he is diſgraced: If he be weake he doubts he ſhall be contemned: If he looſe his eſtate, he fears he ſhall looſe his credit in the world; he was a man of place, ſome body among his neighbours, but now he ſhall be ſlighted. Suffering for well doing is our crowne, ſuffering for evill doing is our ſhame, but it is our ſhame to ſuffer.

Fourthly, To deſpiſe a thing, notes the ſlighting of it, as if we did not think it worth while, to take any notice of it; and ſo this will be the ſenſe, Deſpiſe not thou the chaſtnings of the Lord; that is, doe not ſlight the chaſtnings, do not lightly paſſe them by, do not look upon them as inconſiderable, as not caring what God doth with thee or thine When God layes his hand upon us, he would have us lay it to our hearts. As it is our duty to be affected with mercies, ſo likewiſe with chaſtnings. If a malefactor ſhould ſay to the Judge, do what you will with me, I care not; or a child to the parent, correct me as long as you will, I care not, how unnaturall were this? This is properly to deſpiſe afflictions. Some are like Leviathan in this ſenſe (Job 41. 27.) They eſteeme iron as ſtraw, and braſſe, as rotten wood: They p. 325make nothing of the acts or inſtruments of Gods diſpleaſure. This is groſſe diſpiſing. But beſides every undervaluing, or inadvertency of the correcting hand of God, hath a degree of this deſpiſing it. That exhortation ought never to be forgotten, which ſpeaketh to us, as unto children, Hebr. 12. 5. My ſon, despiſe not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. The Greek word imports, the Litling; or thinking of them little. Do not think the chaſtnings of God little, doe not little, or ſlight them foreign,in thy thoughts. Neither faint when thou art rebuked, that is, doe not thinke thy afflictions ſo great, that thou muſt needs ſinke and faint under them. Theſe are the two extreames, into which our hearts uſually run, when chaſtnings are upon us. Some erre by neglecting the hand of God, as light; and others by fainting under it, as too heavy. As a good heart takes notice of, or will not deſpiſe a little, the leaſt comfort; So it will take notice of, and not deſpiſe a little, the leaſt croſſe. When a man hath a ſmall loſſe in his eſtate, if he ſay, this will not undoe me, I can beare this, I will fare as well, and goe as fine as ever for all this, ſuch ſpeeches or thoughts are a deſpiſing of the chaſtening of the Lord. We are to obſerve the hand of God taking away, as well as giving a penny. So when a man hath a little fit of ſickneſſe; If he ſay, I ſhall rubb out this well enough, this is to deſpiſe the chaſtning of the Lord; We are to bleſſe God for every hours health, and to be ſenſible of his hand in every hours ſickneſſe, or aking joynt.

Every affliction is a meſſenger from God, it hath ſomewhat to ſay to us from Heaven, and God will not beare it, if his meſſengers be deſpiſed, how meane ſo ever: If you ſend a child with a meſſage to a friend, and he ſlight and deſpiſe him, you will take it ill. I remember what the ſtory relates of Galienus the Emperour, who, when the report came to him, that Egypt was loſt, what then (ſaid he) cannot I live without the flax of Egypt? And when the report was brought that a great part of his dominions in Aſia was waſted: Cannot I live (ſaid he) without the delicacies of Aſia? To ſpeake thus from a principle of mortification toward the creature, is the character of an excellent ſpirit; but to ſpeake thus from a contempt of the Providence of God, is the character of a proud, or of a ſtupid ſpirit. When we heare of the loſſe of a child, of a friend, or of a loſſe in our eſtate; To ſay, what then? I can beare that well enough, I have more children, other friends, eſtate enough beſides that, This (I ſay) is a high deſpiſing of affliction.

p. 326There is one thing further, in the fifth place, obſervable in this word, Despiſe not thou the chaſtnings of the Lord. The word is Extenuatio eſt, nam plus ſignficatur quam dicitur, ſc. maximi facito diſciplinam Domini, nihil tibi antiquius aut potius ſit, quam ut illius correctionem aequo animo accipies.an extenuation or a leſſening of the ſenſe. The holy Ghoſt intends more than is expreſſed; for the truth is, when he ſaith, Deſpiſe not, &c. his meaning is this, ſhew reverence, highly prize and eſteeme the chaſtning of the Lord. As (for inſtance) when the Apoſtle ſaith in 1 Theſſ. 5. 20. Deſpiſe not prophecying. Doe you thinke, this is all that is due unto an Ordinance of God, that a man ſhould not deſpiſe it? Surely no, he meanes then, prize prophecying highly, have it in great eſteeme: So in 1 Tim 4. 12. and Tit. 2. 15 when he ſaith, Let no man deſpiſe thy youth, is that all the holy Ghoſt meanes? That Timothy a godly Paſtour ſhould only not be deſpiſed by his people? No, his meaning is, that they ſhould honour, reſpect and reverence him, as one that watched over them in the Lord. I might give you divers other Scriptures, where when the holy Ghoſt only forbiddeth the ſin, he intendeth the duty or grace in ſtricteſt oppoſition to that ſin. So here, Deſpiſe not thou the chaſtning of the Almighty; layes this charge and duty upon us, highly to eſteeme the chaſtning of the Lord, we muſt put afflictions amongſt our comforts and rank them with our bleſſings. Not to deſpiſe, is but the firſt ſtep beyond ſin, but that includes the laſt and furtheſt ſtep of duty, which becomes us under chaſtenings.foreign aradi…e foreign Vincevit, ligavit, & per Metaphoram caſt…gavit, erud…vit verbis aut verberibus, ad diſciplinam vel poenam transfertu… Sicut vox Lamad, quae doctrinam ſignifica… … all ….

So much of the act forbidden, deſpiſing. Now, for the object, chaſtning. The originall verb fignifies to inſtruct, or to teach; ſo it is tranſlated, Chap. 4. v. 3. Thou haſt inſtructed many. Inſtruction is both by words and blowes. The wiſdome of God mixes a rod with his word, and chaſtening with teaching: Therefore it is promiſcuouſly uſed in Scripture, ſometime for teaching, and ſometime for chaſtning. Chaſtning belongs properly to children, who are wanton and ungovern'd, who have a bundle of folly in their hearts, which the rod of correction driveth out. To be chaſtned hath a double aſpect upon us, firſt upon our priviledge. Secondly, upon our weakneſſe. To be chaſtned notes our priviledge and relation, as children, unto God our father. He hath revenges for his enemies, but chaſtnings are a part of his childrens portion; yet in that we are chaſtned, it taxes us of weakneſſe; we are but children, fooliſh, unruly, wanton, and therefore we goe almoſt all our dayes, with a rod at our backs. Though the Saints on earth com…d among themſelves, are ſome Children, and others men; yet … earth, compared with thoſe in Heaven, or with p. 327what themſelves ſhall be in Heaven, are children, and therefore they have what fits their ſtate, chaſtening and correction. This chaſtening is ſometime put for revenge, or the exacteſt and ſevereſt retribution of juſtice; Thus it is ſaid, Prov. 7. 22. That the fooliſh young man caught by the ſubtill harlot, went after her as a foole to the correction of the ſtocks; That is, as a wicked man goes to puniſhment. And when the Prophet deſcribes the ſufferings of Chriſt which were vindictive in the higheſt degree; he expreſſes it in this word, The chaſtizement of our peace was upon him (Iſa. 53. 5.) though Chriſt were the infinitely and moſt entirely beloved Son of his Father, yet he did not chaſtize him as a Son, but as an enemy or malefactour, for he chaſtened him in our ſtead, and under the ſame notion, that we muſt have been chaſtened, who were enemies and malefactors. So then, the word ſignifies ſometime judiciary chaſtening, but here fatherly chaſtening, which will yet appeare more clearely, in opening the laſt terme of this verſe, which ſhewes us the efficient cauſe of this chaſtening. The Almighty.

Deſpiſe not the chaſtning of the Almighty. The chaſtening rod is in the hand of Shaddai, the Almighty. This is one of the glorious names of God.

And he is ſo called, firſt from his power, to goe thorough with foreign Variè derivatur. Primò á radice foreign, Vaſtavit, ſpoliavit populatus eſt, perdidit, quaſi vaſtatorem dicas, ie invictum & potentem cui nemo reſiſtere poſſit. Et volunt non nulli Deum hoc nomen traxiſſe á vaſtatione mundi facta in d…luvio. Graeci reddunt▪ foreign ▪ & latini Omnipotens.what he takes in hand: His worke never ſtickes in the mid way for want of ſtrength to bring it to the end. Deſpiſe not the correction of an Almighty hand. Further, the word notes not only power enough to correct, but power to deſtroy, ſpoyle and lay all waſte before him. God hath gained this Title or Attribute, from deſtroying or waſting his enemies. Some of the Rabbins deſigne the Originall of it, to that ſpeciall act of his deſtroying power: The drowning of the old world, he ſhewes his Almighty power in deſtroying and pulling downe, as well as in making and ſetting up this goodly frame. To this the holy Prophets are well conceived to allude, when they ſay that, Shod, ſcil. Deſtruction, commeth from Shaddai, The Almighty. We have it in two expreſſe Texts, Iſa. 13. 6. Howle yee, for the day of the Lord is at hand, it ſhall come as a Deſtruction from the Almighty, It ſhall come as Shod from Shaddai. So (Joel 1. 15.) Alas for the day, for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a deſtruction from the Almighty ſhall it come. It will be profitable for us to conſider, under what name God is expreſſed, when he is chaſtening his own children.

Secondly, others derive this name from the conjunction of two p. 328Hebrew words, whereof the one (Dai) ſignifies it Sufficeth, or is ſufficient: And the other, though it be but a letter (Shin) yet Nonnulli putát foreign compoſitū eſſe ex verbo foreign ſufficit & litera foreign, quae ſupplet locum & ſenſum relativi Aſcher, & ita denotat Deum ſibi ſufficientem, & qui omnibus largitur ſufficientiam reſpōdens Graeco foreign. Druſ. Alii dedurunt foreign a foreign Quod Mammam ſignificat, quaſi mammoſum dicas quod omnia alet. Druſ.it ſupplieth the part or place of the Relative (Aſcher) which, and ſo the word put together ſounds thus much, Who is ſufficient, or who is All ſufficient, Deſpiſe not the chaſtning of him that is Allſufficient. Thou art under his correction, (who doth not take from thee, becauſe he wants himſelfe; who doth not let thee want, becauſe his owne ſtore is ſpent, out of which he uſed to ſupply thee. He alone hath ſufficiencie in himſelfe, and he is at all times Allſufficient for all others, and gives ſufficiency to as many as he pleaſeth. That of the Apoſtle fils this ſignification of the word, Act. 17. 25. Neither is he worſhipped with mens hands, as if he needed any thing, for he giveth to all, life and breath, and all things.

Thirdly, the word is conceived to come from Shad, which in the Hebrew ſignifies a breaſt, the mothers breaſt or pap, by which ſhe ſuckles her child. And anſwerable to this notion, in moſt of thoſe places, wherein God is expreſſed in that act of his providence, making fruitfull and giving increaſe, he hath this name, Shaddai: as noting, that he hath the Great milkie breaſt, which nouriſhes and ſuckles, which feeds and ſtrengthens all creatures: that is the word of his bleſſing, not only makes fruitfull & multiplies, but preſerves and keeps alive, Thus Gen. 49. 25. The Patriarch, old dying Jacob, bleſſes his ſon Joſeph in this forme, And by the Almighty (Shaddai) who ſhall bleſſe thee with bleſſings of heaven above, bleſſings of the deepe that lies vnderunder, bleſſings of the breaſts and of the wombe. His Father Iſaack had ſent him to Padan▪Aram under the influences of the ſame bleſſing, almoſt in the ſame words (Gen 28. 3.) God Almighty bleſſe thee, and make thee fruitfull and multiply thee. And the Lord himſelf ſpeaks thus to Jacob, when be appeared the ſecond time to him, after his coming from Padan-Aram. I am (El-Shaddai) God almighty, be thou fruitfull and multiply, Gen. 35. 11. that is I can make thee fruitfull and multiply thy poſterity, and I can feed them, as faſt as they multiply, and give thee fruit for thy family, as well as make thy family fruitfull, Thou ſhalt not over-charge me with the greatneſſe or numerouſneſſe of thy houſe. Trouble not thy ſelfe, let thy children be my care, at my finding, how many ſoever they are, let my purſe pay for all: I am El-Shaddai, God Almighty. …o then as the juſtice and exact wiſdome of God are ſet forth in the former branch under the title Elohim, Happy is the man whom God (Elohim) corrects; p. 329So (leaſt we ſhould thinke of God under that notion only) his power and alſufficiency, his goodneſſe and tenderneſſe are ſet forth in the next branch, Deſpiſe not the chaſtening of the Almighty. You are under the rod of Shaddai, an All-powerfull, an Allſufficient, an All-nouriſhing God. The verſe following ſeems to joynt in with, and ſuit this fully, He makes ſore and he bindeth up, he woundeth and he healeth; One part ſhewing us God, as a Judge, wounding and making ſore, the other as an Allſufficient Friend, and father or Phyſitian healing and binding up. Take two or three Notes, from the conſideration of the name, under which God is here expreſſed.

Firſt, The lighteſt chaſtnings come from a hand that is able to deſtroy. When the ſtroak is little, yet a great God ſtrikes. Although God give thee but a touch, a ſtrip, which ſcarce razes the skin: Yet he is able to wound thee to the heart. Know, it is not becauſe he wants power to ſtrike harder, but becauſe he will not, becauſe he is pleaſed to moderate his power; Thou haſt but ſuch a chaſtning, as a child of a year old may well beare; but at that time, know, thou art chaſtned with a hand able to pull down the Pondus eſt …n voce foreign noli …ſpe…nere clementiam ejus in quo vivis, qui te uno momento poteſt comminuere. Coc.whole world; The hand of Shaddai, The Almighty gives that little blow. Men ſeldome ſtrike their brethren, leſſe then their power, they would often ſtrike them more, their will is ſtronger then their Arme. But the Lords arme is ſtronger (in this ſence) then his will. He doth but chaſten, who could deſtroy. And this carries a mighty perſwaſion with it, not to despiſe the chaſtning of the Lord, how little ſoever, for he can ſtrike harder, if thou ſlighteſt this. He can break thy bones, who hath not yet broken thy fleſh. Feare him (as our Lord Chriſt argues, who, though at preſent he hath made thy head onelyonly to ake a little, yet) can kill thy body, and after he hath killed, hath power to to caſt into hell, Luke 12. 5.

Secondly, In that afflictions come from Shaddai, a God allſufficient, God would have us conceive in all our troubles; That

When he takes away any or all created comforts from us, yet he is himſelfe Allſufficient for us.

When we are chaſtned by the loſſe of any good things, Shaddai doth it, who hath the power of all good things in his hand. When he takes away riches, or health, or relations, if he doth not take away himſelfe from us, we cannot be comfortleſſe, for Alſufficiency ſtands by us.

p. 330Laſtly, He dealeth with us, but as a tender nurſe, or mother, in all his chaſtnings. The mother ſtrikes the child a little blow with one hand, and gives it the breaſt with the other, ſhe gives it a little tap with one hand, and a ſpoon with the other. Conſider your chaſtnings, they are the chaſtnings of Shaddai, who, as a tender mother, hath a breaſt ready to nouriſh, and a ſpoon to feed, while he chides or chaſtens. And if by greater afflictions, he wounds or makes you very ſore, you ſhall not want carefull dreſſing and aſſured healing;

Verſ. 18. For he maketh ſore, and he bindeth up; he woundeth, and his hands make whole.

This verſe containes an exemplification of the former ground, why we ſhould not deſpiſe the chaſtning of the Almighty: For, if it ſhould be objected againſt the former aſſertion (Happy is the man whom God correcteth) Where is this happineſſe? Is there happineſſe in ſores and wounds, in ſickneſſe and weakneſſe, in poverty and in wants? Who cannot eaſily want this happineſſe, and not complaine? Eliphaz ſeemes to anſwer for God in this text. If your faith cannot come up to believe this, ſtay but a while, and your ſence ſhall teach it you. Who would not be glad of a wound, when he knows he ſhall have Shaddai for his Chyrurgion. If you will not allow a man is happy, when he is ſore will you not allow him happy, when his ſore is bound up by ſuch a hand? If you will not grant a man is happy, when wounded, you cannot deny him happy, when he is thus healed. The Almighty will not leave them in their ſores, in their wounds: As he hath a rod, ſo he hath a ſwath, as he hath a ſword, ſo a ſalve. His plaiſter is ready for your wound, and his medicines for your diſeaſes. It is true of God above all others, One and the ſame hand ſmites and cures. Thus of the generall Ʋna eadem que manus vulnus opem que tulit.meaning and connexion of this verſe.

He maketh ſore.

The word is uſed in the ſecond Chapter of this book, ver 13. of Jobs friends, that they ſtood ſilent, for they ſaw his griefe was great, or his ſoreneſſe was very great. It notes the griefe and foreign Do…uit anima vel corpore.ſoreneſſe, either of mind or body; Some tranſlate, He woundeth: But the next clauſe bears that diſtinctly, or we may joyne both, the one as the cauſe, the other as the effect, He maketh ſore by wounding.

p. 331And bindeth up.] The word is appliable to any kind of binding. 1. To the binding of captives in priſon with chaines. 2. To foreign Ligavit, colligavit.the binding of ornaments upon the head, Ezek. 29. 9. 3. It is uſed, metaphorically for binding to obedience or puniſhment, Job 34. 17. Shall even he that hateth right governe? The Hebrew is, ſhall he bind; becauſe Governours bind their ſubjects or ſervants, either to doe what they command, or to ſuffer what they inflict. 4. It is alſo applied by a metaphor to the binding up of thoſe civill breaches or ruines, which are upon a people, Iſa. 3. 6, 7. A man ſhall take hold of his brother, &c ſaying, be thou our Ruler, and let this ruine be under thy hand In that day he ſhall ſweare, ſaying, I will not be a Healer, or a Binder up. 5. It is uſed for the applying of ligatures, with which the medicine or plaiſter is bound upon the wound or ſore; And this word doth therefore alſo ſignifie the healing of a wound, becauſe the due binding of the wound is one halfe of the patients cure, and a very great part of a Partim quidem i…ſa deligatio ſanat, &c. Maxima deligationis vis eſt. Hip. in Offi…ina Chyrurg.Chyrurgions skill, as the learned Phyſitians obſerve in their Diſcourſes about wounds and chyrurgerie; Ligature contributes ſo much to healing, that the ſame word ſerves, for both, or either. Now (Shaddai) the Almighty is admirable at this, when he hath made a ſore, he can make an exact Ligature. We often find theſe two together, Pſal. 147. 3. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. The Prophet Ezekiel (Chap. 34. 4.) complaines of the falſe Prophets, Becauſe they did not heale that which was ſicke, and bound not up that which was broken. They had neither skill nor conſcience, either ſpiritually to break hearts, or when they found them broken to bind them up. They knew not how to faſten Goſpel promiſes, and holy counſels upon the heart, that the wounds of it might be cloſed, and were therefore, Phyſitians of no value.

There are two interpretations given of theſe words, He maketh ſore, and he bindeth up.

Firſt, Some expound them by an Enallage of the Participle for the Verbe, thus, He maketh ſore, and he bindeth up, that is, He making ſore, bindeth up; as if the very act, by which God ſmites, had an influence upon the healing, and a tendency to the reſtoring Vulnerat & medetur, i. e. vulnerans medetur, vulnerando ſanat.of his afflicted ones, He making ſore, bindeth up We find ſuch conſtructions frequent in Scripture, Iſa. 65. 22. They ſhall not build, and another inhabit; They ſhall not plant, and another eate: That is, They building, another ſhall not inhabit, and they planting, p. 332another ſhall not eate. The negative is not fixed upon their building, &c. but upon other inhabiting. And ſo, Deut. 22. 4. Thou ſhalt not ſee thy brothers Aſſe, or his Oxe fall down by the way, and hide thy ſelfe from them; That is, Thou ſeeing thy brothers Aſſe or Oxe fall down, ſhalt not hide thy ſelfe from them: A man ſometimes could not but ſee his brothers Aſſe or Oxe fall down, but he ſeeing muſt not at any time, hide himſelfe from them, that is, not ſuccour them, ſo (by the way) that phraſe of hiding may be interpreted, by that of the Prophet (Iſa. 58. 7.) Thou ſhalt not hide thy ſelf from thy own fleſh. But to the poynt here, we ſee, He maketh ſore & bindeth up, may congruouſly to other Scripture ſpeakings, be rendred, He making ſore, doth bind up, as if the wound were a part of the cure, and the ſore a plaiſter. We know that a wound in nature is ſometime a part of the cure: It is a common and a neceſſary practiſe in Chyrurgery (and to that the holy Ghoſt may allude in this place) When they perceive a wound or a ſore, to which medicines Illa eſt vox Domini, percutiam & ego ſanabo, hoc faciunt medici. Ferrum geſtant & c…rare veniunt. Clamat ſecandus & ſeca…ur ſaevitur in vulnus ut homo ſanetur. Aug in Pſ 50. Chyrurgus ſaepe vulnus infligit, & ferro ſibi ſpatium ad commodam curationem aperit.Ps 50cannot well be appied (and ſo unfit for healing) either to make a new wound in the whole fleſh, or to make the firſt bigger. The murderer wounds to kill, and the Phyſitian wounds to cure. He comes as it were, arm'd with inſtruments of cruelty. The patient whoſe fleſh is to be launced, cryes out, but yet he launces him. The patient whoſe fleſh is to be ſeared, cryes out, but yet he ſears him. He is cruell to the wound, while he is moſt kind to the wounded.

An ignorant man would wonder to ſee a Chyrurgion, when he comes for healing, make the wound wider, yet ſo he muſt do, and he doth it upon urgent reaſons. As when the orifice is not wide enough to let in the medicine, or to let out the corruption, or cannot admit his ſearching inſtruments to the bottome; In ſuch caſes, he ſaith, Ʋnleſſe I increaſe your wound, I cannot cure it. Thus often times the Lord is compelled to wound, that he may heale; or fit our wounds for healing. Our wound is not wide enough, to let out the ſinfull corruptions of our hearts, to let in the ſearching inſtruments and corraſives of the Law, or the blame and comfortable applications of the Goſpel.

We may obſerve from the ſence of the words, That

The woundings and ſmitings of God, are preparatories for our cure and healing.

It is ſaid (Iſa. 53. 5.) of Chriſt, that with his ſtripes we are healed: and it is in this ſence a truth, that we are healed with our p. 333own ſtripes: We are healed with the ſtripes of Chriſt meritoriouſly, and we are healed by our own ſtripes preparatorily; the ſtripes of Chriſt heale us naturally, our own ſtripes heale us occaſionally; or his in the act, ours in the event. (Prov. 27. 6.) Faithfull are the wounds of a friend, his wounds are faithfull, becauſe he wounds in faithfulneſſe: The healings of many are unfaithfull, They heale the hurt of the daughter of my people deceitfully, is the Lords complaint by the Prophet; they skin over the wound, but they doe not cure it. Let the righteous ſmite me, it ſhall be a kindneſſe, and let him reprove me, it ſhall be an excellent oyle which ſhall not break my head, Pſal. 141. 5. Much more may we ſay, Let the righteous Lord ſmite me, and it ſhall be a kindnes to me; let the righteous Lord reprove and correct me, it ſhall be as an excellent oyle, which ſhall not breake mine head; it ſhall heale my heart: How healing then are his ſalves, whoſe very ſores are a ſalve?

Secondly, Take the words in the plaine rendring of them, noting onelyonly thus much, that God makes ſore, and bindeth up: So we have two diſtinct acts, often aſcribed to God in a figure, to ſet forth judgement and mercy, the afflictions, and deliverances of his people, (Hoſ. 6. 2.) Let us return unto the Lord, for he hath torne, and he will heale us, he hath ſmitten, and he will bind us up, (1 Sam. 2. 6.) The Lord killeth and maketh alive, (Deut. 32. 39.) See now, that I, even I am he, and there is no God with me, I kill, and I make alive, I wound and I heale. Hence obſerve,

It is the property of God, to take care of all the ſickneſſes, ſores or evils of his peopls.

As God is the great correcter and inſtructer of his people, ſo he is the great Phyſitian of his people; If he make a wound, he will take care for the healing of it; He doth not make ſores, and leave others to bind up. Mighty men wound, but they take no care for healing; they can impoveriſh and ſpoyle, but they care not to repaire; they can pull down and root up; let who ſo will build and plant. Shaddai the Almighty God doth both: If he break thy head, come to him, humble thy ſelfe before him, and he will ſurely give thee a plaiſter, which ſhall coſt thee nothing but the asking. And whereas he doth not willingly afflict or grieve, he doth moſt willingly comfort and heale the children of men, Lam. 3. 33. He ſpeaks of it as a paine to himſelfe to make us ſore, but to make us ſound is his delight and pleaſure. Satan is the Abaddon, p. 334the deſtroyer, and he only deſtroys; he makes wounds, but he heals none, he kills, but he makes none alive.

The ſecond branch of the verſe [He woundeth, and his hands make whole] is but a repetition of the ſame thing, yet with ſome addition to, or heightning of the ſence. To make ſore, and bind up, are not ſo deep either in judgement or in mercy, as to wound and make whole.

The word uſed for wounding, imports a dangerous and a deadly foreign Transfodit, transfixit vel cruentavit.wound, or to make a man all gore blood. It ſignifies to ſtrike quite thorough; and it is divers times applied, to note that ſtroke which God gives his worſt enemies. Pſal. 68. 21. But God ſhall wound the head of his enemies, or he ſhall ſtrike them quite through the head. Verſe 23. He ſhall dip his foot, or make it red in the blood of the ungodly. And Pſal. 110. 5. The Lord ſhall strike through Kings in the day of his wrath. Hence obſerve, That

God ſometimes makes very deep and great wounds in his own ſervants.

Such wounds, as by the ſight of the eye, you cannot diſtinguiſh them from the wounds of his mortall enemies. He ſtrikes thorough both heads and hearts of his own people: Or as Simeon ſaid to the bleſſed Virgin Mary, Luke 2. 35. A ſword pierceth through their ſoule alſo.

But then laſtly note,

God never makes a wound too great for his own cure.

The power of God to ſave, is as great as his power to deſtroy, his healing power and his wounding power, are of the ſame extent; His juſtice cannot out-act his mercy, both are infinite.

And not onelyonly doth he heale the wounds which himſelfe makes, but he can heale the wounds which men make; even all the wounds which the utmoſt power and malice of man can make. He is able to doe more good, to ſhew more mercy than all creatures are able to doe hurt or miſchiefe. We finde the ſtate and condition of a people ſometimes ſo wounded and ſick, that men have deſpaired of recovery; Being conſulted, they may anſwer, your ſore cannot be bound up, and your wound cannot be healed, your eſtate is gangren'd and paſt cure: So he ſaid as was toucht before (Iſa. 3 8.) In that day ſhall a man ſweare ſaying, I will not be an healer, for in my houſe is neither bread nor cloathing; Alas, I heale you, I cannot heale you, your troubles are paſt my skill to remedy or redreſſe. Thus man is ſometimes at a ſtand, he p. 335cannot heale what men have wounded; but God is never at a ſtand, your old feſtred ſores, and wrankled wounds which have taken wind, diſcourage not his chirurgery. When a people are in ſuch a pickle or pittifull plight, as the Prophet Iſaiah deſcribes the kingdome of Judah, in Chap. 1. 5 6. The whole head is ſicke, and the whole heart is faint, from the ſole of the foot even unto the head, there is no ſoundneſſe in it, but wounds, and bruiſes, and putrifying ſores; they have not been cloſed, neither bound up, neither mollified with oyntment. When (I ſay) the caſe of a people is thus, and they can get no healer: Yea though a people (like the woman, Mark 5 25▪) have had an iſſue of blood (in bloody battels, which is now almoſt Englands caſe) many yeares; and have ſuffered many things of many Phyſitians, and have ſpent all that they have, and are nothing bettered, but rather grow worſe; yet if Chriſt doe but touch ſuch a ſicke, diſeaſed bleeding people in mercy, and they touch him by faith, they ſhall be healed, and their fountaine of blood will immediately dry up. Or if their condition requires ſome longer operation, he can effectually take ſuch a courſe for their cure: He is abundantly furniſhed with all inſtruments and abilities for the making of a perfect cure.

It is well obſerved, that three things are neceſſary for a Chyrurgion.

Firſt, He muſt have an Eagles eye, one that is good at healing, had need be good at ſeeing.

Secondly, He muſt have a Ladies hand, ſoft and tender to handle the ſore gently.

Thirdly, A Lions heart, a ſtout ſtrong heart, for if he faint, how ſhall his patient keep up his courage?

Theſe three are exceeding neceſſary in Chyrurgery about naturall bodies, but much more in Chyrurgery about Civill and Eccleſiaſtical bodies, the healing of Churches and Kingdoms. And where ſhall we find, whither ſhall we ſend for Phyſitians, qualified with this Eagles eye, to look into all our ſores and ſickneſſes? with this Ladies hand, to deal gently and tenderly with our wounds? with this Lions heart, ſtoutly and couragiouſly without fears and faintings, to go thorough with the work? Well, if men ſhould not be found thus furniſhed, the Lord is; He hath an Eagles eye, an Allſeeing eye, ſeven eyes of providence and wiſdome, to look through our ſores, and into all our diſtempers: He hath (as in alluſion we may ſpeak) a Ladies hand, ſoft and tender, to deal gently and graciouſly p. 336with a people; He can dreſſe our wounds, and paine us little, ſcarce be felt while he doth it. And he hath the Lions heart, infinite courage and ſtrength of ſpirit, to undertake the moſt gaſtly wounds or ſwolne putrified ſores. Let us therefore reſt our ſelves aſſured, that whatſoever our perſonall or our nationall ſores, our perſonall or our nationall wounds be, be they what they will, or what we can call them, deſperate, incurable, ſuch as have diſcourag'd many from medling with their cure, or ſham'd thoſe that have; yet our Shaddai the Almighty God, can bind them up and heale them, fetch the core from the bottome, and cloſe the skin upon the top, ſo tenderly dreſſe, and ſo perfectly cure them, that a ſcarre ſhall not remaine, unleſſe it be to mind us of his infinite skill and goodneſſe or of our own duty and thankfullneſſe.