Exposition of Job 4-7, Commentary on Job · Chapter 7 · Verses 5-8

Exposition of Job 4-7 · Commentary on Job · Chapter 7 · Verses 5-8

p. 593JOB Chap. 7. verſ. 5, 6, 7, 8.

My fleſh is cloathed with wormes, and clods of duſt, my skin is broken, and become loathſome.

My daies are ſwifter than a Weavers ſhuttle, and are ſpent without hope.

O remember that my life is wind, mine eye ſhall no more ſee good.

The eye of him that hath ſeen me ſhall ſee me no more; thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.

VVE have ſeen Job in this Chapter confirming his former deſires of death.

1. From the generall condition of man-kind, v. 1.

2. From the condition of ſome parlicular man, v. 2. And

3. From his own preſent condition, which he draws forth in the 3, 4, 5, and 6, verſes.

The third and the fourth verſes have been already opened.

In this fifth he gives us a further deſcription of himſelf, and ſuch a one, as might well aſſure us, that his reſtleſſe nights were not without reaſon, My fleſh is cloathed, &c. As if he had ſaid, if you think I am thus unquiet without cauſe, then behold my body, look upon me, and ſee what a pitifull ſpectacle I am, My fleſh is cloathed with worms, my skin is broken and hecome loathſome.

Theſe words give us Jobs picture, here is his delineation and pourtracture, as he was under the hand of God. They who would take Jobs picture, as, in the day of his afflictions, muſt draw him, thus, A man clothed with worms and clods of duſt, there's his garment; his skin ſcabby and diſcolor'd, full of chaps and running ſores, angry biles and enflamed ulcers, his poſture, lying on the ground, ſcraping himſelf with a pot-ſheard.foreign caroper Synecdochen corpus in Piel Biſher ſignificat Evangelium.

My fleſh is clothed with worms.

My fleſh.] That is, my body, by a Synechdoche; and the word which we tranſlate fleſh, ſprings from a root, or hath neare p. 594relation to it, which ſignifies to bring and publiſh good tidings, or welcome news; and therefore the Goſpel is expreſt by it (Evangelium) is the ſame in Latin, or (foreign) in Greeke with this in the Hebrew: And ſome Criticks give the reaſon, why fleſh is expreſt by this word, which ſignifies to publiſh or bring good tydings, becauſe there ſhould be a taking of fleſh, or a making of fleſh, namely the incarnation of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt, which ſhould be the beſt tidings, and the moſt joyfull news that ever the world heard of.

Is clothed with worms.

In the firſt Chapter of this booke at the 21. verſe, Iob deſcribes himſelf thus, Naked came I out of my mothers wombe, and naked ſhall I return; but now it ſeemes Iob hath got clothing, and being ready to lie downe in the grave, he had a veſture put upon him, now (it ſeemes) Iob ſhould not goe naked out of the world, for he ſaid, My fleſh is clothed; but, what is this clothing? My fleſh is clothed with worms, and clods of duſt, that's a ſuite of clothes very fit and ſutable for the grave, but it is uſually put on in the grave. Iob is in his grave-clothes before he dies; or, he ſpeakes this to ſhew that he accounted himſelf dead, while he lived, or (as Heman mourns, Pſa. 88.) Free among the dead; A member of that Corporation, a brother of that ſociety already. For he was now in their habet or livery, A gown of worms ſet or embroidered with clods of duſt.

My fleſh is clothed with wormes.

It is frequent in Scripture, when the holy Ghoſt would heighten the ſenſe of what we are, & enjoy, would to note the abundance of Quavis re veſtiri dicimur, Cujus acceſſione vel dedecoramur, vel ocnamur.a thing, or how man is adorned, or defiled with it all over, then to expreſſe it under the notion of cloathing; God himſelf is expreſt, cloathed with Majeſty, becauſe he is Majeſtie all over, and there is nothing but glory upon him; God is alſo deſcribed, clothed with judgement and with juſtice; why? Becauſe theſe are his honour and his ornament, he is juſtice and judgement all over; we find Job in the 29. of this book at the 14, verſe, ſpeaking thus of himſelf in his ſtate of Magiſtracy, I put on righteouſneſſe, and it clothed me, my judgement was as a robe and a diademe; that is, I was full of righteouſneſſe, I was altogether reghteous, in diſpenſing re wards and puniſhments, in exerciſing my power among p. 595the people. To be cloathed with humility, to be cloathed with the Spirit, to be clothed with Chriſt, are phraſes of the ſame importance. So on the other hand to be cloathed with pride, with ſhame, with diſhonour, Let mine enemies (ſaith David) be cloathed with ſhame, Pſal. 109. 29. Let them be cloathed with diſhonour, Pſal. 35. 26. that is, let them be aſhamed and diſhonour'd, all over, or exceedingly aſhamed or diſhonoured. And ſo a great deſolation is called a cloathing with deſolation, Ezekiel 7. 27. That which ſtripps a man naked is in this ſence called his cloathing, cloathed with deſolation.

Thus we are to underſtand Job, when he ſaith, That his fleſh was cloathed with wormes; his meaning is, he had many wormes, crawling upon his fleſh, or lying within his fleſh, and ſo were as a lining to his upper garment of nature. Theſe worms ſpread themſelves all over him, as a filthy and loathſome garment covering his whole body.

And beſides this figure, Job ſpake properly, while he was thus full of ſores, and botches, and boyles, to ſay, he was cloathed with wormes; wormes are proper to ſores, many ſores, breed wormes, and wormes are a diſeaſe in the fleſh, as well as within the bowels, and ſuch diſeaſes are accounted the fouleſt and filthieſt diſeaſes of all other: Such was Jobs, his ſores and boiles corrupted and bred wormes, which made him an abhorring to himſelf, Putrifaction is the foyle out of which worms grow, Rotten fleſh breeds wormes, and a rotten conſcience breeds a worm, Iſa. 66. 24. Their worme ſhall not die; why doth the holy Ghoſt ſay of thoſe men who were never waſhed, nor healed of their ſinne-ſores, of their ſoul-ſickneſſes and pollutions, that when they die, they have a worme, that dieth not. It is in alluſion to this, becauſe, as a corrupt body, or corrupt putrid fleſh, breeds noiſome wormes, ſo a corrupt conſcience, a ſoule full of filthineſſe and uncleanneſſe, which was never waſhed or healed in the fountain of the bloud of Chriſt, this ſoul, this conſcience breeds wormes, even that gnawing worme, which ſhall live with it, feed upon it, and cloath it for ever. Both the naturall and the ſpirituall worme, ariſe from rottenneſſe, and derive their pedigree from ſores, ſickneſſes, and putrifaction.

And clods of duſt.

Wormes and clods of duſt. Here are ſtrange materials, courſe ſtuffe for Jobs cloathing, clods of duſt. Some conceive that Job p. 596ſate in the duſt, and ſo the duſt gathered about him, as a garment. Others, that theſe clods of duſt, were the ſcrapings of his ſores, for foreignthe word ſignifies the filings of any mettall, or the ſcrapings of an uncleane thing. It is ſaid expreſſely in the ſecond Chapter, that he tooke a pot-ſherd to ſcrape himſelf; thoſe clods of filthy duſt, or ſcales ſcrap'd from his putrifying ſores; theſe, with the crawling wormes bred in them, cover'd his whole body like a garment, and therefore he complaines, I am cloathed with worms and clods of duſt.

You ſee what his garment was, ſee now (to carry on the alluſion) his skin, upon which this garment was put? My skin (ſaith he) is broken, and become loathſome. The skin is the immediate garment of the fleſh, his ſickneſſe had worne out his skin, he had many holes and rents in that garment, which needed mending, and it was all over ſo filthy, that it needed waſhing. My fleſh is broken and become loathſome. Sores breake the skin, and defile the skin, Jobs skin was ſo broken and chapt, ſo defiled and filthy, that he was loathſome to all beholders, and to himſelf.

This is the picture of Job, A few daies before, you might have pictured or drawn him thus, Job cloathed with ſilk and ſcarlet, his garment ſet with precious orientall ſtones, his skin ſmooth and beautifull, his face cheerfull and manly, his eye quick and piercing. But now Job is cloathed with worms and clods of duſt, his skin is broken and become loathſome.

We may hence learne, what our own bodies are. The Apoſtle (Phil. 3. 21.) cals the body, a vile body; not that the worke of God was vile: The worke of God was noble and honourable in all he wrought, eſpecially in that Maſter-peece of it, the fabrique of mans body; but as the body is come out of the hands of ſinne, ſo it is a vile body, that is, it is a body ſubject to corruption, and will quickly corrupt, be vile and loathſome, 1 Cor. 15 53. This corruptable muſt put on incorruption. The body of man is but one remove from wormes and corruption, Chap. 17. 4. I have ſaid to corruption thou a…t my Father, and to the worme, thou art my mother. We ſhall quickly bear the image of our parents, wormes and corruption.

Then be not proud of your bodies, nor of your beauties; They, who are now the faireſt and goodlieſt to looke upon, may quickly have a broken and a loathſome skin; A diſeaſe, one fit of ſickneſſe will ſpoile all thy beauty, deface and blemiſh thy excellent feature, p. 597and if a diſeaſe doth it not, old-age will, time will draw furrows in thy face, and make wrinkles in thy brow. Strength and beauty of body are no matches for time. All things were made in time, and time will marr all things. So long as generation continues, corruption muſt.

Againe, take heed of pride in cloathing. The two externals, of which man is moſt ſubject to be proud, are beauty and apparell. Cloaths are a flag of vanity, and pride ſits upon the skirts. But remember how fine ſoever your cloathing is this day and houre, God can put you on another ſuite before to morrow. We ſee what change of apparrell Iob had, a godly man, an humble man. That which God did to try the grace of one; he can quickly do to puniſh and chaſtiſe the ſin of another; he can quickly put you on ſuch clothing, as you ſhall have little cauſe to be proud of. He can make you weare wormes and clods of duſt.

And if we conſider it, we have little reaſon to be proud of clothes: for if we follow the beſt of them to their originall, they will be found to be but a clothing of wormes, and clods of duſt; what are ſilkes, ſattins and velvets, but the iſſue of wormes? And what is your gold and ſilver, what your pearls and precious ſtones? are they any thing (if you will reſolve them into their principles) but clods of duſt? They are indeed better concocted by the heat of the Sunne, refined and poliſhed by the art of a man, but if you ſearch their pedigree, they alſo are but clods of duſt. In your moſt glorious aray, you are but cloathed with duſt and wormes, and if you be proud of ſuch cloathing, God can cloth you with worms and clods, not onelyonly of unrefined and unpolliſhed, but of putrified and filthy duſt.

Thus we ſee the firſt thing, the picture or deſcription of Iobs body, His friends at firſt ſight, might be convinced, that a body in ſuch a caſe, could take little reſt day or night. He carries on his complaint, a degree further, at the 6. verſe.

Verſe 6. My daies are ſwifter than a Weavers ſhuttle, and are ſpent without hope.

My daies are ſwifter.] The Seventy render it thus, My daies foreign.are ſwifter or nimbler than a word or ſpeech. Nothing moves faſter or paſſeth away more lightly, than a word; a word is gone, and it is gone ſuddenly; Hence the ſimilitude is uſed proverbially, Pſal. 90. 9. We ſpend our daies, as a tale that i… told, or, as a meditation p. 598(ſo ſome tranſlate) ſuddenly or ſwiftly; a diſcourſe is quickly over, whether it be a diſcourſe from the mouth, or in the mind; and of the two, the latter is far the more ſwift and nimble of foot, a diſcourſe in our thoughts out-runs the Sunne, as much as the Sunne out-runs a ſnaile; the thoughts of a man will travell the world over in a moment; he that now ſits in this place, may be at the worlds end in his thoughts, before I can ſpeak another word. So that the tranſlation of gloſſe, by ſpeech or meditation, aggravates the ſence, and extends it to the higheſt.

But the word properly ſignifies (as we tranſlate) a Weavers ſhuttle, which is an inſtrument of a very ſwift and ſudden motion. foreignAnd the word which we render [Swifter] ſignifies that which is fitted for the ſwifteſt motion, Any light thing, becauſe thoſe things which are light, move ſwifteſt; and we call a good runner, a man light of foot, Hab. 1. 8. The horſes of the Chaldeans are thus deſcribed, Their horſes are ſwifter (or lighter of foot) than the Leopards, ſo, ſwifter or lighter than the weavers ſhuttle, which paſſeth the loome or web with ſuch ſpeed, that it is growne to a Radius Textoris dictum proverbiale, radio velocius.proverbe, for all things which are quick and tranſient. The Latines expreſſe it by that word, which ſignifies a ray of the Sunne, which is darted in a moment from one end of the heavens to another.

But a queſtion riſes. Iob in the third Chapter, and ſo in the fifth, complains that his life was ſo prolonged, and ſlow-paced that it was very tedious to him, and in this Chapter by a repeated requeſt, he ſpurrs and haſtens his life to it's journies end; he thought (it ſeemes) his time not wing'd, but ſlow footed; how is it then, that in this place he complaineth of the ſwiftneſſe of his daies? My daies are ſwifter than a Weavers ſhuttle.

I anſwer, In a word: By his dayes, here, we are to underſtand his good dayes, his dayes of comfort and proſperity; the dayes of my peace and plenty, are ſlipped away and gone, even as a weavers ſhuttle. But when he complains that his life is ſlow-footed, and requeſts that his dayes might move faſter, he meanes the dayes of ſorrow and trouble which had overtaken him in his journey; the former were too ſwift, and the latter too ſlow; It is as if he had ſaid, Alas, all my faire dayes of proſperity are gone, they are ſlipt away as a weavers ſhuttle, they are as a tale that is told, nothing remaines of them, but the remembrance, which is an addition to my ſorrow; but now I have dayes, that ſeeme long, very long, they p. 599hand upon my hands, I cannot get them off, my ſorrowes clog my time, and make every houre ſeeme a yeare. Hezekiah in his complaint upon his ſick bed, uſeth this alluſion, Mine age is departed and removed from me, as a ſhepheards tent, I have cut off like a weaver my life, Iſa. 38. 12. As the weaver cuts off the thred when the web is finiſhed, ſo it is with me, I have cut off as a weaver my life; Not that Hezekiah was active in his own death, we are not to underſtand it ſo, for he pray'd that God would ſpare him; and he ſpake this upon the promiſe of God, to lengthen out his life, and to tye the thread of his dayes againe, according to which the web was woven on for fifteen yeares more; But this ſpeech of Hezekiah, as a weaver I have cut off my life, is like that of the Apoſtle, I have finiſhed my courſe. He compares the paſſing of his life to a ſhuttle, and the concluſion of it to the cutting off, of the thread; Nights and dayes paſſe this ſhuttle forward and backward, to and againe, the night caſts it to the day, and the day to the night, beween theſe two, time quickly weares off the thred of life. The heathen Poets had a fiction anſwering this alluſion of the holy Ghoſt; they tell us a ſtory, or a fiction rather, of three ſiſters, whereof the one held the wheele or the diſtaffe, the Tres Parcae elotho Lacheſis Atropos.ſecond drew out the thred, and a third cut it off; In this they ſhadow the ſtate of mans life; our ordinary phraſe for living long, is spinning a long thred, and for dying, the cutting off the thred of life.

And they are ſpent without hope. Some tranſlate, they are ſpent ſo, as that there is no hope left. The word, which here we foreignengliſh, ſpent, ſignifies both conſumption and conſummation, or ſometimes in a good ſenſe, the end or perfecting of a thing, and ſometime in an ill ſenſe, the end or conſuming of a thing, Gen. 2. 1. So the Heavens and the earth were finiſhed, It is this word, they were ended, God ended his works by way of perfection, and conſummation, he made his work compleate. But here, and often in Scripture, it notes ending by way of conſumption, or as we tranſlate, the ſpending of a thing; Jer. 14. 12. I will conſume (or make an end of) them by the ſword; And Exod. 33. 3. God commands Moſes, to goe with the people into the wilderneſſe, for (ſaith he) I will not goe up in the midſt of them, leſt I conſume them in the way.

And to ſhew how deep an expence and conſumption of time was upon him, Job tells us, it had devoured and eaten up all his p. 600hope. It is worſe to have our hope ſpent, then to have our dayes ſpent; now (ſaith he) my dayes are ſpent, and that is not all, my hope is spent; Some tranſlate ſo, my dayes are ſpent, and I have Cum inopia ſpei, vel defectu ſpei, ſc. longioris vitae.want or penury of hope; as I have ſpent my dayes, ſo I have ſpent my hope. And his hopeleſſeneſſe, may refer two wayes; I have no hope, or my hope is spent; Firſt, in regard of long life, I ſee I am ſo afflicted with this diſeaſe, that there is no hope I ſhould hold out under it: Secondly, without hope, that is, without hope of being in a better condition, that is, of having my eſtate reſtored unto me again, if I ſhould have health reſtored, and a longer life continued. In both theſe ſences, as he ſaw the thred of his dayes cut off, ſo he ſaw the thred of his hope cut off, he was near death, and his hope was dead. My dayes are ſpent without hope, or, there is no hope remaining. This alſo is a negative to both parts of Eliphaz his promiſe, either of longer life, or of a better.

We may obſerve hence, firſt, a common truth (which I ſhall not inſiſt upon) about that pretious commodity, a commodity more pretious then the gold of Ophir, Time.

All time is ſhort, and we have a very ſhort eſtate in time. Man is not maſter of one day, and a ſervant but of few dayes. The holy Ghoſt gives us very many remembrances of this, which is an argument, that we are very apt to forget it. Man is ſlow to take notice of the ſwiftneſſe of time, and very dull in apprehending the ſpeed of his dayes. It is a wonder that ſuch a plaine common doctrine, ſhould be handled ſo often, and that the Holy Ghoſt, ſhould as it were, labour for ſimilitudes, and fetch in all things that are more then ordinarily tranſitory in nature, to teach us the tranſitorineſſe of our condition: We meete with many in this booke, all hinting at the ſudden, inviſible motion of time: This is a point eaſie to be known, but very hard to be beleeved; every man aſſents to it, but few live it. And ſurely the holy Ghoſt would not ſpend ſo many words about it, nor gather up ſo many illuſtrations of it from ſence, if it were not of much importance to our faith. We uſually ſlight the hearing of common principles; …nd a Sermon preacht upon this ſubject, the ſhortneſſe of our lives, and the ſpeed of time, is judg'd a needleſſe ſhortning of time; and the houre ſeemes very long, which runs out upon the ſpeed of time; we think it an eaſie doctrine, and a Theame for boyes. But the truth is, if the heart did well diſgeſt, how few our dayes are, we ſhould have better dayes; and men would live holier, if they p. 601knew indeed their lives were no longer. Therefore though I only touch this ſubject, yet, doe ye dwell upon it, and ſtay long in your thoughts upon the ſhortneſſe of your lives: Common truths neglected, cauſe a neglect of every truth. Had we more ſerious thoughts of Heaven and hell, that theſe are, and what theſe are; that there is a God, and who he is; that there will be a judgement, and what it will be, we ſhould more profitably improve and trade our time and talents. Secondly note,

Time paſſeth irrecoverably. When the weavers ſhuttle is once out of his hand, 'tis gone preſently; there is no hope time paſt ſhould be recalled, or time in motion ſtopt: To conſider time under that notion, ſhould make us very good husbands of our time, or (as the Apoſtle adviſes) to redeeme the time. Redemptions are made by purchaſe, to redeem a thing, is to buy it with a price; the price we redeeme time with, is our labourand faithfull travell. It is matter of mourning, to conſider, that ſo little care is taken in ſpending that, which when it is gone, we have no hope it can be reſtored to us again.

Thirdly, In that Iob complained before, that his life was ſo long, and now complaineth of the ſhortneſſe or ſwiftneſſe of his life, we may note; That,

Man thinks good daies end too ſoone, and that evill dayes ſtay too long, or will never have an end. We love the company of good dayes, and are therefore ſorry when they depart: When the Diſciples were upon the Mount, and had ſuch a good day of it, how deſirous were they to have continued there, and ſorry they were the day was at an end. Maſter (ſaith Peter) it is good for us to be here: The ſudden paſſing of our comforts, is our trouble. Time is alwayes of the ſame pace, no creature keeps his pace more evenly then time doth, it alwayes moves at the ſame rate, neither faſter nor ſlower; but man thinks this time ſhort, and that time long; this time ſpeedy, and that time ſlow, according to the ſeverall objects he meets with, and to the conditions wherein he is: Fourthly obſerve,

That hope is the laſt refuge of the ſoule: My dayes are ſpent without hope, my hope is ſpent too; If I had hope left, I had ſomewhat left, but my hope is gone. It is ſo in naturall things, it is ſo in ſpirituall things. The Apoſtle, Heb 6. tells us, that hope is the anchor of the ſoule, ſure and ſtedfaſt; while hope holds, comfort holds, and when hope's gone, all's gone. Obſerve laſtly,

p. 602That, ſometimes a godly mans hope may lye proſtrate. My dayes (ſaith he) are cut off without hope: Job thought (as I have noted from ſome paſſages before (that his caſe was deſperate, his hope lay in the duſt, as well as his body, or his honour. Every godly man is not an Abraham, of whom it is ſaid, Rom. 4. 18. That againſt hope he beleeved in hope: Nay Abraham is not alwayes Abraham, he that hath ſuch a ſtrong hope, hath it not alwayes, even his hope may ſometimes poſſibly be hopeleſſe. There are weakeneſſes in the ſtrongeſt, and imperfections may come upon thoſe who are perfect, ebbings after the greateſt flowings, and declinings after the greateſt heights of graces and gracious actings My dayes are ſpent without hope.

Job having thus complained of his condition, and aſſerted his own deſires of death, now turnes from his friends, with whom he had diſcourſed all this while, and betakes himſelf to God, to ſpeake a while with him; The next words are generally underſtood, an Apoſtrophe to God:

Verſe 7. Or member that my life is wind, mine eye ſhall no more ſee good, &c.

O remember that my life is wind. To remember, is not here taken ſtrictly, for to God all things are preſent. Remembrance, is the calling of that to mind which is paſt; when the act of remembring is applied to God in Scriprure, it hath one of theſe three ſences.

1. It notes a reſolution or ſetled purpoſe in God, to act his juſtice, or inflict puniſhment upon his enemies, Pſal. 137. 7. Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom: that is, Lord bring forth that decree of thine, for the ruine and deſtruction of theſe bloudy Edomites, who have been cruell againſt thy people.

Secondly, it ſignifies an affection in God, ready to help and releeve his own people: Pſal. 74. 2. Remember thy Congregation which thou didſt purchaſe of old, that is, doe good to thy Congregation, bleſſe thy Congregation.

Thirdly, To remember, imports an act of preſent conſideration: to remember, is fully to weigh, obſerve and take notice of the eſtate of things or perſons: Pſal. 38. 39. He remembred that they were but fleſh, a wind that paſſeth away and cometh not againe; that is, he conſider'd and weighed the eſtate of man: So in this place, O remember that my life is wind, that is, conſider, and weigh it p. 603well Lord, put my condition into the ballance, obſerve what a weak creature I am, how ſhort my llfe is: therefore deal with me, as with a weak ſhort-lived creature; Thou needeſt not lay any great ſtreſſe upon me, thou needeſt not trouble thy ſelf much to make an end of me, my life is but wind, 'tis but a puffe, which quickly paſſes away.

O remember that my life is wind. This is a proverbial ſpeech, Vita ventus, Elegans proverbiale.like that before, of a weavers ſhuttle. The word tranſlated wind, ſignifies the holy Ghoſt, the third Perſon in the bleſſed Trinity: As alſo a Spirit in general. And becauſe the wind is of a ſpiritual nature, inviſible, ſwift, powerful, therefore it is applied to that aerial or elementary ſpirit; And the operation of the holy Ghoſt, is ſhadowed by wind or breath, Chriſt breathed upon his Diſciples ſaying, receive the holy Ghoſt, John 20. 22. and the holy Ghost came as a mighty ruſhing wind, Acts 2. 2.

When Job ſaith, remember that my life is wind, he means, my Quaſi ventus Targum.life is like the wind; It is a ſimilitude; not an aſſertion. The life of man is like the wind in two things: Firſt, the wind paſſeth away ſpeedily, ſo doth mans life: Secondly, the wind when it is paſt, returns no more, as you cannot ſtop the wind, or change its courſe; So all the power in the world, is not powerful enough to recallor divert the wind, which way the wind goes it will goe, and when it goes 'tis gone, Pſ. 78. 34. He remembred that they were but fleſh, wind that paſſeth away; in this ſence Job calleth his life a wind, it paſſeth away, and ſhall not return, by any law or conſtitution of nature, or by any efficacy of natural cauſes.

Yet here obſerve, Job ſaith not, His ſoul was a wind, but his life was a wind. Some have philoſophiz'd the ſoul into a wind, a blaſt or a breath; and tell us, that it goes, as the ſoul of a beaſt, that life and ſoul are but the ſame thing, when the life's gone out of the body, the ſoule's gone from its being: They acknowledg a reſtoring of it again with the body at the reſurrection, but deny it any exiſtence when ſeparate from the body. How diſhonourable this is to the noble conſtitution of man, and how diſſonant to Scripture, is proved in mentioning it; we acknowledge, that life which is the union of ſoul and body, is a wind and paſſeth away; In all the learned languages, Hebrew, Greek, Latine, the **foreign Flare. foreign, Spiritus a ſpirando; Animum quaſi foreign quidam dictum exiſtimant. Graeci pro reſpiratione ſeu ſpiritu quem ducimas aceipiunt. primo quod vita noſtra reſpiratione indige…t; ſccundo quod flatu videatur humana vita in prima ſua origine conſtitiſſe,word which ſignifies ſpirit or life, hath its original, from reſpiring; and when we ſay, my wind was gone, or my wind was almoſt beaten out of my body, our meaning is, my Life was almoſt gone. In the p. 604creation (Gen. 2. 7.) God breathed into man the breath of life, or of lives, implying the many facultes and operations of life. And in as much as the body of man was firſt formed, and this life brought in after, to act and move it, this is an abundant proof, that the ſoule of man is not any temperament of the body, the body being compleated (as a body) before it, and yet no life reſulting. Wheras beaſts (to whom that beaſtly opinion compares man in his creation) had living bodies as ſoone as bodies, their totall form being but an extract from the matter.

Solomen, Eccl. 3. 19, 20, 21. brings in the Atheiſt, drawing this concluſion from thoſe confuſed oppreſſions which he obſerved in the world: men carried themſelves ſo like beaſts, preying upon, and devouring one another, that he (who had nothing but carnall reaſon to judge by) preſently reſolves; That which befalleth the ſons of men, befalleth beaſts, even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, ſo dieth the other, yea they have all one breath; ſo that a man hath no preeminence above a beaſt, for all are vanity; all goe to one place, all are of the duſt, and all turn to the duſt again. And whereas the Atheiſt heard ſome ſpeake of the aſcent of mans ſpirit after this life, he puts it off, as but talke and gueſſing. ver. 21. Who knoweth the ſpirit of man, that goeth upward, and the ſpirit of the beaſt, that goeth downward to the earth? That is, who can tell that there is ſuch a difference, between the ſpirit of a man and of a beaſt? who ever ſaw the one aſcending, or the other deſcending? or from what Anatomie was this learned? Thus the Atheiſt derides the doctrine of the ſoul, and will therefore laugh and be merry with his body while it laſts, that's his portion, For who ſhall bring him to ſ…e what ſhall be after him, ver. 22. Is it not ſtrange, that any who are called ſober Chriſtians, ſhould plant their opinions in this ſoyle of Atheiſme: and make that a proofe of their faith, which Solomon brings only as a proofe of ſome mens infidelity? The Preacher in this Book, perſonated thoſe whom he abhor'd, and ſometimes ſpeakes the practiſes of other men, not his own opinion. There is no more reaſon to ground this Tenet of the Soules Mortality upon thoſe texts, then there is of encouragement to intemperancie in that, chap. 11. 9. Rejoyce O young man in thy youth, and let thy heart cheare thee in the dayes of thy youth, and walke in the wayes of thine own heart; Or in that of the Apoſtle, 1 Cor. 15. 32. Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. If any would learne Solomons own ſence about this p. 605point, let him reade it, as plaine as words can make it (Eccl. 12. 7.) Then (namely when man dies) ſhall the duſt return to the earth, as it was, and the ſpirit ſhall return unto God, who gave it.

So then (to the next before us) the ſoule is not a wind, but the Hujuſmodi ſententi… regreſſum animarum in corpora minin è negant, ſed neceſſitatem moriendi confirmant, & celeri: atem.life: And all thoſe Scriptures where life is compared to wind, and dying, to the paſſing of it without returning, deny the regreſſe or returning of the ſoule to a naturall, not to an eternall life, and imply the ſhort ſtay of the ſoule in the body, and certaine departure from it, not, a not being, when it parts. Theſe two muſt part, and ſo part, as never to returne to that eſtate againe; Thus Iob expounds himſelfe in the words following;

Mine eye ſhall no more ſee good. Or as the Hebrew, I ſhall not return to ſee good, anſwerable to the metaphor of a wind, it paſſeth away, and returnes no more.

To ſee. In this place, as often elſewhere, is to enjoy, I ſhall not Videre bonum pro frui, nota locutio eſt.enjoy good, Pſal. 4. 6. Who will ſhew, or who will cauſe us to ſee any good? It was not the bare ſight of good, which they deſired, but the enjoyment of it. So Ier. 17. 6. The man whoſe heart departeth from God, is threatned, that he ſhall not ſee, when good cometh, that is, he ſhall not enjoy good, when it comes: For though to ſee good be a mercy, yet to ſee it and not to taſt it, is a curſe. Therefore at the laſt day, they who thought themſelves high in Gods favour, but were indeed under his wrath, are told, that they ſhall Lam. 13. 26.ſee Abraham, Iſaac and Iacob in the Kingdome of God, and themſelves ſhut out; they ſhall ſee what they cannot enjoy, and that ſight ſhall adde to their ſorrow. The Prophet cries out, Lament. 3. 1. I am the man that hath ſeen affliction, that is, I am the man that hath felt and had experience of afflictions. And Pſalm 16. 10. the great promiſe to Chriſt is, that though he took a corruptible body upon him, yet he ſhould not ſee corruption, that is, partake of corruption; corruption ſhould have no communion with, much leſſe power over him. And we have the ſame uſe of the word in this book, chap. 20. ver. 17. where Zophar tells the hypocrite, that God will deprive and ſtrip him of every good thing. He ſhall not ſee the rivers, the floods, the brookes of honey and butter; It is a rhetoricall expreſſon, comparing the affluence of outward things, to floods, and rivers and brooks, which ſend forth their ſtreames plentifully; as if he had ſaid, though there be great ſtore of honey and butter (thoſe two are ſpecified for the reſt) though p. 606there be rivers, brooks and ſtreames of theſe commodities, yet he foreignſhall ſee none of them, that is, he ſhall not enjoy or taſt a drop of Sicut Graeci foreign, & Latini bonum, aliquando pro pulchro, commodo & utili uſurpant. Iſa ſubinde Hebraei vocabudum, Tob, Fagius, in Gen. 2. 18Gen 2:18them. That unbeleeving Lord, is told by Eliſha, that he ſhould ſee plenty in Samaria the next day, but ſhould not eate thereof, 2 King. 7. 2. Not to ſee, is not to eat; and he that ſees, but eates not is not releeved, but troubled at the ſight.

Mine eye ſhall not ſee good. What good? when a man dies, ſhall he ſee no more good? we ſee but little good while we live, and the greateſt good, is to be ſeen when we die: or rather while we live, what doe we ſee but evill, and when the Saints die, what have they to ſee but good? how is it then, that Iob ſaith, when I die, mine eye ſhall not ſee good? what miſerable creatures were we, if there were no good to be ſeen, beyond the line of this life? our richeſt ſtock of comfort, lyes in the good we ſhall ſee hereafter, which is therefore called, the bleſſed-making viſion; And Iob knew well enough, that his eyes ſhould ſee good after death, for he ſaith (chap. 19. 27.) with theſe eyes ſhall I ſee God; he knew alſo his ſoule had an eye to ſee good (and a better good then ever he ſaw in the world) while his body lay in the grave. Then, his meaning of, Mine eye ſhall no more ſee good, is, no more worldly good, none of † theſe good things, which I have ſeen; I ſhall be above the ſmart of earthly ſorrows, and above the ſence of earthly joyes. Good is either natural, or civill, or ſpirituall; When God created the world, he looked upon all that he bad made, and he ſaw that all was very good: Civill good, is the order, peace and proſperity of the world, death ſtops the ſight of all this good. As for eternall or ſpirituall good, death cannot cloſe or dimme the eye againſt thoſe objects.

Then here is no plea for Atheiſts againſt the reſurrection, nor any, againſt the ſoules Being, or being awake, till the reſurrection. Iob ſpeakes only about the ſpeare and courſe of nature; when man dies naturally, and is in the ſtate of the dead, he enjoyes nothing, he acts nothing according to the eſtate of the living, **In his & ſimilibus locis, Scriptura in telligenda eſt de ſtatu mortuorum in morte quis conſitebitur tibi? poſt reſurrect…onem pii laudabunt Deum, ſed ante illam, quamdiuerunt in ſepulchro, nemo confitebitur ei anima & corpore ſimul, Druſ, Iuxta raturae curſum hic loquitur, regans rediturum …ominem ubi hine exceſſit Re…urrectio mortuorum divinum & ſupra naturam opus eſt, quo hic non reſpicit, nutu…e tantum conſuctum ordinem afferens, quomodo intellïgend… ſunt q…aecun que talia in hoc libro in Pſalmis, & alijs Scripturae libris, occurrunt.Pſal. 115. 17. The dead praiſe the not, &c. there is no work, device or buſineſſe at all in the grave, Eccl. 9. 10. The hand works not, the tongue ſpeakes not, The eye ſhall no more ſee this good.

Iob expreſſes himſelf by an act of the eye, which carries the greateſt ſtrength for refreſhing to the whole man. All the joy and pleaſure we ſhall have in Heaven, comes in by ſight, we ſhall ſee him as …e is; The heholding of God in Chriſt, is the beatificall p. 607viſion, much of the good which we have in this world, comes in by the ſenſe of ſeeing; and all the good of the next is placed in ſeeing; therefore he doth not ſay, I ſhall no more taſte good, or no more feele good, but no more ſee good, **Per Analogi… ad ſummi boni poſſeſſionem, quae in viſione conſistit aliorum honorum, poſſeſſio rectè dicitur videre bona.becauſe the chiefeſt good, eternal good, conſiſts in viſion, therefore proportionably our preſent good doth ſo likewiſe.

Sick Hezekiah ſpeaks in the language of ſick Job; I ſaid, I ſhall not ſee the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living; I ſhall behold man no more, with the inhabitants of the world, Iſa. 38. 11. When Hezekiah thought he ſhould die, he deſcribes the ſtate of the dead by a deprivation of all thoſe comforts which are taken in, by the ſight of the eye. But you wil ſay, how ſaith he, I ſhal not ſee the Lord? He doth not ſay abſolutely, I ſhall not ſee the Lord? But with a modification, thus, I ſhall not ſee the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living. But did Hezekiah ſee the Lord in the land of the living, or while he lived? Yes, as Moſes ſaw him that was inviſible, ſo did Hezekiah: God makes himſelf viſible to the Saints in this life. Though God cannot be ſeen in his eſſence in Heaven, much leſſe on earth, yet he is ſeen in his works, in the acts of his providence, and in his ordinances; we may ſee the goings of God in the Sanctuary, and behold the beauty of the Lord, while we enquire in his Temple, Pſalm 27. 4. So that when Hezekiah ſaith, I ſhall not ſee the Lord in the land of the living; his meaning is, I ſhall not behold God in his great works, and in the ordinances of his holy worſhip, and in the Congregations of his holy people. In all theſe God is viſible, and moſt in the laſt; and therefore he ſaith, I ſhall behold man no more, with the inhabitants of the world; God is viſible in all creatures, but moſt in man, and among men, moſt in his Saints, and among his Saints moſt, when they meet in the comely order of his houſe and worſhip; The ignorant and unlearned coming into ſuch a ſacred throng; ſees ſo much of God, that he is convinced and goes away reporting, that God is in them of a truth. In Christ is ſeen the brightneſſe of his Fathers glory, and in the Saints much of the beauty of it is ſeen. Chriſt is the expreſs image of his perſon, and in the Saints ſo meeting, much of his image is expreſſed.

Firſt, in that Job betakes himſelf to God, O remember that my life is wind, &c. Obſerve, That

In our diſtreſſes it is better to cry to God, then to complaine to creatures. God is uſually the laſt, but he is alwayes the beſt refuge, p. 608when we have told over the ſtory of our ſorrowes and ſad condition, and powr'd our wants into the boſomes of our moſt faithfull friends; yet, this Apoſtrophe is ſweeteſt to the ſoul, when we can turn unto God, O remember me. It is ſaid of Hezekiah in his ſickneſſe, that he turned himſelf unto the wall and prayed, he turned from the people, from thoſe that were about his bed, unto the wall; why, what was the wall to him? Or what could the wall doe for him? ſurely nothing. As good turne to an Idol for helpe or eaſe, as to a wall, yea ſuch a turn to the wall, turnes the wall into an idol; Good Hezekiah had no thought of the wall, nor had he any meſſage to any image, hanging there. But as 'tis probable, many of his loving Subjects and ſervants were weeping about the bed of their ſicke King, and he had been diſcourſing of his diſeaſe, and telling them of his ſickneſſe, but at laſt he turns to the wall; that is, he leaves ſpeaking to the company, and turnes away from them, that he might have communion with God, and his firſt word of prayer, is, the ſame with Jobs, Remember now O Lord, Iſa. 38. 3. Creatures are but creatures, and when they have done their beſt for us, it may be they can doe no good for us; when they have tried all their skill, and all their ſtrength, and ſtirred the utmoſt of their abilities, to give us counſell and eaſe, we muſt ſay to them all, ſtand by, and come to Iobs Turne, O Lord remember. That man is moſt to be bemoaned, who can make his moane to man only. He, who knows not how to complaine to God, or to ſpeake out his ſorrowes, and his griefes in the eare of Chriſt, ſhall gaine little, (though he receive much) by complaining to the creature. But ſo long as we have a God to turne to, and ſpread our cauſe before, though men turne from us, yea, though they turne againſt us, and forget us, yet it is enough, that we have ſaid, O Lord remember.

Secondly, from the matter, which Iob puts God in mind of, namely his naturall frailty and fleeting condition, that he was a paſſing wind. Obſerve,

It is an argument, moving the Lord to compaſſion, to mind him of the frailty of our condition. There is no argument from our ſelves, ſo effectuall, to draw out the bowels of Gods compaſſions toward us, either in regard of our ſpirituall or temporall eſtate, as this, to tell him how fraile we are; The Pſalmiſt ſhewes this the motive of mercy often to that ancient people the Jewes, Pſal. 78. 38. He being full of compaſſion forgave their iniquity, and p. 609deſtroyed them not, yea many a time turned he his anger away, and did not ſtirre up all his wrath; But what moved the Lord to deale thus with his people? What was it, out of himſelfe? We know, the inward moving cauſe was his own free-grace, but what did he look upon abroad in the creature? He remembred that they were but fleſh, A wind that paſſeth away, and commeth not againe. Jobs argument to a letter. He conſidered how eaſily and quickly they might be deſtroyed, and therefore he deſtroyed them not, Pſal. 103. 14. Like as a father pittieth his children, ſo doth the Lord, &c. Why, what ſtirr's up this pity? For he knoweth our frame, and he remembreth that we are but duſt; Now, that which God himſelf makes the argument, all the argument in us, of his turning to us in mercy; that we ſhould mannage, eſpecially as our argument, when we turn to him in prayer. Should we plead before God our perfections, and ſay, Lord remember our holineſſe, our zeale, our prayers, our teares, our faſtings and humiliations, could any of this move God, or be any attractive of his compaſſions toward us? If we will plead our perfections; God will deſpiſe our prayer. Our ſtrongeſt argument is to ſay, we are weake, and to tell God we are ſinfull, prevailes more, then to tell him, we are righteous: We ſhall gaine moſt by ſaying we are unprofitable ſervants.

But did not Hezekiah, entreat the Lord to remember that he had walked before him in truth and with a perfect heart, and done that which was good in his ſight? Iſa. 38. 3. And doth not Nehemiah uſe the like plea, Chap. 13. 14, 22.

I anſwer, firſt, that, theſe were the beſt, moſt the ſpirituall and powerfull pleadings with God is not proved, becauſe uſed by good men. Grace doth not act alwaies at the height, nor bring out choiſeſt it's treaſures at all times.

Secondly, they move the Lord to remember what good they had done, but they doe not move the Lord by that remembrance to doe them good. Hezekiah was ſo far from rejoycing in his own righteouſnes: that the text ſaith, He wept ſore. And Nehemiah with the ſame breath, deſires the Lord to remember what he had done, and to ſpare him, according to the greatneſſe or multitude of mercy. He, that when he hath done beſt, beggs a multitude of mercies to ſpare him, is farre enough from challenging juſtice to reward him.

Men, that are but ingenuous, will be moved moſt with a ſight or report of anothers weakneſſe. The beggar ſpeaks moſt effectually p. 610by his rages and ſores. The Woman, 2 Sam. 14. 14. who was hired to move David for the bringing back of Abſolom, uſeth this argument, For we muſt needs die, and are as water ſpilt upon the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; As if ſhe had ſaid, Sir, if you will contend with your Sonne, thus, alas, his life is but water, and he will dye, for this is the common condition of mankind; therefore be compaſſionate and pittifull to him, fetch home your baniſhed. This motive takes much upon the heart of God, as in regard of particular perſons, ſo of a people in generall, Deut. 32. 36. The Lord ſhall repent himſelf for his ſervants. But when will he repent himſelf? When he ſeeth that their power is gone, and there is none ſhut up or left. When they have no power and ſtrength, and there is none ſhut up, that is, when they have no fort, no ſtrong places to defend themſelves in, but even lie open to the rage and malice of the adverſary, and are ready to ſinke utterly, then the Lord takes this, both as an argument and a ſeaſon for him, to repent of the affliction of his people; that is, to change the way of his adminiſtrations towards them. This promiſe was in part made good to Iſrael in the dayes of Jeroboam, Sonne of Joaſh, 2 King. 14. 26. The Lord ſaw the affliction of Iſrael, that it was very bitter, for there was not any ſhut up, nor any left, nor any helper in Iſrael.

Thirdly, ſpeaking of the world, he ſaith, Mine eye ſhall no more ſee good. Obſerve then,

That worldly things are good things. In their ſphear and proportion, they are good. Abraham minds the rich man, Luke 16. Sonne remember, that thou in thy life time receivedſt thy good things. Therefore, we are to uſe the world, and all the creatures in it, as the good things of God, and the goodneſſe we ſee in creatures, ſhould raiſe us up, to admire the goodneſſe of the Creatour; if goodneſſe be ſtamped upon preſent and temporary things, how good are things eternal?

Fourthly, Mine eyes ſhall no more ſee good. Obſerve;

After this life there is no more uſe, or enjoyment of worldly things. The things of the world are but for the world; Mine eyes ſhall no more ſee, I ſhall no more enjoy or uſe theſe good things. Conſider what it is you lay up, when you lay up the things of this life, you lay up thoſe things, which after a while your eyes ſhall ſee no more; you lay up thoſe things, which after a few daies; you ſhal have no more uſe of; you ſhal have no uſe at p. 611all of your gold, no uſe at all of your ſilver, no uſe at all of your apparel, no uſe at all of your goodly houſes, no uſe at all of your rich furniture, no uſe at all of your lands, you ſhall have no uſe of all theſe good things: Conſider then what it is you lay up, a time is coming, when you ſhall ſay of them all, I ſhall no more ſee, I ſhall no more uſe and enjoy any of theſe good things. Therefore be ſo wiſe as to improve this time, which paſſes like a Weavers ſhuttle and a blaſt of wind, to lay up ſuch good things, as your eyes ſhall ſee, when you are laid down in the grave; lay up ſpiritual good things, lay up your portion in Chriſt, make him yours, and then when you die, and lie down in the grave, you may ſay, we have good things, yet to ſee; our beſt ſight is to come, even ſuch a ſight, as eye hath not ſeen. Such a ſight, as to which the glory of all the Princes of the world is a meer Pagean tree. And ſo much of Jobs Apoſtrophe to God.

The next verſe is a further deſcription of the ſtate of the dead.

Verſe 8. The eye of him that hath ſeen me ſhall ſee me no more; thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.

In the former verſe, Job had ſaid his own eyes ſhould ſee no more good, now he ſaith, that the eyes of others ſhall ſee him no more; The eye of him that hath ſeene me, ſhall ſee me no more. It is a great part of the glory and comfort which men take in the world, to be ſeen of men. As we take in our comfort by ſeeing, ſo Ponit bic duo, ut ſignificet quod non revertetur ad converſationem humanam, quae maximè conſiſt it in videre & videri. Viſus cum ſit ſubtilior, ſenſuum principatum tenet in vita ſenſibili. Aquin. Me quaere…t quem aſpiciant, bumanitus dictum.by being ſeen. No man would put himſelf into goodly cloathing were it not, that he goes abroad in company to be ſeen, and knows others will be looking upon him. Now as Job ſets forth the vanity of the creature and of this life, becauſe he ſhould ſee none of it, when he died, ſo, becauſe when he died, others ſhould ſee him no more, all his beauty, riches and good things, muſt be buried with him. There is an elegancy in putting theſe two together, to ſee and be ſeen. Death ſtops both, it takes us from ſeeing, and it takes us from being ſeen. As all the good we have will be hid from our eyes, ſo all our glory and excellency will be obſcured from the eyes of others in the dark chambers of the grave.

Thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.

Job ſpeaks of a three-fold eye. 1. Of his own eye, Mine eye ſhall ſee no more good. Verſe 7.

p. 6122. Of the eye of men, The eye of him that hath ſeen me ſhall ſee me no more.

3. Of the eye of God, Thine eyes are upon me; and I am not. He doth not ſay, Thine eyes are upon me, and thou ſhalt not ſee me. Gods eye looks into the grave, and can ſee there; when we are out of the eyes of men, we are in the eye of God; therefore he ſaith, Thine eyes are upon me, and I am not; as if he had ſaid, Lord, if thou ſhalt defer a little to help me, and then ſhouldeſt come to look for thy Job, I ſhall be dead, I ſhall be laid in the grave, I ſhall not be capable of remedy, if my remedy be deferr'd: it is too late to give a man a cordial when he is dead: Thou ſhalt Tuornm beneficiorum, ſi forte cupias (humanitus loquitur cum occulto queſtu neglectus ſui) uon ero capax. Cocc.not have a Job to helpe, if thou doſt not help him quickly. Some underſtand it in a ſpiritual ſence, Thine eyes are upon me, as if he ſhould ſay, Lord thine eyes are upon me, to ſearch me, and try out my wayes, and alas I am not, I am not able to ſtand before thy juſtice, before thy pure eyes, which can behold none iniquity. But rather take it as an appeal to God, whether or no he were not near death. Thou Lord ſeeſt I am as a dead man; as a man not to be numbred among the living. Therefore if thou wilt deliver me, let thy loving-kindneſſe ſpeedily prevent me, for I am brought very low. As a ſick man in ſome acute diſeaſe haſtens his Phyſitian, Sir, give me ſomewhat preſently, or I am gone, you cannot but ſee I am a borderer upon death. Thine eyes are upon me, and

I am not.

That is; I am not alive, I am not among the children of men. Not to be, doth not import a not-being, but a not appearing, I am not as I was, nor can I long be at all. Rachel wept for her children, becauſe they were not; Joſephs brethren ſaid to their Father, Joſeph is not; and Job himſelf in the 21. of this Chapter, explains this to be his ſence, Thou ſhalt ſeek me in the morning, and I ſhall not be; Death is a great devourer, it ſweeps all that appears of man, into the grave. The world ſhall no more enjoy him, nor he the world, this is mans not being, when he dies: as the two following verſes further explain by an elegant ſimilitude.

p. 613Verſe 9. As the cloud is conſumed and vaniſheth away; ſo he that goeth downe to the grave ſhall come up no more.

10. He ſhall return no more to his houſe; neither ſhall his place know him any more.

Job having moved the Lord to take notice of, and compaſſionate his tranſitory condition, his life being but like the haſtening wind. He gives us another compariſon to the ſame ſence and purpoſe; There, his life was but a wind, and here it is but a cloud, As the cloud is conſumed and vaniſheth away, ſo he that goeth down to the grave, ſhall come up no more, &c.

The cloud] in a naturall notion, is a thick and moiſt vapour, drawn up from the earth, by the heat of the Sunne to the middle region of the aire, and by the coldneſſe of that heavenly country (where ſnow and haile, &c. are made and ſtor'd up) is further condens'd, congeal'd and thickn'd, and ſo hangs or moves partly from natural cauſes, the Sunne and wind, but eſpecially by ſupernatural, the mighty power and appointment of God, like an huge mountain in the aire. To this cloud Job compares the vaniſhing eſtate of this life.

As the cloud (ſuch a cloud, as you ſee hanging in the aire) is foreignconſumed, or ſpent: The ſame word is uſed at the 6. Verſe, My life is ſpent without hope. A cloud comes to it's height, and then 'tis quickly diſperſt and vaniſheth away; The letter of the Hebrew foreign Ambulavit, ivit, & per metalepſin de rebus evaneſcentibus, intereunti bus, &c.is, It goeth or walketh away. The walke of the clouds is according to the walk of the winds, we cal it the Rack of the clouds. When the Heavens are (as it were) all masked with clouds, and a black vail or curtain drawn between us and the Sun, the winds in a little time diſſipate and ſcatter them.

It is uſual in Scripture to compare thoſe things, which are vaniſhing & ſuddenly conſumed, to clouds, In which ſence (Iſai. 44. 22.) the ſins of the Saints are compared to a cloud, and the pardoning of their ſins to this conſuming and ſcattering of the cloud, I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy tranſgreſſions, and as a cloud thy ſins. A cloud is but a kind of a blot in the pure parchment-roll of the skies, I am ſure a cloud of ſinne is a foule blot in the roll of our lives, Blot a fair writing, and you cannot read it, but blot out the blots, and then 'tis legible again: yet, the blotting out of ſinne, intimates it fair written, as an evidence or a record againſt us, p. 614till a pardon blots it out. In which ſence, Chriſt is ſaid to have blotted out the hand-writing of Ordinances that was against us, Col. 2. 14. Thy ſins (O Iſrael, ſo the Lord ſeems to ſpeak in the Prophet) are as a cloud to hinder the ſhining of the light of my countenance upon thee: like blots, they hinder thee, from reading the evidences of my favour, or they ſtand like evidences of guilt againſt thee. But I have blotted out this cloud, that is, I have pardon'd thy ſins, and by the breath of my favour and free grace, ſcatter'd thy tranſgreſſions, with all the evils and ſequels, which they naturally bring forth. So that, now the light ſhines fair and warm upon thee; the evidences, which were againſt thee, cannot be read, and thou mayeſt read the evidences of my love, and mercy towards thee. The ſins of the Saints are but vaniſhing clouds, whereas ſin in it ſelfe, and the ſins of all thoſe, who are out of Chriſt, are an abiding cloud, they are a cloud firme and immoveable, like a mountain of braſs, or a rock of ſtone. Sins make ſuch a cloud, as no power in Heaven or earth is able to conſume, but the power of mercy, and a gale of love, breathing through the covenant of Grace.

And, as the life of man is compared by Job to a cloud, ſo, to that which is the matter of the cloud, by the Apoſtle James, Chap. 4. verſe 14. where he puts the queſtion, what's the life of man? Is it not (ſaith he) even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vaniſheth away? A vapour is exhaled from the earth by the heat of the Sunne, and is the matter out of which the cloud is made. Mans life is not only like a cloud, which is more condenſe and ſtrong, but like thoſe thin vapours, ſometimes obſerved ariſing from mooriſh grounds, which are the original of clouds, and more vaniſhing then clouds. Even theſe, are but vaniſhing enough, to ſhadow the vaniſhing, decaying, quickly diſ-appearing life of man. As the cloud conſumes and vaniſhes, (the next words ſpeak out the mind of the compariſon.)

So he that goeth down to the grave, ſhall come up no more.

The grave is a deſcent; And the word which is here uſed for the grave, is Sheol, about which many diſputes are raiſed among the learned: The root of it ſignifies to deſire, or to crave with earneſtneſs, and the reaſon given is, becauſe the grave is always craving and asking; Though the grave hath devoured the bodies of millions of men, yet it is as hungry as it was the firſt morſel, ſtill it is asking and craving: The grave is numbred among thoſe things p. 615which are not ſatisfied, Prov. 30. 16. In the Greeke of the new Teſtament, it is tranſlated Hades, which by change of letters, ſome form out of the Hebrew Adam, and Adamah the earth, unto which God condemned fallen man to returne, Gen. 3. 19. We find this word Sheol, taken five wayes in Scripture.

1. Strictly and properly for the place of the damned, Prov. 15.

II. Hell and deſtruction are before the Lord, how much more foreignthen all the hearts of the children of men. God looks through the darkneſs of hell, which is utter darkneſs.Tam infernus quam ſepulchrum foreign, Sept. Status mortuorum vel ſepalchrum, nam ut anima de corpore foreign de ſepulchro uſurpatur, Pſ. 16. Druſ.Ps 16

2. It is put Metaphorically, for great and extream dangers, or miſeries which ſeem irrecoverable and remedileſs; theſe are figuratively called hell, becauſe hell properly taken, is a place from whence there is no recovery; There's no releaſe from the chaines of darkneſſe, all changes are on earth, Heaven and hell know none: When David praiſes the Lord (Pſalm 86. 13.) for delivering his ſoul from the loweſt hell; he meaneth an eſtate on earth, of the loweſt and deepeſt danger imaginable; Mercy helpt him at the worſt. To be as low as hell, is to be at the loweſt.

3. The word ſignifies the lower parts of the earth, without relation to puniſhment. Pſal. 139. 8. If I go down into hell thou art there. He had ſaid before, if I aſcend up into Heaven thou art there; by Heaven he meanes the upper Region of the world, without any reſpect to the eſtate of bleſſedneſſe; and hell is the moſt oppoſite and remote in diſtance, without reſpect to miſery. As is he had ſaid, let me go whither I will, thy preſence finds me out.

4. It is taken for the ſtate of the dead, whether thoſe dead are in the grave or no, Pſal. 30. 3. Iſa. 38. 18, 19. Gen. 37. 35. In all which places, to go out of the world, is to go to Sheol. Jacob in the text alledged, Gen. 37. 35. ſaid, he would go down into the grave to his ſon, mourning; yet Jacob thought his Son was devoured by a wild beaſt, he could not goe down into the grave to his ſon, for the bowels of a wild beaſt was his ſuppoſed grave, but he meaneth only this, I wil even die, as he is dead. So Numb. 16. 33. where that dreadful judgement of God upon Korah, Dathan and Abiram is ſtoried, it is ſaid, that they, their ſheep and their oxen, and their tents, and all went down into Sheol, that is, they were all devoured and ſwallowed up. But

5. Sheol ſignifies the place where the body is layed after death, namely, the grave, Prov. 30. 16. Man hath a demenſion of earth p. 616fitted to the dimenſions of his body; this portion or allotment is his Sheol. Yet, it ſignifies the grave only in generall, as it is natural to man-kind, not that grave which is artificial and proper to any particular man, this the Hebrew expreſſes by another **foreignword: He that goeth down to the grave, goes to his long home, to a houſe out of which he is never able to ſee or make his way, and Ainſw. in Gen. 37.Gen 37therefore it followes;

He ſhall come up no more. No? that's ſad news indeed, to go down to the grave and come up no more. Are all the hopes of man ſhut up in the grave? and is there an utter end of him when his life ends? Shall he come up no more?

Many of the Greek writers tax Job as not acquainted with the doctrine of the Reſurrection, as if he either knew not that myſtery, or doubted, at this time, of it: And ſome of the Rabbins ſay plainly, Hic abnegat Iob reſuſcitationem mortuorum. Rab. Sol. Non negatur reſurrectio ad vitam, ſed ad ſimilem vitam, Pined.he denied it: But he is ſo cleare in the 19^th Chapter, that we need not think him ſo much as cloudy here: And if we look a little farther, himſelf will give us the comment of this text: When he ſaith, he ſhall come up no more, it is not a denyal of a dying mans reſurrection to life, but of his reſtitution to the ſame life, or to ſuch a life as he parted with at the graves mouth: They who die a natural death, ſhall not live a natural life again; therefore he addeth in the next verſe;

Verſe 10. He ſhall return no more to his houſe.

He doth not ſay abſolutely, he ſhall return no more, but he ſhall return no more to his houſe, he ſhall have no more to do with this world, with worldly buſineſſes or contentments, with the labour or comforts of the creature, or of his Family; He ſhall return no more to his houſe.

But ſome may ſay, how doth this anſwer the compariſon, That as the cloud is conſumed and vaniſheth away, ſo he that goeth down to the grave, ſhall come up no more; for we find another deſcription of clouds, Eccleſ. 12. 2. where the text ſaith, that, the clouds return after raine: So that it ſeems, though clouds vaniſh and are conſumed, yet they returne and come againe. The clouds are like bottles full of raine, or ſpunges full of water, God cruſhes theſe ſpunges, or unſtops theſe bottles, and they are emptied, and in emptying vaniſh away: but yet Solomon affirms, the clouds return after raine, how then doth Job ſay, that as the cloud vaniſheth, ſo man goeth to the grave and returns no more?

p. 617In that place of Eccleſiaſtes, Solomon is only giving us a deſcription of old age, and the ſad condition of man in it; he calleth it the evil day; and wiſheth men would be wiſe to conſider their latter end, remembring their Creatour, and laying up a good foundation, before thoſe evil dayes overtake them, before the light of the Sun, and Moon, and Stars be darkened, and the clouds return after the raine; In old age, the clouds returne after the raine, thus: as in ſome very wet time, when we think it hath rained ſo much, as might have ſpent and quite exhauſted the clouds, or drawn thoſe bottles dry, yet you ſhall ſee them return again, it wil rain day after day as faſt as ever; ſo in old age, when rheumes diſtil ſo freely, that you would think an old man had emptied himſelfe of all, yet the clouds will return again, and flouds of watery humours overflow. Thus the clouds of old age returne; And in this ſence the clouds of the ayre returne, after they are conſumed and ſpent into raine: But how doth a cloud return? not the ſame cloud numerically, that cloud, which was diſſolved doth not return; the ſame Sunne goes down, and vaniſheth out of our ſight in the Evening, and returneth again, the ſame individual and numerical Sun, in the morning; but that numerical cloud which vaniſhed, comes not again: Thus man vaniſheth, and returns as the clouds return after the raine, that is, after one generation Si id quod nunquam fui…, nunc eſt, quomodo quod nunc eſt, poſt interritum dcnuo fore negatur? Nam ſi hoc mirum, illud magis mirum videturof men are dead, they return again in their children, another generation ſprings up: other return to life there is none, till all ſhal return at the general judgement of quick and dead. As now we are, who never were, ſo all ſhal return, who were, but are not. It was a witty anſwer of a learned Jew, diſputing with a heathen Philoſopher, who oppoſed the Reſurrection: If that (ſaith he) which never was in the world, now is; is it ſtrange, that, that which now is, ſhould be again, after it is not in the world? If this be a wonder, the other is much more wonderful.

Neither ſhall his place know him any more.

His place, may be taken three wayes. Firſt, For the calling and condition of a man in this life, that's the place of a man, a mans Calling is his place. Or ſecondly, Locally for his houſe or inheritance, where he dwelt; he ſhall come to that place no more. Or thirdly, Place is taken for dignity, magiſtracy, for the eminency of a mans calling, therefore we ſay of a Magiſtrate or a man in honour, he hath a Great place, or he is a man of place and Rank, in all p. 618theſe ſenſes, his place ſhall know him no more.

His place ſhall not know him. That's an elegancy of the holy language. Places are without life and without ſenſe, much more without knowledge; knowing is an act of reaſon, how is it then ſaid, his place ſhall know him no more? Did it ever know him? Ther's a double figure in it: Some underſtand it by an Hypallage, or tranſmutation of the words, his place ſhall know him no more, that is, he ſhall know his place no more. So that is expounded (Pſal. 103. 16.) The place thereof ſhall know it no more, ſpeaking of man paſſing away like a wind. So Pſal. 37. 10. Thou ſhalt diligently conſider his place, and it ſhall not be; his place ſhall not be; places continue while the world continues; Then, his place ſhal not be, is, he ſhall not be in his place. Or ſecondly, underſtand it by a Proſopopeia, (frequent in Scripture) which is the imitation of life, by things without life: when a place takes upon it the perſon of a man, or when a place acts or imitates the ſpeech of a man: ſence and reaſon are often aſcribed to things without life, and ſo the meaning of, his place ſhall know him no more, may be Quoſi diceret, ipſae res inanima quae ſerviura & parent ad nutum mortalibus, mortuis tamen null uſui ſunt, Illos non agnoſcunt dominos. Ea enim eſt vis verbi cognoſcendi & non cognoſcendi.conceived thus: When a man lives and comes home to his houſe, his houſe (as it were) welcomes him home, and his place is glad to entertain him; as in the Pſalme, the little hils are ſaid to rejoyce at the ſhowers, ſo, when a man comes home, his houſe and all he hath, have as it were, a tongue to bid him welcome, and open armes to receive and embrace him; but when he dies, he ſhall return no more, and then his place ſhall know him (that is, receive him) no more.

Obſerve from this briefly (becauſe it is a ſimilitude of the ſame importance with that opened in the former words) firſt,

That death is the concluſion of all worldly comforts and relations. As the cloud vaniſheth and returneth not, ſo (in that ſence) there is an utter concluſion of man, he is gone, and there is no returning; God by his almighty power, hath fetched back ſome, and the vaniſhing clouds have been brought again: ſo Lazarus (and others at the death of Chriſt) was raiſed from the grave; but in a natural way, death ſeizeth all faſt for ever: your places, your relations, your credits, your Friends ſhall know you no more, or give you farther entertainment. Secondly obſerve;

That God hath given us not only the book of Scripture, but the book of the creature, therein to learn and read our own frailty and mortality. The creatures preach what man is, and that is a p. 619reaſon why the holy Ghoſt ſpends ſo much time; and is ſo frequent in giving us the meaſure of our ſelves by creatures; theſe are every houre in our eye, we meet with, and ſee, and handle, and feel them continually: The wind, the vapours, the clouds, ſet forth what we are, When I conſider (ſaid David, Pſal. 8. 3. 4.) the Heavens, the work of thy fingers, the Moone, and the Starres which thou haſt ordained, what is man that thou art mindfull of him? To conſider the greatneſſe of the works of God, ſhould abaſe man; it ſhould amaze us, to remember, that God hath made ſuch things for our uſe, who are our ſelves ſo uſeleſſe (in compariſon of what we ought) to God. And when man conſiders the Heavens and the earth, and weighs how many things there are in them, which ſet forth his frailty, he hath reaſon to cry out, O Lord what is man? Man is but a wind, a cloud, a vapour, even ſuch a thing, as I ſee moſt periſhing and vaniſhing in the whole compaſſe of the creation. Pſalm. 19. 1. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament ſheweth his handy work▪ The heavens are excellent creatures, and full of glorious wonders, they ſpeake the power and wiſdome of God, they ſhew forth his handy work, they can be the work of none, but of God only; The clouds alſo ſhew forth the handy work and power of God, Pſal. 147. 8. Who covereth the heavens with clouds: The hand of God drawes thoſe curtaines, and puts that maske upon the face of Heaven.

But as the heavens declare the glory of God, ſo they publiſh and declare the weakneſſe of man, the vapours and the winds ſhew forth, how fraile he is: As the inviſible things of God, to wit, his eternall power and Godhead, are ſeen in the things which are made; God is (as it were) viſible in the creatures; ſo likewiſe the frailty and mutability, the weakneſſe and inconſtancy of man, is viſible in the things, which are created; we may reade a lecture of our own tranſitorineſſe, in the moſt tranſitory texts of nature: And that is an admirable contrivance and complication of things, that out of the very ſame text of the creature, where the infinite wiſdom & power of God may be learned, man alſo may learn his own frailty: He that ſtudies the creature much, ſhall find much of God and of himſelfe, Some conceive when Iſaac (Gen, 24. 63.) went forth into the field to meditate, that he ſtudied the booke of the creatures, probably the holy man did ſo, but, we are ſure he might. How will it ſhame thoſe men at laſt, who know not God p. 620not themſelves, when they have or might have had (without coſt or travell) ſo many tutors and inſtructers.