Exposition of Job 8-10, Commentary on Job · Chapter 9 · Verses 5-10 · Verse 9
Verſe 9. Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the South.
In the verſe immediately before, we heard of the power of God in ſtretching out the heavens; and in this we have his excellent skill, and infinite wiſdome diſplaied in adorning, decking and beautifying thoſe heavens which he had ſtretched forth. He hath not only drawn out a vaſt piece of work,In aſtrorū pulchritudine, ſitu, ordine, vi, ſtupendiſo in haec infortora operationibus, admirabilis prorſus creatoris magnificentia & magnitudo plurimū clucet. Bold. like a large Canopy (ſuch are the heavens) but he hath embroidered this Canopy, and ſet it with rich ſparkling ſtones; he hath made ſeverall engravings, images, figures, and repreſentations upon it.
Or we may make the connexion with the later clauſe of the former verſe. Job having ſaid that the Lord treadeth upon the high waves of the ſea; that when the ſeas are moſt ſtormy and tempeſtuous, they are at his command, and that their confuſions are under his Empire and order; he adds this verſe by way of anſwer to a poſſible objection. For ſome might ſay, the motion of the ſeas is from the power and influences of the ſtars,Cum multa ſint aſtra hominibus & fluctibus infenſa, eorum praecipuè mem… nit, quorum vis ad ciendas tempeſtates hominibus magis eſt explorata. San. from the riſing and ſetting of the moon, with other planets and conſtellations. True, ſaith Job, yet the Lord is he that treadeth upon the waves of the ſea, it is the Lord that orders them, and not the ſtars: Though the ſtars and conſtellations have a dominion over the ſeas in their ebbings and flowings, motions and revolutions, yet there is a Lord who hath power, not only over the ſeas, but over that which over-powers the ſeas, even over the ſtars of heaven. He maketh Arcturus, Orion and Pleiades, and the chambers of the South; which ſtars, according to the doctrine of Aſtronomy, have a ſpeciall power upon the ſeas.
Either of theſe waies we may make the connexion.
Firſt, That Job would expreſſe the adorning of the heavens, after he had ſpoken of their making and ſtretching forth.
Or ſecondly, He would teach us, that though the heavens work upon the ſeas, yet God works upon the heavens. He maketh Arcturus, Orion and Pleiades, and the chambers of the South.
I ſhall endeavour to ſpeak of theſe diſtinctly; The holy Ghoſt giving us ſuch a Text, it is not lightly to be paſſed by: And though here are ſtrange words and uncouth expreſſions, yet we may (I hope) bring them down to an eaſie meaning, and fit them to the underſtanding of the ſimpleſt.
I ſhall touch a little in the generall before I come to every one in particular.
Iob under theſe names couches many of the ſtars of heaven.Stella eſt denſior pars orbis: ideo lucent aſtra, non coeli, quia hi diaphani ſunt, & rari, aſ…ra autem denſa, eo que lucem retinentia, & reflectentia Migir. Phyſ. A Star (according to Philoſophy) is the thicker part of its orb …r ſphear; it is thicker then other parts of the heavens; for otherwiſe as it could not hold the light, ſo it could not reflect and ſend forth the light; It could not be a veſſel for light, or a conveiance for light. Light was created the firſt day (Gen. 1.3.) but the lights were created the fourth day (Gen. 1.14.) that is, certain veſſels were created to hold the light. And God ſaid, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven; that is, let the light which is now ſcattered thorow all, be gathered in certain receptacles, fit to keep, and yet fitted to tranſmit and diſperſe it into all parts of the world, Let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light, verſ. 15.
Of theſe lights or ſtars, ſome are called moving, and others fixed. That's the doctrine of Aſtronomers, and it is the doctrine of the Scripture. The Apoſtle Iude (ver. 13.) calling ſome wandering ſtars, ſeems to admit of that diſtinction of the ſtars, into wandering and fixed. The unfixt or wandering ſtars are ſeven, known by their names and motions. Theſe in the Text are none of them; theſe are placed above them.
The ſeat of theſe Aſteriſmes, is in the eighth ſphear (to take that doctrin for granted, though many diſpute it) or ſtory of the heavens (ſo the Prophet Amos ſpeaks, Chap. 9.2. He buildeth his ſtories in the heavens; we put in the margent, ſphears, He build…th his sphears in the heavens, which being one above another, are elegantly called the ſtories of heaven.) And in the eight ſphear innumerable ſtars are fixed. Some of which fall under ſpeciall obſervation and numeration. Aſtronomers give us a Catalogue of a thouſand three and twenty ſtars, which they exactly diſtinguiſh; which is the ancient account. And ſince that we have had many more diſcoveries by thoſe noble Navigatours, who have made thorow-lights to the world, that the Eaſt might look into the Weſt, and the South into the North: The travell, ſtudy and experiments of theſe Maſters in navigation have brought us in an additionall number of three hundred ſtars more. And ſo we reckon a thouſand three hundred, and twenty three fixed ſtars known by name; of which theſe in the text are a part.
Th… other ſtars are both innumerable and unnameable, beyond number and without name. Hence when the Lord ſhewed Abraham how great his ſeed ſhould be, he carries him out, and bids him look toward heaven, and tell the ſtars, if he were able to number them, Gen. 15.5.
The ſtars (to come a little nearer the Text) obſerved and numbred by Students in this great volume of the heavens, are diſtinguiſhed into fourty and one images or repreſentations, whereof ſome (for learnings ſake) are fancied the images of men and women, others the images of beaſts and fiſhes,Omnes hae ſtellarum imagines non tantum ordine & ſitu, verum etiam certis nominibus inter ſe diſtinctae ſunt. others the images of things without life. Of theſe images, twelve are in the Zodiaque, commonly called the twelve ſigns. In the Southern part of the ſphear eleven of thoſe ſigns are placed, and in the Northern eighteen, which added to twelve in the Zodiaque, make up the number of fourty and one.
Now, when it is ſaid in the Text, That God makes Arcturus, Orion and Pleiades, and the chambers of the South. We are not to take them for ſo many diſtinct and particular ſtars, but for conſtellations, or configurations, becauſe they ſtand in ſuch a form or figure: and ſo for the better knowledge of them they are called by the names of ſuch creatures as they ſeem to repreſent.
We have three of thoſe ſpeciall figures here in the Text, and one more generall. Arcturus, Orion and Pleiades are three figures, or ſtarry repreſentations in the eighth ſphear. I will open their Hebrew names. As alſo the Latine and Greek names, uſed commonly in tranſlations, by which we ſhall get a clearer underſtanding in the nature of the things themſelves.
Which maketh Arcturus.
The word Gneſh in Hebrew,foreign Congregare, conglobare, huic respondet Graecum verbum foreign, quod eſt, commeare, vel undiqua que convenire. Arcturus ſtella eſt in cauda minoris urſae, & Septentrio dicitur, foreign, ab urſinae caudae ſimilitudine. foreign Conſtantiam, robur, vel inconſtantiam ſignificat, quod ejus ortus tempeſtatibus orbem variè turbat. Bold. ſignifies a meeting or congregating of many things together, becauſe in that one, many ſtars are joined. Arcturus in Greek is as much as to ſay, The tail of the Bear, becauſe the ſtars called Arcturus ſtand in a figure like the tail of a Bear.
The ſecond Aſteriſme, which we tranſlate Orion, is called in the Hebrew (Cheſil) and that ſignifies either conſtancy or inconſtancy (the ſenſe runs both waies) ſetledneſſe or variableneſſe. And it is applied to this ſtarre or conſtellation in either ſenſe.
Firſt, For conſtancy or ſetledneſſe, becauſe there is much ſtrength in the influences of that conſtellation.
Or, ſecondly, For inconſtancy and unſetlednes,Ʋnde November Haebraicè dicitur Chiſlu, ab ortu Orionis, quod eo menſe magna fit Coeli inconſtantia: Arabicè vocatur Algeuſe, i. e bellator: à Chaldaeis Algebar, i. e. Gigas. foreign. Audax, vehemens, ardens Orion. Plin. lib. 18. cap. 25. foreign Graecis eſt turbo, concito. Pagn. in Theſ. Dum pelago deſaevit hyems & aquoſus Orion. becauſe it is obſerved, that upon the riſing of this ſtarre, there is much variety, changeableneſſe and unſetledneſſe in the weather. Hence the Jews call that monethmonth which anſwers to our November, or the ninth monethmonth, Chiſlu (Zec. 7.1.) becauſe that monethmonth was uſually very ſtormy and the weather changeable, Orion then ariſing in their Haemisphear. The Arabick word (Algeuſe) by which this Aſteriſme is named, ſignifies a warriour; and the Chaldee (Algebar) a Giant, all aiming at the furious, boiſterous windes which uſually attend the appearing of this conſtellation. And ſo the Greek word from which Orion commeth,Quidā Pleiades dicta putant, quaſi foreign, i. e. plures, quod nunquam ſingula apparent. Pleiades, foreign, …avigare ſignifies to trouble or to diſturb. And its uſuall Epithetes are bold, vehement, impetuous Orion, all betraying its unquiet and various temper.
The third ſtarry aſſociation we call Pleiades, the Hebrews, Chimah. This is a very cold conſtellation. The Greeks expreſſe winter by this word, becauſe it brings in froſt and cold with it. The derivation of the Hebrew name is very obſcure.Cur vocatur Chimah libentèr fateor me neſcire. Bold. Quidam deducunt à foreign Chaldaicum, quod denotat rē elevatam ſtabiliter & in ſublime firmiter erectam, quia eſt inſtar cardinis, quaſi polus aut vertex mundi. Alij a foreign quod eſt defiderare, in rem aliquam tendere, quia Nautae affectant videre hoc ſignum. Some profeſſedly acknowledge their ignorance, that they cannot tell how to derive it; yet ſome dig the root of it in the Chaldee, ſignifying firm. Others in the Hebrew, ſignifying to deſire, or earneſtly to wiſh for a thing; and the reaſon of it is (ſay they) becauſe theſe ſtars (the Pleiades) the ſeven ſtars we often ſpeak of, are much deſired by Sea-men, for ſeeing them, they have a perfect rule to guide and ſteer their courſe by. And it is an obſervation among ſome of the Rabbins, that Noah had a little window in the top of his Ark, that from thence he might (when the waters began to aſſwage, and the ſtreſſe of the deluge was over) look up to the heavens, and know by thoſe ſtars what courſe his Ark made. Thus much we know, that the ſtars are the Sea-mens night-guide, and the riſing of ſome of them fals under their more ſpeciall obſervation.
The fourth title of the ſtars is,*foreign Interiora auſtri. Nam De… ex ipſis promptuariis, quaſi de theſauris ſuis quoſdam educit ventos, & per ipſos mirabiles fiderum illorum influxus, intelligit aeſtiva ſi dera, ut eſt Canicula, &c. Quae quia ad Polum Antarcticum sp…ctant (qu… velut i…ſe rior ſubeſt Hor…zonti no… ropenetratium Auſtri ſid ravocantur, quaſi in penetralibus mundi a nobis ab condita. The chambers of the South. And why, The chambers of the South? The continent is put for the things contained. The word which we tranſlate Chambers, ſignifies any thing that is very inward or retired, and therefore tranſlated a chamber, Judg. 15.1. and Cant. 3.4. Mans ſpirit is thus expreſſed, becauſe it lies ſo farre inward (Prov. 24.4.) By knowledge ſhall the chambers be filled; that is, the moſt ſecret parts of the ſoul ſhall be filled by knowledge. Prov. 18.8. The inward part of the belly. Prov. 7.27. They goe down to the chambers of death; that is, to the inmoſt and moſt retired waies of death, the grave. Here, The chambers of the South are the moſt remote, hidden and ſecret parts of the South. And the reaſon why after he had expreſt the other conſtellations by ſpeciall names, he gives us theſe only in generall [The chambers of the South] is, becauſe the ſtars which are under the Southern pole, are hidden from us, and are encloſed & lodged as in a chamber: God locks them up in his treaſury, and they are ſecrets to this part of the world; the ſouthern Pole being under or below our Horizon. In the artificiall ſphears of heaven we finde few Aſteriſmes or deſcriptions of the ſtarres about thoſe parts; there are many, but we perceive them not. And the vertue and operation of theſe chambered, hidden ſtars, is as ſtrong, as of thoſe, which appear in greateſt luſtre and beauty.
Again, When he ſaith, Which maketh Arcturus &c. his meaning is, Which makes them appear, or do their office. Theſe ſtars were made when the heavens were made, and Jobs diſcourſe is not about creation, but providence. So that to make Arcturus, &c. in the ſenſe of this Text, is only this, to order the times of their riſing and ſetting, to diſtinguiſh the ſeaſons of the year, and to produce their ſeverall effects in every ſeaſon, which providentiall acts are here eſpecially aimed at. Thus he maketh Arcturus to riſe, about the middle of September, which is the time of the Equinox, when the civill day and night are even, and ſhare the hours of the naturall day equally between them. Or, as others account, this ſtar riſes about eleven daies before the Equinox. So, by Arcturus we may underſtand that ſeaſon of the year: And he maketh Arcturus, is, he orders and diſpoſeth of the ſeaſon, commonly called Autumn. Orion ſhines forth in our Hemisphear, about the monethmonth of December, and by that, winter is deſigned. The Pleiades begin at the ſpring, therefore called Vergiliae, becauſe they ariſe (vere) in the ſpring, and diſappear or go down toward winter. The chambers of the South, are fiery ſtars, which have their chief influence upon us in heat of Summer.
And ſo we may put the Text into theſe plain expreſſions, He maketh Arcturus, Orion and Pleiades, and the chambers of the South. That is,
Firſt, He makes and orders Summer and winter, ſpring and harveſt, becauſe theſe ſtars divide the four ſeaſons of the year.
Or, ſecondly, thus, He makes hot and cold, wet and dry, ſtorm and calm.
Or, thirdly, as theſe fo… conſtellations are aſſigned to the four chief points of heaven. Arcturus is known by all, who know any thing in the heavens, to be ſeated about the Northern Pole, whoſe oppoſites are thoſe ſtars in the chambers of the South. Orion dwels in the Eaſt, and the Pleiades in the Weſt.
So the plain Engliſh of the words is this, That the Lord by his mighty power and wiſdome ordereth and appointeth the motions of heaven, from Eaſt to West, from North to South.
Laſtly, To clear up the ſenſe of this Text, we muſt underſtand theſe four conſtellations Synecdochically, theſe being put for all the reſt; For as God orders theſe, ſo every ſtar in the firmament; the leaſt are under his eie, and at his diſpoſe, as well as the greateſt. But becauſe theſe are the moſt eminent, uſefull and efficacious in their appearances, motions and influences, therefore theſe are named, He maketh Arcturus, Orion and Pleiades, and the chambers of the South.
We may obſerve from the words thus opened divers profitable inſtructions.
Firſt, All the ſtars are placed in the heavens by the ſpeciall deſignment of God for the uſe and good of man.
Moſes (Deut. 4.19.) gives a caution to Iſrael from the Lord, that they ſhould take heed of imitating the Heathens in their abominations, and this is one particular, Leſt thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou ſeeſt the Sunne, and the Moon, and the ſtars, even all the hoſt of heaven, ſhouldeſt be driven to worſhip them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all Nations under the whole heaven. Obſerve that, The Lord thy God hath divided them unto all Nations under heaven; Therefore take heed that thou do not worſhip them. They are the work of God, they are creatures; and worſhip, which is proper to the Creatour, muſt not be given to them. It is a remarkable Text, Leſt (ſaith he) thou ſhouldeſt be driven to worſhip them. How driven? Not by externall force and power, but driven by the ſtrong inclination of thine heart, raviſhed with ſuch beautifull objects. The excellency that is in the works of God hath power to draw, yea to drive the heart of man to commit idolatry. Job ſhews this, while he acquits himſelf ſo induſtriouſly from it (Chap. 31.26, 27.) If I beheld the Sunne when it ſhined, or the Moon walking in brightneſſe, and my heart hath been ſecretly enticed, or my mouth had kiſſed my hand; this alſo were an iniquity to be puniſhed by the Iudge, &c. Some tranſlate that (Deut. 4.) in this language of Iob, Leſt thou be deceived t… worſhip the Sunne, Moon and ſtars, and hoſt of heaven: this is very conſiderable: but the thing I chiefly note in that Scripture to the point in hand, is this, That the Lord hath made and appointed the ſtars to the ſeverall parts of the heavens, he hath divided them to all Nations under the whole heaven. Some ſtars are the portion of one people, others of another. As the earth is an inheritance divided among the children of men; ſo alſo are the ſtars and heavens.Per hanc diviſionem intelligit ordinem & morum planetarū, qui in ſuis orbibus ita diſponuntur, ut unaquae que regio ſuo tempore eorum gaudeat influxibus. Pined. We ſeldom conſider what riches we receive from that part of our inheritance; moſt think they live by the earth only; No, ſaith Moſes, The Lord hath divided the heavens, the Sunne, Moon and Stars, unto all Nations under heaven. He hath ſetled it, what ſtarre ſuch a Land ſhall have, and in what ſeaſons, as alſo what proportions of the Sunne and Moon, for light, heat and influence. He hath made them for the children of men. Man is fed and cloathed, warmed and cheriſhed from heaven more then from the earth: and the lot and diviſions which we have of the earth, are naturally and uſually good or bad, rich or barren, pleaſant or unpleaſant, healthy or unwholſome, according as the aſpects of the heaven and ſtars, are more or leſſe benigne, or favourable unto them. Moſes (Deut. 29.26.) reproves the ingratitude of the Jews by this argument, Becauſe they went and ſerved other gods, and worſhipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given to them. So we tranſlate. But the letter of the Hebrew gives it thus; who had not given to them, or divided among them any portion. As if Moſes had ſaid, The Lord divided and gave the heavens and the ſtars among you, and theſe baſe dunghill-gods never gave you ſo much as a clod of earth, and will ye depart from Jehovah to ſerve them?
Secondly, Obſerve, God knoweth the number, the names and the nature of all the ſtars.
He gives them ſpeciall names. Theſe in the tranſlation are names of mans impoſition. Yet the holy Ghoſt uſes Heatheniſh names in the new Teſtament (Act. 28.11.) we read of a Ship, in which Paul ſailed to Rome, whoſe ſign was Castor and Pollux, two Pagan Sea-gods. It is ſaid, that God brought all the beaſts of the earth to Adam, that he ſhould give them names; but he brought not the hoſt of heaven to Adam, that he ſhould give them names, he named them himſelf, Pſal. 147.4. He telleth the number of the ſtars, he calleth them all by their names. Men are not able to tell the number of the ſtars; they tell diſtinctly but to a thouſand three hundered, or a few more, and they are not able to tell all theſe by diſtinct names, but they are conſtrained to reckon them by conſtellations, where a whole family of ſtars are called by one name. The Lord hath made it his ſpeciall priviledge to tell the number of the ſtars, and to call them all by their names. And theſe are named in the Text for all the reſt. Obſerve,
Thirdly, Some ſtars are more excellent, of greater vertue and name then others; when theſe are named, it is for ſpeciall reaſon. The Lord nameth theſe, as ſtars of more then ordinary dignity. Theſe are in degree next to the Sunne and Moon: when a few are named for many, we uſually name the chiefeſt: as the whole people of the Jews are ſet forth by the heads of their Tribes, by the Chiefs; and when a Nation is ſpoken of, it is by thoſe greater names, the Magistrates and the Miniſters. Theſe are named, becauſe they have moſt to doe, and the greateſt buſineſſe in a Nation. So theſe ſtars are here named, becauſe they are of ſpeciall uſe and influence. The Apoſtle gives us this clearly (1 Cor. 15.41.) There is one glory of the Sunne, another of the Moon, and another glory of the Starres; for one ſtar differeth from another ſtar in glory. One ſtar hath a more honourable name then another. Some ſtarres God doth not vouchſafe to name particularly to us, when others, which are of greater glory, are. As in a building, ſome parts of it are chief, The foundation, the top ſtone, the corner ſtone; the ſtrength and beauty of the whole building are comprehended under theſe. God hath made differences and degrees in all creatures; in the heavenly as well as earthly. The names of moſt ſtars are concealed, as being of a lower degree. And we finde that whenſoever in Scriptare ſtars are ſpoken of, ſcarce any are named but theſe, and theſe are often named, which implies their ſuperiority and dignity. The Prophet urges this as an argument of humbleſt addreſſes unto, and dependance upon God. (Amos 5.8.) Seek him that maketh the ſeven ſtars (that is, Pleiades) and Orion, and turneth the ſhadow of death into the morning, &c. He doth not ſay, Seek him that maketh all the ſtars, the Lord made all. But becauſe he hath given ſo much vertue and excellency to theſe, theſe only are reported as of his making. Here, Which maketh Arcturus: (there) Seek him which maketh the ſeven ſtars; As if he had ſaid, In thoſe ſtars God hath laid out much of himſelf, and made his power and wiſdome moſt viſible: How much hath God in himſelf, who hath communicated ſo much to one ſenſleſſe creature?
And though ſtars differ thus one from another, yet they envy not one another. Which leſſons us to be content, though God make our names leſſe named in the world, than the names of many of our brethren; though he truſt more talents to, or put more light into others, than into our ſelves. One ſtar differs from another ſtar in glory, but no ſtar envies anothers glory.
Fourthly, Job being about to declare the power and wiſdome of God, gives inſtance (among other things) in this, He maketh Arcturus, Orion, &c. Then obſerve,
The power and wiſdome of God ſhine eminently in the ſtars.
The power and wiſdome of God ſhine in every graſſe that grows out of the ground, yea in every clod of earth much more then in the ſtars of heaven. Much of God is ſeen in thoſe works of God; yea, ſo much, that many have been drawn to make them gods. There is ſo much of God ſeen in the heavens, that not only Heathens, who had not the true knowledge of God: but his Covenant-people, who knew him, and whom he knew above all the Families of the earth, have been drawn away to worſhip the hoſt of heaven. That place before cited (Deut. 4.) hinteth as much, Take heed, leſt when thou lifteſt up thine eyes to heaven, and ſeeſt the Sunne, and the Moon, and the ſtars, even all the hoſt of heaven, thou ſhouldeſt be driven to worſhip them and ſerve them. If thou lift up thine eies to the ſtars, and not higher, even to God who made the ſtars, thou wilt quickly miſtake the ſtars for God, or make the ſtars thy god; the heart of man is mad upon idolatry. Read how often the Jews are taxed with this ſinne, 2 King. 21.3. and in 2 King. 17.16. and in Amos 5.26. which clears this truth, that much of the power and wiſdome of God is ſtamped upon the ſtars; if God did not much appear in the ſtars, ſo many had not taken the ſtars for God, or given them, which is proper and peculiar to God, religious worſhip.
There are five or ſix things which ſhew the power of God and his wiſdome in making of the ſtars.
Firſt, The greatneſſe of the Stars; ſuch vaſt bodies ſhew an infinite power in their conſtitution. It is incredible to ordinary reaſon (unleſſe men have skill and learning to make it out, and to lay the courſe of nature together) that the ſtars are ſo great. The Sunne is reckoned by Aſtronomers to be one hundred ſixty ſix times bigger than all the earth. The Moon indeed, which is called a great light, is thirty nine times leſſe then the earth, yet that magnitude is farre beyond common apprehenſion. Some other of the planets are almoſt an hundred times bigger then the earth. And whereas the fixed ſtars are diſtinguiſhed into ſix magnitudes, or differences of greatneſſe. Thoſe of the firſt magnitude (which are many) are conceived to be one hundred and ſeven times bigger then the whole earth. We look upon a ſtar, as if it were no bigger then the blaze of a Candle, and the Countrey-man wonders if the Moon be bigger then his buſhell, or broader then his Cart-wheel. If the moſt judicious enter the conſideration of theſe things, they may ſoon come to amazement, that ſo many ſtars in the heavens ſhould be more then an hundred times bigger then all the earth. And if there are ſuch vaſt bodies in heaven, what a vaſt body is heaven? That continent muſt needs be exceedingly exceeding vaſt, which contains ſo many exceeding vaſt bodies in it. If we get but a nook or a corner of the earth for our portion, we preſently thinke our ſelves great men: yet what is all the earth to the heavens? And what are the heavens we ſee to that heaven which is unſeen, to which theſe are but a pavement? The heavens which are to us a roof, are but a floor to the higheſt heavens.
A ſecond thing which ſhews the mighty power and wiſdome of God in the ſtars, is the multitude of them, they are innumerable: Man cannot tell them (only God can) they are like the ſand of the ſea for number. A multitude of little ſands make a huge body; then how great a body doe a multitude of great bodies make?
Thirdly, The ſwiftneſſe of their motion, that theſe mighty vaſt bodies ſhould be carried about every day, ſo long a journey, and never tire or wear, ſhews infinite power and wiſdom.
Fourthly, This is more admirable, the exact order of their motion. That innumerable ſtars ſhould move continually in the heavens, and yet not one of them move out of courſe: this regularity of their motion is ſetled by an ordinance of heaven (Jer. 31.35.) where the Lord, to aſſure his people that he would be ſteady and ſtedfaſt in the waies of his love to them, and that he would not caſt them off, tels them that he would be as firm to them in his Covenant, as he is in the ordinances of heaven: Thus ſaith the Lord, which giveth the Sunne for a light by day, and the ordinances of the Moon and of the ſtars, for a light by night, &c. As if he had ſaid, I have made a ſtatute and a decree which is irrepealable and irrevocable concerning the motion of the ſtars. There is an ordinance of heaven for it: ſo that as the celeſtiall bodies cannot but continue the courſe I have aſſigned them for the enlightning of theſe inferiour parts, while the world laſts: So the Covenant which I have made with you ſhall not fail to give you light. Thus he infers in the next verſe, If theſe ordinances depart from before me, ſaith the Lord, then ſhall the ſeed of Iſrael alſo ceaſe from being a Nation before me for ever; but that cannot be, I have eſtabliſhed theſe ſtarres by a firm and perpetuall decree; therefore you are much more eſtabliſhed.
And ſuch is the exactneſſe of their order and motion, that the ſtars of heaven are frequently in Scripture called an hoſt or an army: Now an army, as it conſiſts of many perſons (which is one reaſon why the ſtars are called an hoſt) ſo an army rightly marſhalled is caſt into an exact form, and ſo regular for motion, that it is one of the good lieſt ſights in the world. Now the ſtars are the hoſt of heaven, they ſtand (as it were) in battalia, they keep rank and file; there is not ſo much as one of that great multitude out of place; therefore, Judg. 5.20. where they are ſaid to fight againſt Siſera, they are deſcribed fighting in courſes, The ſtars in their courſes fought againſt Siſera; as if the ſtars had been drawn up, now one regiment, then another regiment of them, to charge upon Siſera and his hoſt: the heavens fought, and the ſtars fought, that is, the Lord by an heavenly power and influence of the ſtars confounded Siſera, and all the enemies of Iſrael.
Fifthly, There is a most efficacious vertue in the stars. It is a ſecret vertue, and it is a ſtrong irreſiſtable vertue, no power in the creature can ſtop it: Therefore God challenges Job, in the 38. of this book of Job, v. 31. Canſt thou binde the ſweet influences of Pleiades, or looſe the bands of Orion? There are influences in the ſtars, and canſt thou binde them? Is it in the power of any creature to ſtop the iſſues and out-flowings of the ſtars? Their influences are ſo efficacious, that none can binde them, but he that looſeth them; none can binde them, but the hand and power which made them; there is ſo much efficacy in them, that if God let them go on in their naturall vigour, their effects are wonderfull. I (ſaith the Lord, Hoſ. 2.21, 22.) will hear the heavens, and they ſhall hear the earth, and the earth ſhall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil, and they ſhall hear Jezreel; As if he had ſaid, The heavens are next in power to me, they are ſecond to my ſelf in working, Therefore I will hear the heavens, the heavens cannot do it, unles I give them a commiſſion, but I will hear the heavens. I will leave a power in the heavens, And the heavens ſhall hear the earth, foreignand the earth ſhall hear the corn, &c. There is a gradation, a deſcent from God to us, and the heavens are the next receptacle, the immediate veſſel, receiving and taking in power and vertue from God to defuſe and ſend down upon the creatures here below, I will hear the heavens, and they ſhall hear the earth.
Sixtly, Obſerve, That the ſtars and conſtellations of heaven, can do nothing of themſelvs, but as they receive order & commiſſion from the Lord.
He maketh Arcturus and Orion, &c. They have great power, but it is the Lord that maketh them.foreign Non tantum facere, ſed etiam aptare, disponere, dirigere, & praeparare ſignificat. That word [He maketh] doth not ſo much ſignifie the Creation, as the providentiall diſpoſition of the ſtars, as was noted in the Expoſition of it. He maketh them, that is, he orders and diſpoſeth them, or he acts the ſtars, he trims up thoſe lamps of heaven; the word is ſo uſed (2 Sam. 19.24.) Mephiboſheth, while David was in trouble, had not dreſſed his feet; the Hebrew is, He had not made his feet, that is, he had neglected his body; now (ſaith Job) the Lord is he that makes, dreſſes, or trims up thoſe lamps of heaven: though they have a naturall vertue, yet that vertue is quickned by providence. Providence is a continued creation. He maketh Arcturus, Orion and Pleiades.
The ſtars are the ſervants of God, they receive orders and directions from him for all they do. And the reaſon why the Lord did ſo often call his people off from gazing upon the ſtars, and reproved ſtar-gazers, was, becauſe they looked no further than the ſtars, they thought the ſtars did all, they did not eie God that made Arcturus, Orion, &c. but they only eied Arcturus, &c. Therefore he threatens the ſtar-gazers and monethly prognoſticatours, who took upon them to reſolve future events by the conjunction of planets, and planetary aſpects; placing an uncontrolable power in the hands of the heavens, and ſtars, whereas I (ſaith the Lord) make Arcturus: I made him, and I make him do what I command, not what you fore-tell. Therefore (Iſa. 44.24, 25.) the Prophet ſpeaking of Gods work in making the heavens and the ſtars, preſently adds, how he befools men, that will propheſie from the ſtars, as if they could tell infallibly what ſhall come to paſſe. I am the Lord that maketh all things, that ſtretcheth forth the heavens alone, that ſpreadeth abroad the earth by my ſelf: What follows? That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad. I ſtretch out the heavens: ſome will needs propheſie out of the heavens, I have ſet the ſtars in the heavens, and they are for ſigns (Gen. 1.14.) but I have not ſet them for Prophets: If any preſume to declare or reſolve what ſhall be done, I reſolve to puniſh their preſumption. I take delight to fruſtrate men, who delight in this, and to befool them, who would be thus wiſe. This is my name, The God that ſtretcheth out the heavens alone, and that maketh diviners mad. Great diſappointments enrage: and ſome men loſe their reaſon, when they loſe the credit of doing things above reaſon. Becauſe they cannot be as Gods to fore-tell good or evil, they will not be ſo much as men, He makes the diviners mad. The Law was peremptory and ſevere againſt them (Deut. 18.9.) There ſhall not be found amongſt you any one that uſeth divination, or is an obſerver of times; why not an obſerver of times? may we not obſerve times and ſeaſons? May we not look up to the heavens and conſider their motions? Yes, we may obſerve times holily, but not ſuperſtitiouſly, as if ſome times were good, others bad, ſome lucky, others unlucky, as if the power of God were ſhut up in, or over-ruled by his own inſtruments and inferiour cauſes, this is diſhonourable unto God, and thus the Jews were forbidden to uſe any divination, or to obſerve times.
The heavens and ſtars are for ſigns, but they are not infallible ſigns. They are ordinary ſigns of the change of weather, Mat. 16.2, 3. They are ordinary ſigns of the ſeaſons of the year, Spring and Summer, and harveſt and winter; they are ordinary ſigns of a fit time to till and manure the ground, to plow, ſowe and reap. The earth is fitted and prepared for culture by the motion of the heavens. The heavens are at once the Alphabet of the power and wiſdom of God, and of our works: we may read there when to do many buſineſſes. Gen. 8.22. While the earth remaineth, ſeed-time and harveſt, and cold and heat, and ſummer and winter, and day and night ſhall not ceaſe. Thoſe ſeaſons ſhall continually return according to the time of the year, meaſured by the Sun, Moon and Stars. Thus, they are ſigns of ordinary events. And God ſometimes puts the ſign of an extraordinary event in them, Mat. 24.29. Immediately after the tribulation of thoſe daies ſhall the Sunne be darkned, and the Moon ſhall not give her light, and the ſtars ſhall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens ſhall be ſhaken; which, ſome underſtand allegorically; others literally of ſtrange apparitions and impreſſions in heaven, either before the deſtruction of Jeruſalem, or the day of judgement. So Act. 2.19, 20, &c. Thus God puts a ſign in them of extraordinary events.
But ſhall man from them prognoſticate and fore-tell extraordinary events? as when there ſhall be famine and peſtilence, war and trouble in Nations? This the Lord abhorreth. The counſels of God about theſe things are written in his own heart; what is man that he ſhould tranſcribe them from the heavens? But if men will ſay, they are written there; God will blot out what they ſay, and prove theirs to be but humane divinations, yea, that they were received from hell, not written in heaven. (Iſa. 47.13.) I will deſtroy the ſigns of them that divine, let now the Aſtrologers, the ſtar-gazers, the monethly Prognoſticatours ſtand up and ſave thee from theſe things that ſhall come upon thee: Behold, they ſhall be as ſtubble, they ſhall not be able to deliver themſelves. It is good to be a ſtarre-beholder, but a wicked thing to be a ſtarre-gazer; that is, to look upon the ſtars, ſo, as if we could ſpell out the ſecret providences of God, and read future events in the book of thoſe creatures. It is our duty to look upon the heavens, as they declare the glory of God; but it is a ſin to look upon the heavens, as if they could declare the deſtinies, fates and fortunes of men. All which vanities are largely and learnedly confuted by M Perkins, in his book called, The reſolution of the Countrey-man about Prognoſtications.
Now, that the ſucceſſe of every creature is in God, not in the ſtars, we may ſee; firſt, in the order of the creation; God created the earth, and commanded it to bring forth fruit upon the third day, but the lights in the firmament were made the fourth day: The earth can bring forth without the midwifery or help of the heavens. God himſelf made the earth fruitfull without, yea, before the ſtars were made.Philo Judaers de opificio mun…i. Upon which one of the Ancients gives this obſervation, Surely (ſaith he) the Lord in his providence made the earth fruitfull in all its glory, before he put the ſtars in the heavens, to the intent to make men ſee that the fruitfulneſſe of the earth doth not depend upon the heavens or ſtars; God needs neither the rain of the clouds, nor the warmth of the Sun to produce theſe effects. He that made all ſecond cauſes to work in their ranks, can work without the intervention of any ſecond cauſe. And becauſe the Lord fore-ſaw men would dote much upon ſecond cauſes, and venture to prognoſticate by the heavens the fates of men, and the fruitfulneſſe of the earth, therefore he made the earth fruitfull before he made Arcturus, or placed thoſe conſtellations in the heavens.
Secondly, The providence of God works under the decree of God. His providence is the execution of his decree. Therefore we muſt not bring the decrees down to providence, but we muſt raiſe providence up to the decrees.
Thirdly, The heavens and thoſe heavenly bodies, Arcturus &c. are but generall cauſes, there are ſpeciall cauſes beſides of the earths barrenneſſe or fruitfulneſſe, of tempeſts at ſea and troubles at land; and the Lord is able to invert all cauſes, to work beyond cauſes, without cauſes and againſt cauſes: So that nothing can be infallibly fore-told from the poſitions, conjunctions or revolutions of thoſe heavenly bodies.
Laſtly, Obſerve, That it is our duty to ſtudy the heavens, and be acquainted with the ſtars.
In them the wonderfull works of God are ſeen, and a ſober knowledge in nature may be an advantage unto grace. Holy David was ſuch a ſtudent (Pſal. 8.3.) When I conſider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the Moon and the Stars which thou haſt ordained. Conſideration is not a tranſient or accidental, but a reſolved and a deliberate act. Shall we think that God hath made thoſe mighty bodies, the ſtars, to be paſt by without conſideration? Shall men only pore upon a lump of earth, and not have their hearts lifted up to conſider thoſe lamps of light? Shall man make no more uſe of the ſtars then the beaſts of the earth do, namely to ſee by them? When I conſider thy heavens, ſaith David. Heaven is the moſt conſiderable of all inanimate creatures, and more conſiderable then moſt of the animate: and, Davids, when, when I conſider the heavens, notes not only a certainty, that he did it, but frequency in doing it. Some of the Rabbins tell us, that when Iſaac went out into the field to meditate (Gen. 24.63.) The ſubject of his meditation was the ſtarres, or the heavens. It is good to take field-room ſometimes to view & contemplate the works of God round about. Only take heed of the former folly, of Aſtrologicall curioſities, confining the providence of God to ſecondary cauſes; avoid that, and the heart may have admirable elevations unto God, from the meditation of the works of God. (Pſal. 19.1.) The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament ſheweth his handy work; if the heavens declare the glory of God, we ſhould obſerve what that glory is which they declare. The heavens preach to us every day. Their line is gone out thorow all the earth, and their words to the end of the world, Pſal. 19.4. Sun, Moon and Stars are Preachers, they are univerſall preachers, they are naturall Apoſtles; the world is their charge, their words, ſaith the Pſalm, go to the ends of the earth. We may have good doctrine from them, eſpecially this doctrine in the text, of the wiſdom and power of God. And it is very obſervable that the Apoſtle alludes to this text in the Pſalm, for a proof of Goſpel-preaching to the whole world, Rom. 10.18. So then, faith commeth by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I ſay, have they not heard? Yes verily, their ſound went into all the earth, and their words unto the end of the world. The Goſpel like the Sun caſts his beams over, and ſheds his light into all the world. David in the Pſalm ſaith, Their line is gone out, &c. By which word he ſhews, that the heavens being ſo curious a fabrick, made (as it were) by line and levell, do clearly, though ſilently preach the skill and perfections of God. Or, that we may read divine truths in them, as in a line formed by a pen into words and ſentences (the originall ſignifies both a meaſuring line,foreign Significat lineam, non modo extenſam, hoc eſt, funiculum, ſed etiam ſcriptam, hoc eſt ſcripturam. Par. in Rom. 10 and a written line.) Letters and words in writing being nothing but lines drawn into ſeverall forms or figures. But the Septuagint, whoſe tranſlation the Apoſtle citeth, for (Kavam) their line, read (Kolam) their ſound; either miſ-reading the word, or ſtudiouſly mollifying the ſenſe into a nearer compliance with the later clauſe of the verſe, And their words into the ends of the world.
Pro foreignThus I have endeavoured to make thoſe things plain, which are here repreſented (to vulgar ears) under ſtrange, unuſuall, and hidden expreſſions.
Job is full of Philoſophy and Aſtronomy, he was a great ſtudent in the heavens, doubtleſſe, and a holy ſtudent. Job having given theſe ſeverall inſtances, gathers them all into a generall concluſion in the tenth verſe.