Exposition of Job 15-17, Commentary on Job · Chapter 15

Exposition of Job 15-17 · Commentary on Job · Chapter 15

p. 110JOB, Chap. 15. Verſ. 23, 24.

He wandreth abroad for bread, ſaying, Where is it? Hee knoweth that the day of darkneſſe is ready at hand.

Trouble and anguiſh ſhall make him afraid, they ſhall prevaile againſt him, as a King ready to battell.

THeſe two Verſes are a further deſcription of the perplexed condition of a wicked man, A dreadfull ſound is in his eare, &c. He is waited for of the Sword. And what more?

Verſ. 23. Hee wandereth abroad for bread, ſaying, Where is it?

In Hebraeo tantum eſt movetur propane.We put in thoſe words, Saying, and Is it; the Hebrew being onelyonly this, He wandreth abroad for bread, where; as if he had ſayd, No man knowes where, and he knowes not whither himſelfe.

There is a twofold interpretation of this Wandering; ſome underſtand it of a powerfull roaving abroad for bread; he takes what he can from thoſe who are next,Tyrannorunt farta & rapinas hic de ſcnibi putat Cajetanus. or he takes what comes next to hand: He muſt have it, it matters not much with him, how or from whom. Such are called Rovers, they rove abroad for bread, they ſpoyle and plunder others for the ſupply of their wants, ſhall I ſay, or of their luſts. But I conceive this Expoſition unſuitable; and the reaſon is, becauſe Eliphaz is not here deſcribing the ſin of a wicked man, but his puniſhment; to ſpoyle and plunder for bread is his ſin; to wander for bread is his puniſhment, and implyes the evill and miſery that comes upon the wicked, not the evill and miſchiefe that is done by the wicked.

Secondly, To wander, is the condition of a man who hath no ſetled dwelling. Paul was once in ſuch a ſtate, Even to this preſent houre we both hunger &c. and have no certaine dwelling place (1 Cor. 4.11.) This alſo was the lot of the Jewiſh Martyrs, They wandered about in Sheeps-skins, &c. (Heb. 11.37.) Theſe were holy wanderers: They wandered in the World, that they might not wander from God. Here we have an unholy wanderer, who having gone aſtray from God, found no reſt among men, a downe-right Vagabond; for ſo the word is applyed to p. 111Cain (Gen. 4.) A fugitive and vagabond ſhalt thou be; and we in our Law, call a ſort of idle Beggars, Vagabonds, ſuch as goe from Countrey to Countrey, from houſe to houſe, to ſeek their bread. Such alſo were among the Jewes, who are therefore called Vagabond Jewes, (Acts 19.13.) To be a wanderer was one of the ſharpeſt threats that God ever denounced againſt his people, My God will caſt them away, becauſe they did not hearken to him, and they ſhall be wanderers among the Nations.

He wanders about for bread.

In Scripture ſenſe, bread takes in all good things,Panis hoc loco non ſignificat, ut aliâs ſaepe, quodcunque eſculentum; ſed viliſſimum quemque cibum quo poſſit ſuſtentari. Pined. His verbis notatur aliud Dei flagellum nempe extrema inopia. Bold. even the beſt which concern this life: So Chriſt teacheth us to pray, Give us this day our daily bread. But here by bread, we are to underſtand the meaneſt proviſion, diſtinct from fleſh, and other Food; a man that lives meerly upon bread, hath but poore fare; though bread be the ſtaffe of life, yet he that hath nothing but bread to eate, lives meanely, and hath onelyonly enough to keep life and ſoule together.

Yet further, they that wander for bread, muſt be content with the courſeſt bread, and with a little of that; they are often glad if they get but a dry or mouldy cruſt of bread to ſatisfie the cry of hunger. So then, To wander about for bread, is to live a beggars life, or to be driven to the utmoſt ſhifts to ſuſtaine life, and keep from ſtarving.

To be brought to a peece of bread (of our owne) is to be brought to the loweſt ebb in worldly things,Exul, inops erres alienaque limina luſtres Ovid. in Ibin. (Prov. 6.26.) By meanes of a whoriſh woman, a man is brought to a peece of bread; That is, he is made very poore. And if he be at a low ebb, who hath but a peece of bread of his owne: what are they who are forced to aske ſo low as a piece of bread of others? To want bread is ill, but wonder about for bread is far worſe. He that wants bread is pincht, but he that wanders for it is diſgraced.

Obſerve hence, firſt.

To want and wander about for bread, is a ſore affliction; Such an affliction, as David profeſſeth he never obſerved the rightous mans ſeed fallen into (Pſal. 37.25.) I have been young, and now am old, yet never ſaw I the righteous forſaken, nor their ſeed begging their bread: The righteous are often troubled, yet never p. 112forſaken, or if forſaken of men, yet not of God; when all men, even godly men, forſook Paul, yet God did not: The Lord (ſaith he) ſtood by me, (2 Tim. 4.16, 17.) And though a righteous man may be brought to begg, yet his ſeed (that is, his whole poſterity) is not; or if we take ſeed for a ſingle perſon, to ſee him begg for bread is very rare; ſo rare it was in thoſe times, that David had not obſerved it; for he ſpeakes not of that which cannot be, but of that which is ſeldome or never ſeen to be. 'Tis a mercy to be denyed ſuperfluities, but it is an extreame miſery to be denyed neceſſaries. The Jewes had poore amongſt them,Caſus tranſitorii non reddunt mendicum. Muſc. in Pſa. 37.Ps 37 but the Law made ſuch proviſion, that they had no Beggars or wanderers for bread. (Deut. 15.) He is not a Beggar that askes bread upon a pinch (for ſo did David himſelfe, more then once) but he that makes a trade of it.

Poverty or want is not a marke of Gods disfavour, no more then riches are a marke of his love: Yet ſome want and poverty, that eſpecially, which is accompanied with a continuall wandering for bread, is a mark of Gods disfavour. it was a Propheticall curſe upon the Traytor Judas and his Poſterity (Pſal. 109.10.) Let his Children be continually Vagabonds and begg, let them ſeek their bread out of deſolate places. And experience tells us, that though ſometimes a Lazarus, a good man begg, yet the race and generality of profeſſed Beggars are the worſt of mankinde.

Secondly, whereas Eliphaz ſpeakes ſpecially of the Oppreſſor, and tells us, that he wanders about for bread.

We may obſerve.

Oppreſſion is the neereſt way to poverty: They who make Beggars to ſatisfie their luſts, ſhall be forced to begg for the ſatisfying of their hunger. It is very dangerous to make proviſion for the fleſh by lawfull meanes, to fulfill the luſts of it; but it is moſt dangerous to make proviſion for the fleſh by unlawfull means (by wrong and oppreſſion) to fulfill the luſts of it. They who ſo fulfill their luſts, ſhall ſoon be brought to want. Hannah ſung out this ſuddaine change (1 Sam. 2.5.) They that were full have hired themſelves out for bread, and they that were hungry ceaſed. Not that they ceaſed to be, but they ceaſed to be hungry, or their hunger ceaſed. Godly empty ones were filled, and wicked full ones were emptied; and that which p. 113makes the want and emptineſſe of a wicked man ſo great a miſery, is his want of faith and patience when he is empty; he hath done ſo much evill, that he hath no faith to beleeve, that any man will doe him good, therefore his poverty fills him with impatience, and his minde is more unſetled then his eſtate.

Thus ſuch as he are deſcribed (Pſal. 59.14, 15.) At evening let them returne, and let them make a noyſe, like a Dog, and goe round about the City: Let them wander up and downe for meat, and grudge if they be not ſatisfied: A good man may want meat, but he doth not grudge. He that waites upon God, and beleeves, ſhall be ſatisfied, though not filled.

Againe, 'tis propheſied of wicked men (Iſa. 8.21.) They ſhall paſſe through it hardly beſtead and hungry, and it ſhall come to paſſe, when they ſhall be hungry, that they ſhall fret themſelves, and curſe their King and their God, and looke upward: When an unbeleever hath nothing to eate, he eates himſelfe. His owne fretting waſts him more then his hunger. He then looks upward, not as ſubmitting himſelfe to God in his hunger, not as depending upon God, for the ſatisfying of his hunger: In which ſenſe it is ſayd (Pſal. 145.15, 16.) The eyes of all waite upon thee, or (as we put in the Margin) looke unto thee, and thou giveſt them their meate in due ſeaſon, thou openeſt thine hand and ſatisfieſt the deſire of every living thing. A wicked man cannot look upward, thus, when he is hungry, he cannot look up and pray, he cannot look up and truſt in God; but he looks upward to curſe the God of Heaven in his heart, if not with his tongue; he looks upward, becauſe he is vext with all that is done below; he looks upward, not becauſe he hath any pleaſant ſights in Heaven,Terroribus conſcientiae ita divexatur ut in maxima abundamia ſummè egeat, laboret de victu ſupra modum. Jun. Vagatur, vel in mediis opibus, egeſtatis metu, nec partis ſecure fruitur. Merl. but becauſe he is diſpleaſed with all he ſees on Earth.

He wanders abroad for bread.

Where? or whither doth he wander? That which Eliphaz is conceived to aime chiefely at in this paſſage, is not ſo much the reall, as the imaginary and conceited want of a wicked man. He wanders while he ſtayes at home, and ſeekes for bread, while his Barns and Tables are filled with it. He is terrified with fore-thoughts of poverty, in the midſt of his riches, and when he hath bread, ſaith, Where is it? He is ſo p. 114troubled with ſuſpected evills, that he cannot take comfort in his poſſeſſed goods.

Hence obſerve.

Firſt, That abundance cannot ſatisfie: God onelyonly is fulneſſe to us. A man may wander about in his thoughts for bread, when he hath bread enough about him, and ſay he ſhall be undone, and dye a beggar, when he hath abundance. A coveteous man is an unſatiable gulfe; He only is well who hath enough, and he is beſt who hath (in temporalls) the leaſt enough: But a coveteous man hath not enough, though he hath more then enough, and much more then needs; he always dreams of dearths, and ſuſpects the Earth will be barren: with theſe feares he pines, yea martyrs himſelf, and is not at all enriched with all his riches; he hath ſufficient to maintaine twenty, yet is told by his unbeleife, that he hath not ſufficient for one. This is vanity and vexation of ſpirit; The life of man doth not conſiſt in what he hath, but in what he is, and hopes to be: his life doth not conſiſt in abundance, either for the continuance of it, or for the comfort of it. A man doth not live more dayes, nor more cheerfully any day, becauſe he lives plentifully. The creature were a God to us, if it could do this to us; but this, God hath reſerved in his owne hands (how much ſoever of the creature he gives out) that we may know our dependance on him.

Secondly Obſerve.

That imaginary wants, or to have an unquiet ſpirit in the midſt of our injoyments, is more afflictive then to be in reall want: The worſt worldly poverty is to be poore when we are rich; as it is the excellency of our ſpirituall eſtate to be poor in ſpirit, in our greateſt ſpirituall plenty, to be little or nothing in our own eyes, when we have a great ſtock of grace: So it is the miſery of our temporall eſtate to be thus poor in ſpirit, when we have plenty in the Purſe, to ſay we have little or nothing, when we have a great ſtock of worldly goods.

Zophar concludes of the Hypocrite (Chap. 20.21.) In the fulneſſe of his ſufficiency he ſhall be in ſtreights; which may be underſtood, either firſt, That when he is full, troubles ſhall empty him; or ſecondly, That while his fulneſſe continues, even in his fulleſt fulneſſe, he ſhall live, as if he were indeed as empty of wealth, as he is of goodneſſe, alwayes ſpending himſelfe with p. 115feares that all will be ſuddenly ſpent, and ſaying in his heart, This will not hold out, I ſhall never be able to bring the yeare about, or bring (as we ſay) both ends together. Hence his cares are endleſſe, and he grudges himſelfe ordinary comforts, his worldly ſorrow conſumes him, and he is willing to dye, onelyonly to ſave charges: That man is in an ill caſe, who is grudged what he eates or ſpends, by others, but it is farr worſe for a man to grudge himſelfe his neceſſary expences.

Some worldly men, whoſe Barns are full, are ready to ſay every one to his ſoule, as he (Luke 12.19.) Soule take thine eaſe, thou haſt goods layd up for many yeares: Another hath his Barnefull, and yet ſaith, This will not hold one yeare, and ſo gives his ſoule no eaſe at all. What the Apoſtle ſaith of himſelfe, is true of all thoſe who have an intereſt in Chriſt, (2 Cor. 6.10.) As poore, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet poſſeſſing all things: But there are ſome rich, who make many poore, and themſelves pooreſt of all; for though they have all thoſe things, yet they are as if they poſſeſſed nothing. It is an affliction to be poore for want of riches, but it is a curſe to be poore in the poſſeſſion of riches. Hee that loves Silver ſhall not be ſatisfied with Silver (Eccleſ. 5.10.) To be ſatisfied, is more then to be rich, and he is alwayes poor who is unſatisfied; he that expects ſatisfaction from the creature, ſhall never finde contentation in the creature; and he that expects no ſatisfaction from the creature, hath contentation in any portion of the creature. A godly man learnes in every eſtate to be content; a carnall man is content in no eſtate; when he is poor, he ſees he hath nothing, and when he is rich, he ſaith he hath not enough. Thus he wanders as well when he is rich, as when he is poor, and is therefore never ſatisfied.

Againe,

He wanders about for bread, Where? Or ſaying, Where is it?

Hence Obſerve:

A man that is not good, is uncertaine where to receive any good; Where is it? Though a Beleever want bread, yet he knowes whither to goe for it, and where it is to be had. The earth is the Lords and the fulneſſe thereof, he goes to Heaven for bread as well as for grace; he knowes there is bread in the promiſe, and p. 116to the promiſe he goes. The promiſe hath all things both concerning life, and godlineſſe. Chriſt who is the bread of life, gives us bread for this life; and having Chriſt, with him, we have all things elſe; Bread and cloathing, Gold and Silver, are layd up in Chriſt.

An Unbeleever (as hath been ſhewed) hath nothing to doe with promiſes, nor with Chriſt the fulfiller of promiſes, and therefore he is ever in doubt, when he is in want; and ſaith, Where is it? He knowes not whither to goe, nor to whom for the ſupply of his wants. A wicked man is never in his way, and, in one ſenſe, he is never out of his way. They may goe any where, who know not whither to goe. They are never out of their way, who have no home. Eaſt, Weſt, North, or South, it is all one to them; which way the Staffe falls, they goe, they have no rule nor line to goe by; but though a wicked man know not his particular way, yet he often knowes his generall end, and that is miſery, as the next words tell us.

He knowes the day of darkneſſe is ready at hand.

At the 22. Verſe, Hee beleeves not that he ſhall returne out of darkneſſe; that is (as was opened) in caſe he falls into evill, he thinks he ſhall never get out of it; he hath no faith that he ſhall recover out of trouble, but he hath a ſtrong faith, that he ſhall fall into trouble: He knowes that the day of darkneſſe is ready at hand:

Here are three things to be cleared.

Firſt, What is meant by knowing.

Secondly, What by the day of darkneſſe.

Thirdly, What, by being ready at hand.

To know, it is here oppoſed to an uncertaine gueſſe, or to conjecture; to know is as much as to be fully perſwaded, to know, is to be aſſured; the higheſt act of faith is often expreſſed by knowledge.Novit in ſeipſo quod maneat in ruinam. Certo ſibi perſuadet atque hujus rei praeſagium ex ſui cordis ſenſu ſacit. Hereby we know that we know him (1 John 2.4.) that is, hereby we are aſſured that we know him; ſo here, He knowes, that is, he is aſſured; it is ſetled upon his ſpirit, that the day of darkneſſe is ready at hand. This knowledge riſeth not from reports abroad, but from his owne breaſt; ſo the Septuagint tranſlates, Hee knowes in himſelfe that evill ſhall be upon him; As a godly man hath a witneſſe for him p. 117in himſelfe, ſo a wicked man hath a witneſſe againſt him in himſelfe.

What the day of darkneſſe is, learne upon the former Verſe, He beleeveth not that he ſhall returne out of darkneſſe; there I ſhewed a fivefold darkneſſe, here I ſhall reduce it to one of theſe two.

The day of darkneſſe is either the day of death, or the day of affliction; ſo 'tis taken (Eccleſ. 5.17.) All his dayes hee eateth in darkneſſe; that is, hee is in ſorrow all his dayes: Though he hath Sun light, or Candle light enough at his Table, yet he hath no light in his heart. So the Prophet Amos (5.20.) Shall not the day of the Lord be darkneſſe, and not light? Even very darke, and no brightneſſe in it? There is a day of the Lord which is nothing but light, and there is a day of the Lord which is nothing but darkneſſe, that is of tribulation and anguiſh upon the ſoule that ſins. The Prophet Joel calls it, A day of darkneſſe, and of gloomineſſe, a day of clouds and of thick darkneſſe. He knowes that the day of darkneſſe is,

Ready at hand.

The word which we tranſlate ready, ſignifies two things.foreign Paratum, firmum, ſtabilem, certum eſſe denotat. Druſ.

Firſt, that which is prepared.

Secondly, that which is eſtabliſhed, or confirmed.

We tranſlate to the former, the day is ready or prepared; others render to the latter ſenſe, the day is eſtabliſhed, and ſetled; his day of darkneſſe ſhall certainely come upon him. And whereas wee tranſlate Ready at hand, noting the neerneſſe of the danger. Others,Tygurina per manum intelligere videtur ipſa impiorunt ſcelera, & per paraphraſim ſic ſententiam elucidat. Scit quod ſuis factis periculoſa tempora accerſierit. to note the cauſe of the danger, render, He knowes that his owne hand hath made a day of darkneſſe; that is, The villanies and wickedneſſes which he hath committed, cauſe the clouds of judgement to gather, and look black upon him; his unrighteouſneſſe hath haſtned on his ruine, and wrapt him up in darkneſſe, He hath brought an evill day upon himſelfe, by his evill deeds; or as the Prophet ſpeaks, His deſtruction is from himſelfe: He hath pulled downe his Houſe with his owne hands, and is the ſole author or contriver of his owne ſorrows.

This is an experienced truth; but I rather take the words as we render, The day of darkneſſe is ready at hand; that is, it is neer, and will ſhortly ſeize upon him.

p. 118Hence Obſerve.

Firſt, Many a wicked man growes into an aſſurance of his approaching miſery: It is as hard to perſwade ſome wicked men that their ſtate is naught, as it is to perſwade ſome good men that their ſtate is good; yet as many of the Saints conquer unbeleife, and come not onelyonly to have ſome hopes, but high aſſurances, that there is a day of mercy at hand for them, that they are in a preſent happy ſtate, and eternall happineſſe waite for them; ſo a wicked man (after long debate) may have his unbeleife conquered, and though he hath been ſowing pillowes under his owne elboes, though he hath ſlighted all the Counſells, Admonitions, and threatnings of faithfull Freinds, though notwithſtanding all this, he continue long, ſpeaking peace to his owne ſoule, and ſaying, all is well, yet (I ſay) this man may have his unbeleife conquered, and know at laſt that there is a day of darkneſſe ready at hand; when his eyes are opened to ſee what he hath done, and what he hath been; he ſees that God hath rejected all his confidences, and that he ſhall never proſper in them.

Secondly, Obſerve,

That for a man to be aſſured of his owne miſery is the height of miſery: Eliphaz puts it here among the puniſhments of wicked men. This aſſurance makes his heart ſhake, this knowledge is full of feare, and therefore full of torment. As to know that a day of light and deliverance is ready at hand, is light while we are in darkneſſe, and deliverance while we are in trouble: So to know that a day of darkneſſe and miſery is ready at hand, is darkneſſe to wicked men while they are in externall light, and miſery in the midſt of all their mirth. And as it is the higheſt comfort of the Saints to know that they have eternall life, to know that they are in the favour, and live in the love of God; (a man may be in it, and not know it, and then though he ſhall doe well at laſt, yet his ſtate is but uncomfortable, and he that is an heyre of Heaven, may walke as an heyre of Hell, with a troubled ſpirit) but to know that it is ſo, this is Heaven before we come at Heaven; ſo it is the deepeſt ſorrow of any man in this life, to know that he hath eternall death; an aſſurance of this, ſetled upon the ſpirit (though I conceive a man cannot have an abſolute aſſurance of it, yet to have ſtrong impreſſions p. 119upon the ſpirit, that he ſhall never be ſaved, or that Hell is prepared for him) this is Hell before he is caſt into Hell.

A ſoule that doubts of mercy and of the favour of God, is in a very ſad condition, but the condition of that ſoule is unexpreſſibly ſad, which is aſſured of judgement, and of the wrath of God.

Thirdly, Obſerve.

That as a wicked man may know that he ſhall be miſerable in the end, ſo hee may know that his miſery is neere at hand: An evill conſcience awakened is the worſt Prophet, it is full of ſad preſages; like Micah to Ahab, Haec eſt paenae impii pars nou modica quod cogatur ipſe ſibi ominari malum. Pined.it never Propheſied good but evill; and it doth not onelyonly Propheſie of evill afarr off, but neer, or ready at hand: 'Tis true, an evill conſcience uſually puts the evill day farr off (2 Pet. 3.4.) There ſhall be ſcoffers, ſaying, Where is the day of his comming, &c. The day of darkneſſe is farr enough off, it hath been long talked of, but we doe not ſee it, ſay theſe deſpiſers: But when an evill conſcience is awakened, then he ſees evill neer, and himſelfe dogg'd at the heeles, or (as the former Verſe ſpeakes) Waited for of the Sword.

As a Beleever, when the eye of faith is cleare, ſees mercy neer at hand (Faith makes God neer, and then all good is neer.) So an Unbeleever when the eye of his conſcience is cleared, ſees miſery neer.

Obſerve Fourthly.

The miſery of a wicked man is unmoveable: His day of darkneſſe is eſtabliſhed by an irrevocable decree, there is no getting it off; he is under a Divine Fate. A day of darkneſſe may come over the Saints, but that day blows over: David ſayd once of his day of light, It ſhall never be dark; and of his Mountaine, it ſhall never be removed; yet he was deceived: But a wicked mans day of darkneſſe ſhall never be light, nor can he uſe any proper meanes to turne his day of darkneſſe into light. He cannot pray, and it is p…er that turnes darkneſſe into light; he cannot beleive, and it is Faith that turnes a day of darkneſſe into light; he hath not a Chriſt to goe unto, and it is Chriſt onelyonly who can turne darkneſſe into light, death to life, and the Waters of ſorrow into the Wine of joy; his darkneſſe ſhall never be removed, who hath not Chriſt (who is light) to remove it.

p. 120Verſe 24. Trouble and anguiſh ſhall make him afraid, they ſhall prevaile upon him, as a King ready to Battell.

In this Verſe, we have a double effect of thoſe troubles, which are the portion of a wicked man; the firſt effect is, They ſhall make him afraid; the ſecond effect is, They ſhall prevaile upon him; both which are illuſtrated by an elegant ſimilitude, they ſhall make him afraid, and they ſhall prevaile upon him, as a King ready to Battell.

Trouble and anguiſh ſhall make him afraid.

Trouble without, and anguiſh within (ſo ſome expound) He ſhall have ſtraits in his ſtate, and a ſtrait upon his ſpirit; both meeting, ſhall not onelyonly afflict him, but make him afraid. The word may be tranſlated to fright, rather then to make afraid: foreign Idem quod foreign anguſtia.They ſhall ſcare him, not onelyonly out of his comforts, but out of his wits and ſenſes. There is a threefold feare:

Firſt, Naturall.

Secondly, Spirituall.

foreign Perter…uit, pertuibavit.To be ſpiritually afrayd, is good, and to be naturally afrayd, is not evill: So Chriſt was not onelyonly afrayd, but amazed (Mark 14.33.)

Thirdly, There is a diſtracting, vexing feare, which is both a paſſion and a perturbation: This is at once the ſin and puniſhment of wicked men.

Conſider, with what weapons and inſtruments God fights againſt a wicked man: he doth not ſay, Sword and fire ſhall make him afraid, Armies of enemies ſhall make him afraid, but trouble and anguiſh ſhall doe it; God can create and forme weapons in our owne hearts, to fight againſt us: Inward anguiſh is farr more greivous then any outward ſtroak. (Rom. 2.9.) Tribulation and anguiſh ſhall be upon every ſoule that ſins, whether of Jew or Gentile: Anguiſh is the edge of tribulatio… both joyned, wound ſoule and body; yea ſtrike thoroug… both at every blow.

Hence Note.

It is worſe to be afraid of evill, then to feele it: Every thing is to us as we apprehend it, good is not pleaſing to us, nor evill afflictive to us, unleſſe we think it ſo: They who are not afraid of death, welcome it when it comes; others through p. 121feare of death, are held in bondage all the dayes of their life.

Secondly, Obſerve.

Diſtracting feare is the portion of a wicked man: The troubles of the righteous are many, but their feares are few (Pſal. 112.) His heart is fixed, he ſhall not be afraid: 'Tis not ſayd he ſhall not heare evill tydings (I know no man whoſe eares are priviledg'd from ſuch reports) but he ſhall not be afraid. I will not be afraid of ten thouſands of people, that have set themſelves againſt me round about, (Pſal. 3.6.) Though I walke in the valley of the ſhadow of death, I will feare no evill, Pſ. 23.4. are the reſolves of faith: Whoſoever hath much feare, hath but little Faith, Wherefore are ye afraid, O ye of little Faith? Mat. 8.26. and how can they but be afraid (when ſtormes ariſe) who are of no faith; when Faith increaſeth, feare decreaſeth, and when Faith is come to the height, feare is gone; where there is no Faith, there can be nothing but feare, trouble and anguiſh ſhall make him afraid, that's the firſt effect.

But thats not all, anguiſh doth not onelyonly feare the wicked man, but prevailes againſt him: foreign a radice foreign circumivit. Anguſtia vallabit. Vulg.Some render Trouble and anguiſh intrench about him; The ſenſe is the ſame, it is ſuch an intrenchment as concludes in a conqeuſt; the beſeiger prevailes. A ſecond reads it thus, Trouble ſhall make him afrayd, and anguiſh ſhall intrench about him. The Originall joynes the two Subſtantives together, and the Verbe is plurall,Terrebit eum tribulatio & anguſtia vallabit eum. Trouble and anguiſh ſhall make him afrayd, they ſhall prevaile againſt him.

From this ſecond effect, Obſerve.

Evill ſhall get the upper hand of evill men: A good man, poſſibly, may be afraid, and afraid ſinfully, exceſſe of feare may take hold of him, but he ſhall not be prevailed againſt (Pro. 24.16.) The juſt man falls ſeven times a day (into affliction and trouble) and riſeth up againe; trouble may throw him down but it cannot keep him downe (Mic. 7.8.) Rejoyce not againſt me, O mine enemy, when I fall, I ſhall riſe; the Church riſes in her falls, and ſhee ſometimes foreſees her riſing, when ſhee is fallen: The wicked fall, and riſe no more. And whereas the Saints are more then conquerours through him that loveth them, wicked men are more then conquered, they are utterly ruined, loſt, and vanquiſhed, becauſe not beloved. There are two battells wherein we cannot ſtand without the ſtrength of Chriſt.

p. 122Firſt, The battell of inward temptation.

Secondly, The battell of outward affliction.

We are no match for either, unleſſe Chriſt be our Second. Satan hath deſired thee (ſaith Chriſt to P…ter) to winnow thee as Wheate (hoping to finde, or make thee Chaffe) But I have prayed that thy Faith faile not: Peter fell into temptation, yea he fell in the temptation, yet becauſe Chriſt undertook for him, the temptation could not prevaile againſt him. And as there is no conqueſt over Satans temptation, but by the ſtrength of Chriſt; ſo none over affliction (which is Gods temptation) but by the ſtrength of Chriſt (1 Cor. 10.13.) There hath no temptation (that is, no affliction) taken you, but what is common to man (yet no man can ſtand under that alone, which may befall any man, therefore it followes) But God is faithfull, who will not ſuffer you to be tempted above that you are able, &c. Man alone is not ſufficient, ſo much as to thinke one good thought, how then ſhall he thinke good thoughts enow alone, either to ſcatter a temptation, or to beare an affliction? To carry the ſoule out in ſuch a conflict requires more then one good thought, yea more then many good thoughts, it requires good actings; yea and ſufferings too; how ſhall he doe this without the ſtrength of Chriſt? No wonder then if the leſſer of theſe, yea the leaſt of the leſſer, the leaſt affliction prevaile againſt a wicked man; and if while he runs with Foot-men, they weary him, how ſhall he contend with Horses, with trouble and anguiſh, ſhall not theſe prevaile againſt him, as a King ready to battell? Which is the illuſtration of the wicked mans downefall: Trouble and anguiſh prevaile againſt him: But how? Not a little, not with ſtrength onelyonly enough to turne the ſcale of the conflict, but mightily, even with much ſtrength to ſpare.

As a King ready to battell.

There are foure interpretations for the making out of this ſimilitude; ſome place it between a wicked mans trouble and anguiſh, and the trouble and anguiſh of a King ready to joyne Battell with a potent Adverſary: For, then his ſpirit is much troubled, knowing how great an adventure he makes, in reference to his ſtate, and how great a hazzard he runs, in reference to his life, and perſon. The charge being ſometimes p. 123given to fight neither againſt ſmall not great, but onelyonly againſt the King. So a wicked man when trouble comes, is like a King going to Battell, full of feares and anxious thoughts what the iſſue and event may be: He lookes upon himſelfe as the marke, both of the wrath of God and Man, and that every blow ſhall be directed againſt his breaſt.

Trouble and anguiſh ſingle out wicked men; when God ſends out his Armies of judgements, he charges them not to fight againſt the ſmall or great of his owne people, but againſt the wicked of the World: Wrath aymes at them, and therefore they are terryfied at the approaches of wrath.Praeliaturum regem circundare ſolebat globus militum ut lectio Tygurina indicat. Anguſtia & circumvallatio eum circumſtant ut regem conſertis globis praeliaturum.

Secondly, Others give out the ſimilitude, thus, Trouble and anguiſh ſhall come upon him, as a King ready to battell: As when a King goes to Battell he is compaſſed with a ſtrong guard. (Every Generall hath his Life-guard, much more Kings) So, trouble and anguiſh ſhall compaſſe a wicked man, as yet with wideſt difference; for the Guard compaſſeth the King for the ſafety and preſervation of his perſon; whereas trouble and anguiſh gather about wicked men for their deſtruction: But the Text will hardly admit this explication, and therefore I paſſe it.

Thirdly, The Hebrew word which ſignifies a day of Battell, ſignifies alſo a Spheare, or round Globe, we tranſlate it,foreign Significat globum pilam aut Sphaeram. Apud Latinos Globus eſt hoſtium aut Armatorum militum cuneus. Liv. lib. 1. Annal. Romulus cum globo Juvenum. foreign Erit. foreign Ad praelium a forma orbiculari, Caſtra in orbicularem formam diſponuntur ut fortiora ſint. Merc. a Ball (Iſa. 22.18.) where it is propheſied againſt Shebna, that the Lord would make him an example, and that (as the Hebrew is) Toſſing, he would toſſe him with a toſſing; that is, he would ſurely toſſe, and turne him like a Ball, into a farr Countrey; as a Ball is toſſed or throwne, ſo the Lord would throw him into Captivity. Now becauſe it is a uſuall way of embattailing, to draw an Army into the forme of a Globe, or Ball; therefore the ſame word which ſignifies a Spheare, or Globe, ſignifies alſo a Battell, from the forme of it. Taking it in this ſenſe, for any thing that is round, or circular as a Ball, or Spheare. This third interpretation of the ſimilitude riſeth thus, Trouble and anguiſh ſhall make him afrayd, they ſhall prevaile upon him, as a King put in Chaines, or into a hoop of Iron; ſome labour much for the maintaining of this interpretation, That Eliphaz intends to ſhew how wicked oppreſſors ſhall be ſurrounded and held faſt with trouble, like ſome great Kings, who falling into the hands p. 124of their Enemies, have been ſhut up in round Iron Cages, as Tamerlane carryed Bajazet the Turkiſh Emperour; or bound in Chaines, as it is Propheſied in the 149. Pſalme. It was the uſe of thoſe times,Declarare volens extremas impii anguſtias ut illum eo pacto undique ſtringi tribulationibus, quo Rex ab hoſte ſuperatus & captus; pro ſpectaculo publicè ponebatur in Ferricernio. Bold. Ita etiam textum explicat, Vatablus. to make hoops of Iron, for the ſecuring of Kings and Princes taken in Battell; the formes of which, and how thoſe captivated Kings were lockt up in them, with the poſture of their bodies in that baſe impriſonment, may be ſeen in Boldue upon this Verſe; and he annexeth diverſe texts of Scripture, in which he conceives there is an alluſion to this coorſe way of handling Kings.

Fourthly, Our reading compares trouble and anguiſh to a King, ready to Battell; as if he had ſayd, Trouble and anguiſh ſhall prevaile upon him irreſiſtibly: This is but a high expreſſion of greateſt preparation for a Battell; for when a King goeth forth to Battell in perſon, he will have all the ſtrength of his Kingdome with him, which Job himſelfe cleares in the 29. Chapter, Verſe 25 where deſcribing his own former felicity, he concludes, I choſe out their way, and ſat chief, and dwelt as a King in the Army: That is, in great ſtrength and power. So the Apoſtle ſpeaks (1 Cor. 4.8.) You have reigned as Kings without us, and I would to God yee did reigne; that is, you conceive you have had the confluence of all comforts, and ſtrengths, You have reigned as Kings, I would you had, that we alſo might reigne with you, or ſhare in your felicity. So that when Eliphaz ſaith, Trouble and anguiſh ſhall prevaile, as a King armed, and ready to ſet forth to Battell; his meaning it; They ſhall prevaile ſtrongly, yea irreſiſtibly. The wicked man ſhall not be able to ſtand their charge, much leſſe repulſe is. Theſe ſeverall explications of the ſimilitude meet in one common truth: That as the wicked ſhall not ſtand in judgement, when God comes to judge all the World; ſo when the Lord ſends forth his judgements upon any part of the World, they are the men that ſhall ſurely fall; trouble and anguiſh ſhall terrifie them, as a King going to joyne Battell, or as a King taken and captivated in Battell, or as a King conquering and prevailing over his Foes in Battell. Sin prevailes alwayes upon wicked men, as a King commanding and ruling over them; at laſt, trouble (which is the fruit of ſin) ſhall prevaile upon them as a King oppreſſing and deſtroying them. They who will not ſubmit to the rule of the Law p. 125as a King to guide them: ſhall be forced to ſubmit to the curſe of the Law, as a King to puniſh them.