Exposition of Job, Exposition of Job · Chapter 32 · Verse 18-20
Verſe 18. For I am full of matter, the Spirit within me conſtraineth me.
19. Behold, my belly is a… wine which hath no vent, it is ready to burſt like new bottles.
20. I will ſpeak that I may be refreſhed: I will open my lips, and anſwer.
The fifth Reaſon of his interpoſing to ſpeak (which is connected with the former, by the Particle, For,) is, The inſtinct and impulſe of the Spirit, which did ſo fill him with matter, and ſo preſs him inwardly, that he muſt ſpeak to refreſh himſelf, and anſwer for God. This he illuſtrates from a ſimilitude of wine in a bottle, wanting vent; Where the matter, wherewith he is furniſhed, is compared to wine; his mind and ſpirit, to a bottle containing this wine; his ſilence, to the ſtopping of the bottle, and its want of vent; his grief of mind and diſtemper of body by his ſilence, to the br…king of the bottle, and its being burſted with the working of the wine; and his ſpeaking, whereby he would refreſh himſelf and profit others, to the giving of a vent to the wine in the bottle. By all which we are not to underſtand any vain itch in this young man to ſpeak in ſo grave an audience, but a real impulſe of the Spirit of God. Nor yet are we ſo to underſtand it, as if the Spirit did furiouſly act and over-drive him, that he was not maſter of himſelf, As the Heathens were put in the poſture and condition of madd men by their Diabolical Enthuſiaſmes; but only that he had ſuch abundance of uſeful matter, and ſuch a fervent inclination to ſpeak, that he could not, without grief and trouble, forbear. And while he ſaith, his belly is ready to burſt like new bottles, he means not new bottles (for theſe are not ſo ready to burſt, Mat. 9.17.) but bottles filled with new wine, which, by its working, is ready to burſt the bottles wherein it is put, if they be not very ſtrong.
From this we may not only gather, that this Doctrine of Elihu ſlowed from the Spirit of God, but further, Learn,
1. It muſt be the Spirit of God in men, furniſhing them with light, and accompanying what they ſay, that will clear Controverſies, and bring them to an happy cloſe; For, the Spirit is given him here for that end.
2. As men may certainly know that it is the Spirit of God, and not a deluſion, that acts them; So they have need to make it ſure that it is ſo, eſpecially in debates, wherein it is not eaſie for men to know of what Spirit they are: In both theſe reſpects he confidently aſſerts, That it is the Spirit of God, and not the fury of a raſh young man, which moveth him to ſpeak, I will anſwer, — v. 17. For I am full of matter, the Spirit within me conſtraineth me.
3. Such as have the Spirit of God, may, without vanity, aſſert that it is ſo, in the maintenance of truth, and of what is right; For, ſo doth Elihu aſſert of himſelf, though a young man, when he is to deal on Gods behalf with ſo eminent parties. See 1 Cor. 7.40.
4. Albeit the Spirit of God, where he dwells, keeps men humble and empty in themſelves; yet he doth not make an empty ſound and noiſe only, but ſupplyeth men with furniture for the work he calls them unto; For, ſaith he, I am full of matter, or, of words, that is, of words pertinent to the purpoſe, and not empty words only. And he expreſſeth his furniture, by being full of words, to ſhew, that the Spirit of God did not only furniſh him with pertinent matter, but with fit words whereby to expreſs it; As he muſt do to all thoſe whom he aſſiſts.
5. Though the Spirit of God do not lead men to be raſh and furious; yet he fills them in whom he dwelleth with an holy fervour in the cauſe of God, and with an earneſt deſire and zeal to appear for it, eſpecially when others have wronged it: For, this is the Spirit within him, or, the Spirit of his belly, that is, the Spirit which hath taken his ſeat in, and hath wakened up his zeal and affections (which in Scripture-phraſe are ſaid frequently to be ſeated in the belly, or, bowels) in behalf of God and his truth, ſo much wronged by them: And ſo this Spirit conſtrained him, that he muſt appear and ſpeak, as wine in a bottle ſeeketh a vent. See Pſa. 45.1.
6. The Spirit of God leads men to look upon the want of an opportunity to ſerve God as their greateſt burden, and on his ſervice, as their greateſt delight and refreſhment: For, ſo much doth this ſimilitude import, Behold, my belly (or, affections moved and excited by the Spirit of God) is as wine that hath no vent, it is ready to burſt like new bottles: I will ſpeak that I may be refreſhed, or, may breath, as the bottle gets air when it is opened. See Jer. 20.9.
7. Whatever fervour men have, yet it muſt not be their own caſe only (farr leſs the ſetting out of their gifts in a way of oſtentation) but edification, they ſhould mind; Therefore, unto his own being refreſhed, he adds, I will open my lips, and anſwer, or, ſpeak to the cauſe, and on Gods behalf, ſo as ye may be edified.