Commentary on Ezra Nehemiah Ester Job and Psalms, Commentary 4 · Chapter 14
CHAP. XIIII. Verſe 1. Man that is born of a woman &c.]
Or, THat is born about by a woman in her wombe. Jobs deſign is here to ſet forth the miſery of man (whom in the laſt verſe of the former chapter he had compared 1. To a rotten thing. 2. To a moth-eaten garment) ab exordio ad exodium, from his conception to his diſſolution. Man, Earthly man, that is born of a woman, Gen. 3.16.or manneſſe that weaker veſſel, who both breedeth, beareth, and bringeth forth in partu doloroſa, poſt partum laborioſa, every way calamitous: neither is her babe in a better condition, but born with a croſs on his back (as it is ſtoried of Frederick the Elector of Saxony) and having his whole life over-ſpread with ſins and miſeries,Job. Manl. los. com… as with a filthy morphew.
Is of few dayes] Heb. ſhort of dayes. Short indeed, every thing reckoned: For 1. Child-hood and youth are vanity. 2. Sleep, as a publican, takes off a third part of our time. 3. All the dayes of the afflicted are evil, and M… …abet vicer quae trabitur vit… gemitibus; it is not a life, but a death rather that is ſpent in ſorrow:Aug. de civ. Dei lib. 9. c. 10. in which regard Plotinus the Philoſopher held mortality a mercy, that we may not alwaies be held under the miſeries of this life preſent. 4. Scarce one of a thouſand live that little time that they are here, but wofully waſte the flower of their age, the ſtrength of their bodies, the vigour of their ſpirits in ſinful pleaſures, and ſenſual delights; and then either ſit and ſing all too late and in vain, O mihi praterites ref…rat ſi Juppiter ann…s!
Or elſe complain with old Themistocles, that now they muſt die when they do but begin only to be wiſe: the life of a wicked man runneth out, as the ſand in an hourglaſſe that doth little good: He conſidereth not that upon this little point of time hangs the crown of eternity; and that the very next moment, he may be cut off from all poſſibility of repentance, acceptation and grace for ever. Hence his many troubles here: all which are but typical of thoſe hereafter; beſides the fear of death, which maketh him all his life time ſubject to bondage, Heb. 2.15. It were much to bee wiſhed that men would conſider their time is ſhort, their taske long, and that therefore they ſhould uſe all ſpeed and diligence; leſt (ſo as children have uſually torn their books) they have ended their lives before they have learned their leſſons.
And full of trouble] Or, of indignation, commotion, perturbation. Thoſe three vultures, Fear, Anger, Griefe, are frequently feeding upon his heart whiles he is in this world; and like a ſhip in a ſtorm, he is toſſed much, but ſaileth little or nothing. Few and evil are the dayes of my pilgrimage, ſaith good old Jacob, Gen. 47.9.Th…tis ap. Hom. Iliad. And ſhe in the Poet could ſay as much of her ſon Achilles.
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Verſe 2. He cometh forth like a flower] What he had aſſerted concerning the ſhortneſſe of mans life is here illuſtrated by two elegant ſimilitudes frequently uſed, not in Scripture only,Iſa. 28.1. and 40.6. Jam. 1.10, 11. 1 Pet. 1.24. but in Heathen Authors, as were eaſie to inſtance. A flower hath a ſpring and a fall: ſo have men their times and their turns; their riſe, and their ruine. Why, and how man in his flouriſh is like to a flower, See Pſal. 103.15, 16. where he is compared to a flower of the field (which lies open to all inconveniencies) not of the garden, which is much ſheltered from ſharpe winds, fenced from the teeth and feet of beaſts, from the hands of children, ſtrangers, &c.
And is cut down] Heb. cut round, or circumciſed, ſc, by ſome nipping or blaſting wind, ſuch as that Eaſt-wind, Gen. 41.23. or ſome cropping hand, or its own fading nature, and then it is not, ſaith David, Pſalm 103.16. that is, it neither continues any longer in being, nor returns any more into being: no more doth man, though in his time never ſo flouriſhing.
He fleeth alſo] With poſt-baſte, as one that fleeth for life; ſo doth he from life, every moment yeilding ſomewhat unto death: Orimur, morimur, finiſque ab origire pendet; Life, as faſt as it increaſeth, decreaſeth. It is improper, ſaith one, to ask when we ſhall dye, but rather when we ſhall make an end of dying?
As a ſhadow] As the ſhadow of a dial: our lives are continually haſting to their period, and never make ſtop. By theſe, and many the like compariſons (common in this book, and other Scriptures) we ſee how much God deſireth that we ſhould mind our mortality: too blame then are thoſe who have one leg in the grave, and the other in hell, and yet do put far away thoughts of death, and under gray hairs nouriſh green hopes and deſires: neither may young men be excuſed who bind upon long life,Vitae ſumma brevis ſpem ne… vetat inchoare longam. and boaſt of to morrow, Prov. 27.1. ſith they know not what a great-bellied day may bringforth. The Jewes have a proverb, that many times old camels carry young camels skins to the market. And how often ſee we elder folk carry young mens and childrens bodies to the graves?
And continueth not] Heb. ſtandeth not, as a pillar, but vaniſheth as a ſhadow, yea,Hor. lib. 1. corm. 4. foreign. Pindar. as a dream of a ſhadow, as the Greek Poet hath it. The Vulgar tranſlateth, He continueth not in the ſame ſtate. To have no ſhadow of turning, noteth the perfection of God, Jam. 1.17.
Verſe 3. And doſt thou open thine eyes upon ſuch a one?] ſc. to obſerve his faults ſtrictly, and to puniſh him for the ſame ſeverely? doth this become ſo great a Majeſty? This Job ſpeaketh non citra ſtomachum, not without ſtomack, as forgetting himſelf through impatiency, ſaith Mercer, and ſeeking to eaſe himſelf any way of the pains and colours he ſuſtained, being carried out of himſelf by his unruly paſſions. By this queſtion Job doth nontam admirari quum arguere, ſaith Brentiús; not ſo much wonder, as warble with God, that he ſhould care for ſo poor a creature, whom it might beſeem him rather to contemn. But Job ſhould have remembred, that God openeth his eyes upon man, not to puniſh him only, but to help and relieve him, Pſalm 31.15. And at another time Job could ſet it upon the ſcore of Gods favours to man that he viſiteth him every morning (viz. by his fatherly chaſtiſements) and trieth him every moment, chap. 7.17, 18.
And bringeſt me into judgment with thee] Poor me. who am foreign,Me graviſſimit tuis judiciis extra ordinem divexas. Merl. thrice a man: that is, moſt miſerable, even me thou queſtioneſt in the rigour of thy righteous judgment. See a like expoſtulation, Pſalm 89. and all to move God to compaſſion. Our frailty is a good pleadable argument to this purpoſe.
Verſe 4. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one.] q. d. I confeſs I am unclean: but what can I do withal? or how can I do otherwiſe, ſith I do but my kind? But was this a ſufficient plea? David was of another mind, when he alledged this as a great aggravation of his blood-guiltineſſe, Behold, I was ſhapen in iniquity, and in ſin did my mother conceive me, Pſalm 51.5. q. d. I have not only fallen into theſe foul ſins, but I have done it out of the venemouſneſſe and vitioſity of my nature, commonly called original, and by the Apoſtle inhabiting ſin, Rom. 7.17. as by the Schools peccatum peccans, the ſinning ſin, as that which is the ſource and ſeminary of all actual diſobediences. And becauſe this uncleanneſſe is natural to us, therefore it maketh us as loathſome to God, as a toad is to us, becauſe poiſon is in the nature of it. Papiſts ſay, (but not truly) that Original ſin is the ſmalleſt of all ſins, not deſerving any more of Gods wrath then only a want of his beatifical preſence; and that too without any pain or ſorrow of mind from the apprehenſion of ſo great a loſſe. They hold alſo thoſe motions of the heart not conſented to, to be no ſins, but neceſſary conditions, ariſing from our conſtitution, and ſuch as Adam had in his innocency. Contrary-wiſe, Job here grants a birth-blot upon all, and layes his hand upon it as the cauſe of the length of mens troubles, and ſhortneſſe of their lives: only he forgetteth himſelf (ſaith Mercer here) when hee pleadeth that hee ſhould rather bee pitied, then thus ſharply puniſhed,foreign. Ethic. lib. 3. cap. 5. becauſe hee was naturally enclined to ſinne, and cannot avoid it. For as Aristotle ſaith of drunkards, that they deſerve double puniſhments; firſt, for their drunkenneſſe, and then for the ſin committed in and by their drunkenneſſe: ſo do all men deſerve double damnation; firſt, for the corruption of Nature (ſignified by thoſe legall pollutions, by bodily iſſues) and then for the curſed effects of it, Gen. 6.5. Rom. 7.8. But it may bee Job here had an eye to that promiſe made to Noah after the flood, Gen. 8.21. where the Lord moveth himſelf to mercy by conſideration of mans native corruption, even from his child-hood, for he knoweth our frame &c. Pſalm 103.14. that is (as the Chaldee Paraphraſt explaineth it) he knoweth our evill figment or thought which impelleth to ſin: hee knoweth it, and weigheth it. See the like Iſa. 48.8, 9. Wee may beſeech the Lord to ſpare us when we act ſin, becauſe our natures are ſinful: but let not any go about either to palliate or extenuate their acts of ſinne by the ſinfulneſs of their natures; as thoſe doe, who being told of their evil pranks and practiſes, plead for them, ſaying, Wee are fleſh and blood, &c.
Not one] Fortes creantur fortibus & bonis; but no meer man can bring forth a clean child out of unclean ſeed. Adam begat a ſon after his own image (Gen. 5.3.) Corruptus corruptum, That which is of the fleſh is fleſh, John 3. Sin is propagated, and proceedeth from the union of body and ſoul into one man. That phraſe Warmedin ſinne, Pſalm 51.5. is meant of the preparation of the body, as an inſtrument of evil, which is not ſo actually till the ſoul come. But we ſhould not be ſo inquiſitive how ſin came in, as how to be rid of it; like as when a fire is kindled in a city, all men are more careful to quench it, then to queſtion where, and how it began. Now there is one only way of ridding our hearts of ſinne, viz. to run to Chriſt, and to believe in him: For if the Son make you free, ye ſhall … indeed: and hereunto, both the Chaldee Paraphraſt had reſpect (likely) when he rendred this text, Cannot One? that is, Cannot God? As alſo the Vulgar Latine, Nonne tu qui ſolus es? Canſt not thou alone? ſc. by thy merit and Spirit, according to that of the Apoſtle, 1 Cor. 6.11.
Verſe 5. Seeing his dayes are determined &c.] God hath ſet every man both his time (whether ſhorter, called here his dayes, or longer, the number of his months, they have both their bounds which none can paſſe) and alſo his task, Acts 13.25.Hieron. ep. ad Fu. John fulfilled his courſe, & in brevi vitae ſpatia tempora virtutum multa replevit, and he lived long in a little ſpace; he wrought hard, as not willing to be taken with his task undone. So verſe 36. David, after hee had ſerved his owne generation, and had done all the will of God, fell on ſleep. See more of this on chap. 7.1.
Thou haſt appointed his bounds] Heb. His ſtatutes; It is appointed for all men once to die, Heb. 9.27. once for all, and for ever it is appointed, and this ſtatute is irrepealable. Here then we ſee the cauſe why ſome, likely to live long, die ſoon, and others more infirme live longer. God hath ſet the bounds of each ones life to a very day.Virg. The bounds may be paſſed which our natural complexion ſetteth; the bounds cannot be paſſed which the providence and will of God ſetteth. Stat ſua cuique dies.—
Verſe 6. Turn from him that he may reſt] Heb. Look away from him, i. e. from me; look not ſo narrowly, and with ſuch a critical eye upon mine out-ſtrayes, thus to hold me ſtill on the rack; look not ſo angerly, afflict me not ſo heavily, but let me reſt or ceaſe from my preſent preſſures, and doleful complaints, and ſpend the ſpan of this tranſitory life with ſome comfort, and then let the time of my departure come when thou pleaſeſt.
Till he ſhall accompliſh, as an hireling, his dayes.] That is, ſaith the Gloſſe, till I am as willing to die, as a labouring man is to go to ſupper, and to bed. The word rendred accompliſh, ſignifieth properly to acquieſce, and reſt in a thing, and vehemently to deſire it. The Saints, when they die, ſhall reſt in their beds, Iſ…i. 57.2. they reſt from their labours, Rev. 14.13. and that foreign preſently, ſtraight upon the ſtroke of death; no ſooner have they paſſed under the flaming ſword of that puniſhing Angel, but they are forthwith in Paradiſe. Here they are ſeldome quiet, but toſſed up and down as the ball upon the racket, or ſhip upon the waves: and hence it is that they ſometimes fret or faint, as Job, and ſpeak unadviſedly with their lips; theſe firm mountains are moved with earth-quakes, theſe calm ſeas are ſtirred with tempeſts; and truly, whoſoever hath ſet himſelf to do every dayes work with Chriſtian diligence, to bear every dayes croſſes with Chriſtian patience, and is ſenſible of his failings in both; libentèr ex vita, & qunſi pleno paſſu egredietur, ſaith one, he will be full glad to be gone hence, and be as weary of his life, as ever any hireling was of his work. See the Notes on chap. 7.1, 2.
Verſe 7. For there is hope of a tree &c.] Here Job ſetteth on his requeſt, verſe 6. with a reaſon: God loveth a reaſonable ſervice, and liketh well that we reverently reaſon it out with him. And for the literal ſenſe, all things, ſaith Gregory, are ſo plain, that there is no need to ſay any thing to that, it being no more then this; either I ſhall have comfort in this world before I die, or never here: therefore grant me reſt now. This argument Job illuſtrateth 1. By a diſſimilitude here. 2. By a ſimilitude,Merlin. verſe 11, 12. The diſſimilitude betwixt a tree and a man, is this; a tree may be hewed and felled, yet feel no pain. Again, ſucciſa repullulat, imbribus irrigata, a tree cut down, if well watered, will ſpring and ſprout up again. But now man, as he is very ſenſible of every ſtroke of Gods hand, neither can he ſuffer ſickneſs or other affliction without ſmart, ſo when once cut down by death, he can by no means be recovered; he cannot revive without a miracle.
Verſe 8. Though the roots thereof wax old in the earth] And ſo the more unlikely to ſhoot forth again. Trees alſo have their old age wherein they decay.
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And the ſtock thereof die in the ground] Heb. in the duſt, as it needs muſt, when cut off from the root, it lieth along on the earth. It was by a miracle that Aaro…s rod flouriſhed: not only all the plants of Gods ſetting, but the very boughs cut off from the body of them, ſhall … and be fruitful.
Verſe 9. Yet through the ſent of water it will bud] Heb. from the ſmell of waters; a ſweet Metaphor, ſaith Merlin, ſenſe being attributed to things ſenſeleſſe, as ſmelling to the fire, Judg. 16.9. and here to trees, which are ſaid to turn themſelves and their roots after a ſort, to take in the ſmel of the water, and thereby refreſhed to bud and bring forth boughs, like a plant. This is check to thoſe that live under the droppings of the ordinances, and yet are like the Cypreſs-tre…, which the more it is watered, proves the leſſe fruitful, and being once out down, it never ſprings again: whence the Romans, who believed not a reſurrection, were wont to place a Cypreſſe-tree at the threſhold of the houſe of death, as Pliny and Ser…i…s tell us.Serv. in Virg. l. 4. Plin. lib. 16. cap. 32.
Verſe 10. But man dieth and waſteth away] Heb. ſtrong and luſty man, Homo quantumvis roouſtus. Vat.dieth and waſteth away, or is cut off, ſc. worſe then a tree, for he growes no more, or is diſcomfited, vanquiſhed, (as Exod. 17.13. and 32.18.) ſc. by death, and ſo carried clean out of this world.
Yea, man giveth up the ghoſt] Homo vulgaris & plebeius; All of all ſorts muſt die, whether noble, or ignoble, as Rabbi Abraham here obſerveth. Job is very much in this diſcourſe about death: and ſurely, as Nazianzen wiſheth of hell, ſo could I of death, Ʋtinam ubique de morte diſſereretur! oh that it were more in mens minds and mouths then it is!
And where is he?] q. d. No where above ground; or if he be, putrefit & teterrimè olet, he putrifies and ſtinks filthily: and as his life is taken away, ſo is his glory: yea, being once out of ſight, he growes by little and little out of mind too, little thought of, leſs ſpoken of, many times not ſo much as his name mentioned or remembred in the next generation, Eccleſ. 1.11. There is no remembrance of former things (or men) neither ſhall there be any remembrance &c. So Eccleſ. 2.16. and 8.10. and 9.5. Hence the ſtate of the dead is called the land of forgetfulneſſe, Pſalm 88.12. And Pſalm 31.12. I am forgotten, as a dead man out of mind: Heathens alſo ſay the ſame.Hor. lib. 4. Carm. 7.
Cum ſomel occideris, & de te ſplendida Minos
Fecerit arbitria,
Non, Torquate, genus, non te facundia, non te
Restituet pietas.
Verſe 11. As the water fall from the ſea] He ſets forth the ſame truth by an elegant ſimilitude drawn from the drying up of waters. Look how theſe after ſome exundation of the ſea, or ſome great river, are ſeparated and left (upon the reflux thereof) behind the reſt upon the land, which cannot return (for then they muſt aſcend, which is impoſſible to nature) nor continue, but do utterly dry up,Sanctius Abbot. and evaporate: So &c. verſe 12. Others read it thus, As when the waters from the feafail, the flood decaieth, and dryeth up: ſo when mans life is taken away, it returns no more while this world lasteth. God hath made in the bowels of the earth certain ſecret wayes, paſſages, and veins through which water conveigheth it ſelf from the ſea to all parts, and hath its ſaltneſſe taken away in the paſſage. Thence are our ſprings, and from them our rivers: but in hot countryes, and dry ſeaſons, ſprings are dry, and rivers want water exceedingly; as at this time they do, March 7. 1653. So when natural moiſture decayeth in man, he faileth, and dieth: the radical humor, that ſupplement and oyl of life, is dried up, and can be no more renewed till the laſt day, when yet it ſhall not be reſtored to the ſame ſtate and moiſture, but inſtead of natural, riſe ſpiritual, 1 Cor. 15.
Verſe 12. So man lieth down] ſc. in the duſt of death, or in the bed of the grave; his dormitory, till the laſt day.
Ʋt ſomnus mortis, ſic lectus imago ſepulchri.
And riſeth not] ſcil. To live again among men: ſo Pſalm 78. Man is compared to a wind, which when it is paſt, returneth not again. If it be objected, that we read of three in the old Teſtament, and five in the new raiſed from death to life: beſides, thoſe many that aroſe and came out of the graves after Chriſts reſurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many, Matth. 27.52, 53. It is anſwered, 1. Theſe few raiſed by Gods extraordinary power, do not infringe the truth of what the Scripture here and elſewhere affirmeth of all mankind according to the ordinary courſe of nature. 2. Even thoſe men alſo afterwards died again, and vaniſhed; no more to return or appear again in this world.
Till the heavens be no more] i. e. Never (ſay ſome interpreters) to wit, vi ſuâ by his own ſtrength, and to a better condition in the land of the living: ſo the word until is uſed, 2 Sam. 6.13. Matth. 5.26. and 1.25. ut piè credimus. How ſound and clear Job was in the point of the Reſurrection, we ſhall ſee, chap. 19. and becauſe he falls upon it in the words next following here, ſome underſtand theſe words thus, They ſhall not riſe till the general reſurrections, when theſe heavens ſhall be changed, and renewed, Pſalm 102.25, 26. Iſaiah 65.17. 2 Peter 3.7.10, 11. Rev. 21.1.
They ſhall not awake] Out of the ſleep of death: nor be raiſed] viz. by the ſound of the laſt trump, till the laſt day. But raiſed they ſhall be, and ſleep no more, viz. when the heavens ſhall be no more. And till that time the bodies of the Saints are laid in the grave, as in a bed of down; or of ſpices, to mellow and ripen: this is matter of joy and triumph, Iſa. 26.19. Dan. 12.2. when they were to loſe all: ſo Heb. 11.35. The wicked alſo ſleep in the grave, Dan. 12.2. but ſhall awake to everlaſting ſhame and contempt, ib. their ſick ſleep ſhall have a woful waking, for they ſhall be raiſed by vertue of Chriſts judiciary power, and by the curſe of the law, to look upon him whom they have pierced, and to hear from him that dreadful diſcedite, Depart ye curſed &c.
Verſe 13. O that thou wouldſt hide me in the grave] As in a ſweet and ſafe repoſitory, ſanctuary!Sepulchrum eſt quaſi ſcrinium vel capſa in quam reponitur corpus. my ſoul mean-while living and raigning with thee in heaven, expecting a glorious Reſurrection, and ſaying, How long, Lord, Holy, and True? The fable or fancy of Pſychopannychia hath been long ſince hiſſed out, though lately revived by ſome Libertines, that laſt brood of Beelzebub; our Mortaliſts eſpecially, who ſay, that the body and ſoul die together. But what ſaith the Apoſtle, Rom. 8.10? If Chriſt be in you, the body is dead becauſe of ſinne; but the ſpirit is life becauſe of righteouſneſſe. Now that Job thus woos death, and petitions for the grave, it is manifeſt that he ſaw ſome good in it, and that he promiſed himſelf by it Malorum ademptionem, bonorum adeptionem, freedom from evil, and fulneſſe of good: we ſhould learn to familiarize death to our ſelves, and put the grave under the faireſt and eaſieſt apprehenſions, think we hear God beſpeaking us as once hee did Jacob, Fear not to go down to Egypt (ſo down to the grave) for I will go with thee, and will ſurely bring thee up again, Gen. 46.4. Or as he did his labouring Church, Iſa. 26.20. Come my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and ſhut thy doors about thee: hide thy ſelf, as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpaſt.
That thou wouldſt keep me ſecret] In limbo Patrum, ſay the Papiſts, in parabola ovis capras ſuas quaerentes.
Ʋntil thy wrath be paſſed] For it is ſuch, as I can of my ſelf neither avoid nor abide. Turn it away therefore, or turn it into gentleneſſe and kindneſſe, Pſal 6.4. and be friends again, Jer. 2.35. Or, ſecret and ſecure me til the reſurrection, when all thy wrath will be gone from me.
That thou wouldſt appoint me a ſet time] Heb. ſet me a ſtatute: ſet down even what time thou pleaſeſt, either to ſend me to bed, or to call me up again, ſo that thou wilt but be ſure at laſt to remember me.
And remember me] Job is willing to die out of the world, but to die out of Gods memory; to be out of ſight, but not out of mind; that God ſhould bury him in the grave, but not bury his thoughts of him: he could be content to be free among the dead, free of that company, but not as the ſlain that lie in the grave, whom God remembreth no more, Pſal. 88.5. Job would be remembred for good, as Nehemiah prayeth, and be dealt with as Moſes was, whoſe body once hid in the valley of Moab, did afterwards appear glorious in Mount Tabor at the transfiguration.
Verſe 14. If a man dye, ſhall he li…e again?] This he ſpeaketh in way of admiration at that glorious work of the Reſurrection. See the like queſtion chap. 15.11. Gen. 3.1. and 17.17. So the Apoſtle Rom. 8.30, 31. having ſpoken of thoſe glorious things, predeſtination, vocation, juſtification, glorification, concludeth in theſe words, What ſhall we ſay then? We cannot tell what to ſay to theſe things, ſo much we are amazed at the greatneſſe of Gods goodneſſe in them. Surely, as they have a lovely ſcarlet bluſh of Chriſts blood upon them, ſo they are rayed upon with a beam of divine love, to them that are in Chriſt. We read of that godly and learned Scotch-Divine Mr. John Knox, that a little before his death, he gat up out of his bed, and being asked by his friends, why being ſo ſick, he would offer to riſe, and not rather take his reſt? he anſwered, that he had all the laſt night been taken up in the meditation of the Reſurrection, and that he would now go up into the pulpit, that hee might im part to others the comforts which thereby himſelf had received. And ſurely if he had been able to have done as he deſired, I know not what text fitter for his purpoſe he could have taken, then theſe words of Job, If a man die, ſhall he live again? He ſhall without queſtion; and thoſe that deny it or doubt of it (as the Sadduces of old, and ſome brain-ſick people of late) they erre, not knowing the Scriptures (this among the reſt) which are expreſs for it, and the power of God. Mat. 22.29. being herein worſe then divels which believe it and tremble; worſe then ſome heathens, who held there would be a reſurrection, as Zoroaſtres, Theopompus, Plato, &c. worſe then Turks, who at this day confeſſe and wait for a reſurrection of the body at ſuch a time as the fearful trumpet (which they call Soor ſhal be ſounded by Mahomet, ſay they, at the commandment of the great God of the judgment.
All the dayes of mine appointed time (or warfare) will I wait till my change come] i. e. till my death (Prov. 31.8. men appointed to die, are called in the original children of change) or till the reſurrection come, when we ſhall all be changed, 1 Cor. 15.51. our vile bodies ſhall be changed and conformed to Chriſts moſt glorious body (the ſtandard) Philip. 3.23. in beauty, agility, impaſſibility, and other Angelical perfections. When I awake, ſaith David, ſc. at that general Reſurrection, I ſhall be full of thine image; Pſalm 17.15. I ſhall be brought from the jawes of death, to the joyes of eternal life, where are riches without ruſt, pleaſures without pain &c. Three glimpſes of this glorious change were ſeen. 1. In Moſes his face. 2. In Chriſts transfiguration. 3. In Stevens countenance when he ſtood before the council. Such a change as this is well worth waiting for: what would not a man do? what would he not ſuffer with thoſe noble profeſſors, Heb. 11. to obtain a better reſurrection? I would ſwim through a ſea of brimſtone, ſaith one, that I might come to heaven at laſt. The ſtone will fall down to come to its own place, though it break it ſelf in twenty pieces: ſo we, that we may get to our center which is upwards &c. Surſum curſum noſtrum dirigamus; & manantem, imminentem & exterminantem mortem attendamus: ne ſimul, cum corporis fractura, animae jacturam faciamus. Let us wait and wiſh every one for himſelf, as he once did.
Mî ſine nocte diem, vitam ſine morte, quietem
Det ſine fine, dies, vita, quiéſque Deus.
Verſe 15. Thou ſhalt call, and I will anſwer thee] At the Reſurrection of the juſt thou ſhalt call me out of the grave by thine All-powerful voice, uttered by that Archangel, with the trump of God, 1 Theſ. 4.16. 1 Cor. 15.52. Pſalm 50.3, 4. and thou ſhalt not need to call twice: for as I ſhall not need then to fear (as the hypocrites will) to ſhew my face: ſo I will readily anſwer, Here I am; Mr. Boroughs.yea (as that dying Saint did ſo) I will ſay, I come, I come, I come, I will even leap out of the grave to obey thine orders: and I doubt not but to draw me out of that dark priſon, thou wilt lend me that hand of thine, whereof I have the honour to be the workmanſhip.
Thou wilt have a deſire to the work of thine hands] I know that thou thy ſelf (for the love thou beareſt me, of thy goodneſſe, who am thy creature,Abbot. and on whom thou haſt ſhewn favour, and reprinted thine image) wilt long after the conſummation of my happineſſe; for then I ſhall be like unto thee (more like then ever) for I ſhall ſee thee as thou art, and appear with thee in glory, Col. 3.4.1 John 3.2. being next unto thee, Luke 22.30. Yea, one with thee, John 17.21. and ſo above the moſt glorious Angels, Heb. 1.14. The King ſhall greatly deſire my beauty, Pſal. 45.11. and rejoyce over me, as the bridegrom doth over his bride, Iſa. 62.5. See chap. 10.3. The word here rendred Thou wilt have a deſire, ſignifieth, Thou wilt deſire as men do after ſilver: The Lord ſeemed to deal by Job, as men do by droſſe, to put him away as wicked, Pſalm 119.119. nevertheleſſe, he believed that he would look upon him as ſilver: and although he now cruſhed him together, and brake him to pieces, as the ſilver-ſmith doth an old piece of plate which he means to melt; yet that he would in the grave, as in a furnace refine him, and at the Reſurrection bring him out of a new faſhion. Lo this is the right Logick of faith, to make concluſions of life in death, and of light in darkneſſe, to gather one contrary out of another.
Verſe 16. For now thou numbreſt my ſteps] Or, But now thou numbreſt &c. thou keepeſt an exact account of every ſin of mine, of every ſtep that I have trod awry; yea, though it be but ſome wry motion of my mind (as the Septuagint here tranſlate) ſo curious art thou and critical in thine obſervations of mine out-ſtrayes,foreign See chap. 10.14. But is this Job that ſpeaketh, or ſome other? How confident was he …-while, and comfortable in the hope of a glorious reſurrection! but now, down again upon all four, as we ſay; and like an aguiſh man in a great fit of impatiency, which holdeth him to the end of the chapter? But for this; who knoweth not that every new man, is two men? that in the Saints, the fleſh is ever luſting againſt the ſpirit, and the ſpirit againſt the fleſh? that in the Shulamite, is as it were, the company of two armies maintaining a continual conteſt, Cant. 0.13? …ſaid, I am caſt out of they ſight: yet I will look againe toward thine holy Temple, Jon. 2.4. See the Note there.
Doſt thou not watch over my ſin?] This is the ſame with the former, but without a figure. The Rabbines have a ſaying, that there is not any doubt in the law, but may be reſolved by the context: the Scripture is its owne beſt Interpreter.
Verſe 17. My tranſgreſſion is ſealed up in a bag] As the writings or informations of a proceſſe which is ready to be ſentenced, Deut. 32.34. Hoſ. 13.12. Thou haſt, as it were, ſealed up, and made ſure work with all my ſins, ſaith Job, to have them forth-coming for the increaſe of my puniſhment. Look how the Clark of Aſſizes (ſaith one) ſeals up the indictments of men, and at the Aſſizes brings his bag, and takes them out to read the ſame againſt them: ſo God dealt with Job, in his conceit at leaſt. The truth is, God had not ſealed his tranſgreſſions in a bag, but had caſt them behind his back: a bag God hath for mens ſins, and a bottle he hath for their tears, Pſalm 56.8. Now Job was one of thoſe penitents that helped to fill Gods bottle, and therefore he ſaw at length (though now he were benighted) all his ſins, bag, and all thrown into the ſea, and ſinking as a waighty milſtone in thoſe mighty waters of free-grace, and undeſerved mercy.
And thou ſoweſt up mine iniquity] Adſuèſne aliquid iniquitati meae? ſo the Tigurines tranſlate, i. e. Wilt thou ſew or adde any thing to mine iniquity? wilt thou tye to it that tag (as a Martyr phraſeth it) of the Lawes malediction, conjoyning the puniſhment to the ſin?Adſuere ad iniquitatem, eſt poenas poenis continenter adjungere. Merl. Some make this an explication of the former, q. d. the bag is not only ſealed, but for more ſurety, ſewed too, and that purpoſely for a purchaſe of puniſhment, as ſome ſenſe it.
Verſe 18. And ſurely the mountain falling cometh to nought] q. d. If thou, Lord, proceed to deal thus rigidly with me, viz. to number or cipher up my ſteps, to watch over my ſins, to ſeal them up in a bag &c. and all this in fierce wrath, that thou mayeſt lay load upon me; what mountain, what rock, what other creature is ever able to abide it?chap. 6.12. chap. 7.12. Job had ſaid before, Is my ſtrength the ſtrength of ſtones? Am I a ſea, or a whale? Were I theſe, or any the like robuſtuous creatures, yet could not I expect to ſtand before the diſpleaſed Omnipotency, who takeſt the hills like tennis-balls, and crackeſt the rocks like a Nut-ſhell. See Hab. 1.4, 5, 6. with the Notes.
And the rock is removed out of his place] As in earth-quakes it ſometimes falleth out. See on chap. 9.5. or by reaſon of the ſea underlaking, it decayeth in time, and waxeth old, as the Hebrew word ſignifieth.
Verſe 19. The waters weare the ſtones] Gutta cavat lapidem &c. the weakeſt things wear out the hardeſt by often falling upon them, or continual running over them: ſo doth Gods wrath though let out in minnums, ſecretly, but ſurely conſume, Hoſ. 5.12. I will be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the houſe of Judah as rottenneſſe, or that little worm (teredo) that eats into the heart of wood, and rots it. Thus he plagued the Egyptians by lice and flies. There may be much poiſon in little drops.
Thou waſheſt away the things that grow out of the earth] Or, Thou ever-floweſt, as once in the general deluge (when the face of the earth was grown ſo foul, that God was forc'd to waſh it with a flood) and frequently ſince, we ſee that after great rains there are huge floods that marre whole meadows and corne fields, not only diſcolouring, but drowning all their beauty and plenty. This is the fourth compariſon uſed in this and the former verſe; where a man would wonder, ſaith an Interpreter,Olymp. audire Jobum in medus …rumuis philoſophantem to hear Job in the midſt of his miſeries, making uſe of his philoſophy, and travelling thus in his thoughts, for illuſtrations of his own caſe, over mountains, and rocks, &c.
Thou destroyeſt the hope of man] viz. In deſtroying the things above-mentioned: or, ſo thou destroyeſt &c. though ſome reſerve the raddition to the next ver…, ſo Thou prevaileſt againſt him, &c. i.e. So thou never ceaſeſt with thy might to caſt down ſorry men, till ſuch time as they changing countenance, and departing with an heavy and ſorrowful heart, thou violently throweſt them out, their lives and hope ending together, if they have been wicked: as if godly, yet their vain and groundleſſe hopes of proſperity and plenty, &c. come to nothing; though over the red ſea, yet Gods people may be made to tack about two and forty times in the wilderneſſe.
Verſe 20. Thou prevaileſt for ever againſt him.] This and the reſt of the words to the end of the Chapter, ſome make to be the Application of the Similitudes; Others an Amplification only of what he had ſaid, Thou deſtroyeſt the hope of man. Thou muſt needs, when thou overmatcheſt and over-maſtereſt him, and art never worſted. Exod. 15.3. the Lord is called, A Man of War; the Chaldee there hath it, The Lord and Victor of Wars. And the word here rendred, Ever, cometh from a root that ſignifieth to finiſh, conquer, and triumph.
And he paſſeth.] ſcil. Out of the world by a violent or untimely death,Violen… mort… aut certe immaturà. Merlin. with as ill a will many times as the unjuſt Steward did out of his Office, as the Jebuſites did out of the Fort of Zion, or as the Devil out of the Demoniack. S…d voluntas Dei, neceſſit…s rei; he paſſeth, becauſe he can neither will nor chuſe, as they ſay.
Thou changeſt his countenance, and ſendeſt him away.] Eleganter vero mors notatur, immutandi verbo, ſaith one, Elegant is death ſet forth by changing the countenance: for death taketh away the faire and freſh colour of a man, and makes him look wan and withered, pale and ghaſtly. It is eaſ…e to ſee death many times (before it come) in the ſick man…face, in his ſharp noſtrils, thin cheeks, hollow eyes, &c.Facies Hippocratica. thoſe Harbingers of death, whereby God ſendeth for him, and ſo ſendeth him away, (extrudit & amandet, as once he did Adam out of Paradiſe. Lavaters Note here, is, Propone tihi ſemper horribileus ſpeciem mortis, ut eò minus pecces, Set before thy ſelf alwayes the horrid face of death, to reſtraine thee from ſin.
Verſe 21. His ſons come to honour, and he knoweth it not.] Whilſt he lyeth ſick,Omnis in Aſcanio chari ſtatcura parentis. Vir. he regardeth no earthly thing, no not what becometh of his children (formerly his greateſt care) whether they be advanced or impaired in their outward condition. As when he is dead he can take no knowledge of any thing done in this world, Iſai. 63.16 Eccleſ. 2.19. and 96. be his children or friends rich or poor, high or low, he is both ignorant and inſenſible. It was a baſe ſlander publiſhed by a Jeſuit, ſome years after Queen Elizabeths death, That as ſhe died without ſenſe or feeling of Gods mercies,Cambd. Eliz. Prefat. ſo that ſhe wiſhed ſhe might after her death hang a while in the Aire, to ſee what ſtriving would be for her Kingdome. As for that opinion of ſome Papiſts, That the dead do ſometimes returne into the Land of the living, that they know how things go here, and make report thereof to thoſe in heaven, it is contrary to the whole Scripture.
Verſe 22. But his fleſh upon him ſhall have pain.] That is, (ſay ſome) But as long as he is living, his body is afflicted with a thouſand evils; and though his ſoul, by the condition of her creation, be exempt from them, yet ſhe beares a part in them and becomes miſerable with it. A dying man hath ſorrow without, and ſorrow within; the whole man is in miſery, as Job here felt himſelf. Others hold,Aben-Ezra. Mercer Deodate that this Poetical repreſentation hath no other meaning, but that the dead have no manner of communication with the living. Broughtou rendreth it, His fleſh is grieved for it ſelf, and his ſoul will mourn for it ſelf; q.d. he takes no thought or care for his children or neereſt relations.