Commentary on Ezra Nehemiah Ester Job and Psalms, Commentary 4 · Chapter 16
CHAP. XVI. Verſe 1. Then Job anſwered and ſaid.]
ALthough he had little or nothing to anſwer unto but what he had anſwered before, yet that he might not ſay nothing, he replyeth to Eliphaz his painted ſpeech, and giveth him to know, That Prudentibus viris non placent phalerata ſed fortia (as B. Jewel was wont to ſay) that is, that wiſe men look for matter, and not for words only, from thoſe that accoaſt them.
Verſe 2. I have heard many ſuch things] Heard them over and over, till I am even ſated and nauſeated, Vexatus toties rauci; q.d. Your ſayings are ſuperfluous, your proofs inſufficient; you produce nothing new, nothing but what is trivial, and of very common obſervation; Hac ſex centies audivi; Mine eares are grated and grieved with theſe unneceſſary repetitions, only re-inforced with greater bitterneſſe; which as it addeth nothing at all to the weight of your words, ſo it cauſeth me to add this,
Miſerable Comforters are ye all.] Heb. Comforters of miſery, or of moleſtation, onerous and burdenſome (ſo the Vulgar rendreth it) and in that ſenſe, weighty if you will, laying more load upon me who was before in a ſinking condition. You charge me for ſleighting the conſolations of God, and pretend to come purpoſely to comfort me; but ſuch cold comforters I have ſeldome met with; for in ſtead of abating and allaying my ſorrowes, you do all you can to increaſe and heighten them. Is this your kindneſſe to your friend? Calvin noteth upon this Text, That ſome Comforters have but one Song to ſing, and they have no regard to whom they ſing it. But Saint Jude's rule is, Of ſome have compaſſion, making a difference, others ſave with fear, ver. 22, 23. which whiles Jobs friends obſerved not, they were juſtly ſtiled, Miſerable Comforters.
Verſe 3.Ampullatur in arti. Shall vain words have an end?] Heb. Shall there be an end to words of wind? Bubbles of words, big ſwoln ſpeeches, full of pride, void of reaſon: when ſhall we once have an end of them? They that would comfort another indeed, muſt not multiply vain repetition (for theſe are very burdenſome to a ſerious ear, much more to a ſad heart) much leſſe bitter ſpeeches, leaſt of all taunts and buffooneries, as verſ. 4. For, like as if the eye be inflamed, the mildeſt Medicine troubleth it, ſo is it here: how much more when harſh and uncouth?
Or what emboldneth thee that thou anſwereſt?] That thou rejoyneſt, having been ſo fully anſwered before? Some men will never be ſaid or ſet down; ſuch is their pertinacy, they will not lay down the bucklers, though beaten to their heads. Sed praſtas berbam dare, quam turpiter pugnare: Better yeild, then ſtand out with diſhonour.
Verſe 4. I alſo could ſpeak as you do. &c.] Every whit as curiouſly and furiouſly. I could ſcold and ſcoff as freely as you do, but I know no warrant ſo to retort and retaliate; Being reviled we bleſſe, being defamed, we entreat, 1 Corinth. 4.12, 13. To render railing for railing, is to think to waſh off dirt with dirt.
If your ſoul were in my ſouls ſtead] Some read it optatively, as Iſai. 64.1. Would to God your ſoul were in my ſouls ſtead; for then I would heap up words againſt you, and act your part upon you: but Job was not ſo malicious or vindictive, as to think that tallying of injuries, is but juſtice. Hypocritis nihil eſt crudelius, impatientius, & vindictae cupidius, ſaith Luther. Hypocrites are cruel, ſpiteful, and revengeful: but Job was none ſuch. He therefore telleth his friends, that if they were in his condition, he would deal much more mildly with them.
I could heap up words againſt you] I could, but would not. Poſſe & nolle, nobile eſt. Gen.Or thus, Would I heap up, &c. and handle you thus diſcourteouſly by ſpeeches and geſtures, as you do me? It were eaſie to wag a wicked tongue, and to ſhake my head at you in deſpite and mockery: but were this Religion? Doth not moral Philoſophy ſay, If a wiſe man ſpeak evil of thee, endure him: if a fool, pardon him? Vin…it qui patitur, as David did Saul, overcoming evil with good, though when he marched againſt Nabal, how rough and raſh was he in a reſolution of revenge? 1 Sam. 25.32.
Verſe 5. But I would ſtrengthen you with my mouth] I would ſpeak to your hearts, and raiſe up your drooping ſpirits. True it is, that conſolatiuncula creat… rulae (as Luther calleth them) creature comforts are poor buſineſſes: nevertheleſſe God conveyeth comfort many times by one man to another, as the aire conveyeth light, or water heat. His comforts are either rational, fetch'd from grounds which faith miniſtreth; or real, from the preſence of any thing that comforteth. as the ſight and diſcourſe of a friend. And herein, how forcible are right words? chap. 6. 25. They are of force. we ſee here, both to ſtrengthen the feeble minded, and to abate the ſtrength of their ſorrowes, to aſſwage the moſt ſwelling floods thereof. And thus one man may be an Angel, nay, a God to another. Now whereas ſome might ſay, You that are ſo good at comforting others, and promiſe ſo fair, Why are you not comfortable? Job anſwereth, in the next verſe, that this was their fault, who had unkindly kept him off from receiving any comfort.
Verſe 6. though I ſpeak, my grief is not aſſ…agest] Heb. If I ſpeak; ſcil. to bewail my miſery or to maintain mine innocency; ye ſay '…is good enough for me, and how can I be but wicked, who am ſo puniſhed? As,
If I forbear, what am I eaſed?] Heb. What goeth from me? q.d. Ye conclude me guilty, becauſe ſilent; as if I had nothing to ſay for my ſelf. Some make the words to refer to God; as if Job had ſaid, Whether I ſpeak, or whether I forbear, God doth not come in to my help, I find no comfort from him, &c. and by the next verſe it ſhould ſeem that this is the right ſenſe.
Verſe 7. But now be hath made me weary] i.e. God, whom he acknowledgeth the Author of his afflictions; but he ſhould better have born up under them,Quis cum fatigevis? Dolor, vel Dem ipſe? Lavat. then to faint and fret even unto madneſſe, as the Septuagint here tranſlates. Job was now not only wet to the skin, but his ſoul came into iron, as Joſephs once, Pſal. 105.18. Like Ezekiels book, chap. 2. he was written quite through with woes and lamentations. And he might ſay with heman, Pſal. 88.15. While I ſuffer thy terrors I am diſtracted. The grief which he here deſcribeth, Major erat, quàm ut verbis comprehendi, gravior quàm ut ferri, moleſtior quam ut credi paſſes, ſaith Brentius; i.e. In locum.Was greater then could be uttered, heavier then could be born, more troubleſome then can be believed. He therefore ſets it out as well as he can, and amplifies it by figures and Hyperbolies, to move God and his friends to pity him: and to ſhew that he complained not without cauſe.
Thou haſt made deſolate all my company] Heb. Thou haſt wonderfully deſolated or waſted all my company; that is, all my joynts and members (ſo the Vulgar tranſlateth it;) but they do better that underſtand it of Jobs family and familiar friends,In nibilum redacti ſunt omnes artus mei. who were either deſtroyed, or ſtood amazed at his ſo great affliction, and yeelded him little comfort. Ne te autem turbet enallage perſona, faith Mercer here; the change of perſon need not trouble us: only the troubledneſs and unevenneſſe of Jobs ſpeech ſheweth, that his ſpirit was troubled and unſettled. We meet with the like oft in the Pſalms.
Verſe 8. Thou haſt filled me with wrinkles which is a witneſſe againſt me] viz. that I am an afflicted man, but yet not a wicked man, ſuch as Eliphaz had deſcribed by his pingis aqualiculus, thoſe collops in his flank, chap. 15.27.Perſius. Thou baſt made me all wrinkled (ſo Broughton rendreth it) or, Thou haſt wrinkled me. The Hebrew word is found in Job only: but in the Rabbins more frequently. Grief had made ſurrowes in Jobs face and his tears had often filled them.
And my leanneſſe riſing up in me] ſcil. By the continuance of my ſores and ſorrowes, which have made my body a very bag of bones, and cauſe me to cry out, My leanneſſe, my leanneſſe, wo unto me, Iſai. 24.16. My fleſh, through my grievous anguiſh, being fallen from my bones, which riſe up in a ghaſtly manner.
Beareth witneſſe to my face] ſcil. That I am one of Gods Plagipatidae, poor Afflicted: But what of that? Scourgeth he not every Son whom he receiveth? Heb. 12.7. Others render it, Ium… face; where my leanneſſe ſitteth, and is moſt conſpicuous: like as it is ſaid of our Saviour, That with faſting and paines taking he had ſo wanzed and macerated himſelf, that at little paſt thirty, he was looked upon as one toward fifty,Mr. Clark in his life. John 8.57. And as Mr. John Fox the Martyrologue, by his exceſſive paines in compiling the Acts and Monuments of the Church in the ſpace of eleven years, grew thereby ſo lean and withered, that his friends hardly knew him to be the ſame man.
Verſe 9. he reareth me in his wrath, &c.] Who did all this to Job? The devil ſay ſome; his Diſeaſe, ſay others: (that was a moſt uncharitable cenſure paſſed by Luther upon Occolampadius, Lib. de Miſſa. prin. Anno Dom. 1533.that he died ſuddenly ignitis Satanae telis confeſſus, ſlain by Satans fiery darts, becauſe he died of a Carbuncle.) But Job ſurely meaneth it of God, upon whom his heart was ſtill, though he ſpeak here ſomewhat unhappily of him, out of the ſenſe of the fleſh, and greatneſs of his grief.
Who hateth me] Heb. He Satanically hateth me. What ſtrange language is this from him who elſewhere calleth God his Salvation, his Redeemer, chap. 13.15, 16, 18. and 19.25. and will by and by call him his witneſſe in heaven, to whom his eye powreth out tears, verſ. 19, 20? How ſhall we reconcile theſe ſo contrary paſſions and paſſages, otherwiſe then by ſaying, that every good man is two men, &c? neither can it poſſibly be expreſſed how deeply ſenſible the Saints are of Gods diſpleaſure, when they are more then ordinarily afflicted by him, and eſpecially when he ſeemeth to fight againſt them with his own hand Hereby (ſaith Ferus) we may eaſily ſee in what a perplexed eſtate wicked Reprobates ſhall be at the laſt day, when God ſhall declare himſelf to be ſuch an enemy to them indeed; for ſo much as one of his Elect, and a moſt rare man, but conceiving him to be againſt him, becauſe hee had no preſent ſenſe of his favour, was thus extremely troubled.
He gnaſheth upon me with his teeth.] as extremely angry, Act. 7.54. and by ſharpning his teeth threatning deſtruction, Pſal. 37.12.
Mine enemy ſharpneth his eyes upon me] which caſt forth as it were ſparkles of fire. An elegant Hypotypoſis, or deſcription of his ſad condition to the life, Ʋt non tam geſtares quam nunc geri videatur, ſaith Brentius, as if we ſaw it even acted before our faces.Brent. in loc.
Verſe 19. they have gaped upon me with their mouth.] They? who? Non ſolum Dens, nec ſolum amici mei, ſed tota rerum machinae mihi adverſa…ur. Not God only, nor theſe friends of mine; but all the creatures are up in armes againſt me, and threaten to devour me at one morſel.
They have ſmitten me upon the cheek reproachfully] i.e. They have done me all the diſgrace that may be. See Lam 9.30. 2 Cor. 11.20, 21. Mic. 5.1. Act. 23.1, 2 John 18.22. Our Saviour was ſo ſerved according to the Letter; they gaped upon him, mowed at him, buffeted him on the face, gathered themſelves together againſt him, as here. Hence ſome of the Ancients call Job a figure and Type of Chriſt, who was thus dealt with both literally and alſo figuratively.
they have gathered themſelves together againſt me] Or, They have filled themſelves upon me; Tigurin.as Exod. 15.7. They have taken their fill of pleaſure at my miſeries, as one rendreth it: Or, They come upon me by full troops; ſo Broughton. Men are apt to agree for miſchief, Pſa. 35.15. & 83.5, 6, 7.
Verſe 11. God hath delivered me to the ungodly] i.e. To the Devil, and his inſtruments, thoſe Chaldean and Sabean Robbers, Chap. 1.15, 17. together with his hard-hearted friends, who for want of the true fear of God, added to his afflictions, chap. 6.14. See the Note there.
And turned me over, &c.] As a Magiſtrate doth a Malefactor to the Executioner. It is a ſore affliction to be under the rule of wicked men: much more to be under the rage, which yet was the caſe of that noble army of Martyrs, ancient and modern. The comfort is, that although the Lord turn his ſervants over into the hands of the wicked, whoſe tender mercies are meet cruelties, yet he never …es them out of his Own hand, neither will he ſuffer the rod of the wicked to reſt upon the lot of the righteous. Pſa. 125.3. His conſtant care is, that the choice ſpirits of his afflicted people fail not before him, and therefore he numbreth out their ſtroaks, and if their enemies over do and go beyond their commiſſion, ſo as to help forward the foreappointed affliction, he is ſort diſpleaſed and jealous with a great jealouſie againſt them; Zach. 1.15.
Verſe 12. I was at eaſe, but be hath broken me aſunder] It is no ſmall miſery to have been happy Fuimus Troes & fortis Mileſis Euripides bringeth in Hecuba as aſhamed to look Polymneſtor in the face, becauſe of a Queen ſhe was now a Captive; her former felicity was no ſmall aggravation of her preſent miſery: So was Jobs. Proſper eram, ſed diſrupit me, ſaith he; I was wealthy, but he hath undone me; ſo Broughton rendreth it. The ſame Hebrew word ſignifieth both to be rich, and to be at eaſe; for ſuch commonly ſing Requiems to their ſouls, as he did Luke 12.19. and ſay, I ſhall never be moved, Pſal. 30.6. I ſhall ſee no ſorrow, Rev. 18.7. But God can quickly confute them. Jobs worldly proſperity was quickly daſht and loſt He once hoped to have died in his neſt, but God not only unneſted him, but broke him to ſhivers, yea beat him to duſt and atomes, as the word here ſignifies. Nay more,
He hath alſo taken me by the neck.] As a ſtrong man doth his enemy, daſhing him to the ground, and giving him his Paſport, as we ſay.
And hath ſhaken me to pieces.] Heb. He hath ſcattered and ſcattered me. as a ſtone crumbled to crattle, or a pitcher beaten to powder. Sunt illuſtres figurae & elegantes hyperbolae, ſaith Mercer. here's brave Rhetorick.
And ſet me up for his mark.] Heb. For a mark to him; that I may feel all the arrowes of his judgments. See chap, 7.20. with the Note there. God ſhot ſhowrs of ſhafts at him, and ſeemed to take pleaſure in ſo doing; as a man doth in his ſhooting at a mark.
Verſe 13. His Archers compaſſe me round about.] i.e. His Inſtruments of my woe, whether perſons or things, but eſpecially my grievous ſores putting me to intollerable paine: theſe are Gods Arrowes or Archers, and do make my poor body not unlike that ſhield of Sceva at the ſiege of Dyrrachium, Denſamque ferens in pectore ſylvam. Luc.which had two hundred and twenty darts ſticking in it, when Caeſar came to his reſcue.
He cleaveth my reines aſunder] As a skilful Archer, he hits the white, he cleaves the pin, as they call it, he ſhooteth exactly (to the very chining and diſſecting of my back-bone) and ſo putteth me to moſt exquiſite pain and torment, Lam. 3.13.
He poureth out my gall upon the ground.] My bowels, ſaith the Vulgar. The gall is affixed to the liver, and when that is poured out; the man cannot live, becauſe his wound is mortal and incurable. Job held himſelfe ſo, but it proved better: the Lord chaſtened him ſore, but he gave him not over to death, Pſal. 118.18.
Verſe 14. He breaketh me with breach upon breach] So that I have hardly any breathing-while, Quis tot & tantis ferendis ſimul par ſit? Let no man henceforth ſay.Non babet in nobis jam nova plaga locum. Never did any one ſuffer ſuch hard and heavy things as I do. What I did not Job? This ſtory of his is a Book caſe to anſwer ſuch an Objection, ſith never any before, nor ſince his time was ſo handled; witneſſe the lamentable moane he maketh here. And yet to ſhew his equanimity under the hand of God, Buxtorf and Amama have obſerved, that the Hebrew word, Perets, in this Text rendred, breath, Buxtorf. Tiberios 167. Amama in Corand. Diſſert.hath a letter leſſer then ordinary in the beſt Copies. to ſignifie, that Jobs great calamities ſeemed to him to be but little, becauſe he hoped that God would turn them all to the beſt unto his ſoul.
He runneth upon me like a Giant] With ſpeed, ſtrength and courage, fiercely and fearleſly, But now what doth Job? doth he ſtand ſtouting and ſturdying it out with God? No, but in the next words he telleth us how he was affected with theſe afflictions; ſcil. that as Gods hand was heavy upon him ſo he held out all the demonſtrations and emblemes of an heavy heart; and as God had laid him low, ſo he carried his ſoul accordingly. God reined him with a rough bit, and he repented.
Verſe 15. I have ſowed ſackcloth upon my skin] Not Silks. but ſackcloth is now mine immediate cloathing, next my very skin, which muſt needs be troubleſome to a man ſo full of fores and other ſorrowes. So far was poor ulcerous Job from that height and haughtineſſe of ſpirit, wherewith Eliphaz had charged him. chap. 15.12, 23, 25. as if Job had been … indeed, but not lowly; hambled, but not humble. Here was a real Apology, I have ſowed ſackcloth, &c. here was an ocular demonſtration, and ſhould have moved his friends to more moderation: for why ſhould any deale harſhly with him, who dealt ſo courſely with himſelf?
And defiled my horn in the duſt.] My horn, that is, my head, ſay ſome. My ſplendour, ſaith the Chaldee; Omnia quondam magnifica, All that I formerly made any reckoning of, ſaith Brentius; who alſo hath this good Note upon the Text. The ſenſe of Gods wrath and judgements due for ſin, changeth all our gayety, maketh all our coſtly garments be laid aſide, putteth us into the habit of penitent Suppliants, cauſeth us to abhor our ſelves, and repent in duſt and aſhes, which were anciently the ſignes and ſymbols of true contrition. And now ſith Chriſtians ought to repent all their life long, and to grieve for their ſins, let them be alwayes cloathed with ſackcloth, not without, but within; and let them put duſt on their heads, by remembring that they are but duſt, and that they cannot be raiſed out of the duſt, and in ſtead of ſackcloth, be cloathed with the robes of glory, but by the mercy of God, through the merits of Chriſt, &c.
Verſe 16. My face is foule with weeping.] Is ſwelled, ſaith the Vulgar. Is ſhriveled up, ſay the Jew-Doctors: is double dirtied, ſo one rendreth it. So far was Job from ſtretching out his hand againſt God, and ſtrengthing himſelf againſt the Almighty, as Eliphaz h…d charged him, chap. 15.25. That he lay at Gods feet as a Suppliant with blubbered and beſlubbered cheeks; having furrowes in his face, and Iſickles from his lips with continual weeping, yea, he had wept himſelf blind almoſt, for ſo it followeth;
And on mine eye lids is the ſhadow of death;] i.e. Mine eyes doe fail with teares, as Lum. 2.11.Mercer. Largâ lachry marum copiâ aci…oculorum obſtruente; they are even waſted away and ſunk into my head, as in a dying man. Much weeping ſpendeth the ſpirits, weakneth the viſive power, and ſometimes blindeth, as it did Fanſtus (the ſon of Vortiger King of this Iſland by his own daughter.) who is ſaid to have wept himſelf blind for the abominations of his parents. See Davids teares and the effects thereof, Pſa 6.7. and 38.10.
Verſe 17. Not for any injuſtice (Heb. violence or wrong doing) in my hands] Job could waſh his hands of that rapine and bribery wherewith they had injuriouſly charged him,3. Serm. before K. Edw. chap. 15.34. and ſafely ſay of it, as afterwards Father Latimer did of Sedition; As for that ſin, for ought that I know, me thinks I ſhould not need Chriſt, if I might ſo ſay. Some failings there might be in him in doing juſtice, but no intendments of doing injuſtice.
Alſo my prayer is pure] As proceeding from an heart waſht from wickedneſſe, Jer. 4.14. and preſented with holy hands, lifted up without wrath or doubting, 1 Tim. 2.8. That he regarded not iniquity in his heart, he was well aſſured, Pſal, 66.17. Prayer is the powring out of the heart; if iniquity be harboured there, prayer will have the ſent and ſavour, and that incenſe will ſtrike off the hand which offereth it. God requireth, that in every place Incenſe be offered unto his name and a pure Offering, Mal. 1.11. It ſtandeth a man in hand to ſee that though his work be but mean, yet it be clean; though not fine, yet not foule, ſoiled and ſhibbered with the flur of a rotten heart. An upright man in afflictions is not without his cordial, as is to be ſeen in Job here, and 8 Paul, 2 Cor. 1.12.
Verſe 18. O earth cover not thou my blood.] Job had made an high profeſſion of his innocenty and integrity. This he … confirmeth, 1. By an imprecation againſt himſelf. 2. By an appeal to God, ver. 19 in this imprecation or wiſh of his (which Mr. Broughton taketh to be meant by the foregoing words. Alſo my prayer is pure, rendred by him thus, Bar my wiſh is clean, ſaying. Oh earth cover …t, &c.) he hath an eye, no doubt to the Hiſtory of Abelo blood, ſhed by Cain. Gen 4. and it is as if he ſhould ſay, If I have committed murder or …hy the like wickedneſſe, cover it not, O earth, but do thy office by crying out againſt me; yea, cry ſo loud to God for vengeance, as to drowne the voice of my ſupplication.
And let my cry have no place.] A moſt pathetical ſpeech, able to … the heart of his friends to relent to hear it, and ſtraightway to … their opinion of him, whiles he thus beſpeaketh the earth, and maketh res …, the … and lifeleſſe creatures, his hearers.
Verſe 19. Alſo now behold my witneſſe is on heaven.] Here's his appeal to God ſo great is the confidence of a good conſcience. We alſo may do the like, if there be no other way left of clearing our innocency; provided that we do it with a cleare conſcience, and in a matter of conſequence; not in jeſt but in judgement. Some of the Martyrs appealed thus, and cited their Perſecutors to anſwer at Gods Tribunal. Yea, to help the truth in neceſſity, a private Oath betwixt two or more, may be lawfully taken, ſo it be done ſparingly and warily: for in ſerious affaires and matters of great importance, if it be lawful in private to admit God as a Judge, why ſhould he not as well be called to witheſſe? Again, the examples of holy men ſhew the practiſe of private Oathes as not unlawful, Jacob and Laban confirmed their covenant by a private Oath, ſo did Jonathan and David, &c.
Verſe 20. My friends ſcorn me] Or, Play the Rhetoricians againſt me. David likewiſe complaineth of his Rhetorical mockers at feaſts, that made as it were ſet ſpeeches againſt him. One rendreth it, My friends are Interpreters, or rather miſ-interpreters of my ſpeeches. For my love they are my adverſaries, but I give my ſolf unto prayer, Pſal. 109.4.
But mine eye powres h…ut tears unto God.] Expletur lachrymis egeriturque dolor. The Hebrew hath it. Mine eye droppeth, or diſtilleth to God. Prayers and tears are the weapons of the Saints, whoſe eyes, glazed with tears, are fitly compared to the Fiſh pools of Heſhbon. Cant. 7.4. Theſe tears have a voice (Pſal. 39.12. Hold not thy peace at my tears,) they are moſt powerful Oratours. Chriſt going to ſuffer on the Croſſe, could not but turn back and comfort thoſe weeping women. God will powre out comforts into their boſomes, who can poure out teares into his: they can never be at any loſſe, who find out God to weep to.
Verſe 21. Oh that one might plead for a man with God] Heb. And he wil plead for a man with God, and the Son of man for his friend; that is, (ſay our late learned Annotators, to whom we are greatly bound for this moſt ſweet and ſpiritual expoſition of the words) Chriſt who is God and man will plead my cauſe with his Father: He can prevaile, becauſe he is God equal to the Father; he will undertake it, becauſe he will be man like to me. This interpretation agreeth beſt with the coherence and the words following. And it ſeemeth that Job knew the myſtery of Chriſts Incarnation, chap. 1.25, 26, 27. where he ſpeaketh of him, both as God, and as a viſible Redeemer. Chriſt is frequently called the Son of man in the New Teſtament, and believers are called his friends, John 15.13, 14, 15. By this Text thus expounded, wee ſee that the Doctrine of a Mediatour betweene God and man was knowne and believed in the world, long before Chriſt came into the world. He is the Lamb of God ſlaine from the foundation of the world. Rev. 13.8. and to the Jewes the Ceremonial Law was in ſtead of a Goſpel.
Verſe 22. When a few years are come, &c.] Heb. years of number; that is, years that may eaſily be counted and caſt up. The years of the longeſt live… are but few, they may be quickly numbred. This ran much in Jobs mind, and made him very deſirous to be cleared before he dyed, that he might not go out of the world in a ſnuff.
Then ſhall I go the way.] That way of all fleſh, 1 Kin. 2.2. which Job feareth not to do, as knowing whom he had truſted, and that death ſhould be unto him the day break of eternal brightneſſe.
Whence I ſhall not return. See chap. 7.9, 10. and 10.21. with the Notes.