Commentary on Ezra Nehemiah Ester Job and Psalms, Commentary 4 · Chapter 17
CHAP. XVII. Verſe 1. My breath is corrupt.]
WHich argueth that my inwards are Impoſthumated, and rotten, ſo that I cannot in likelihood have long to live; Oh therefore that I might have a day of hearing and clearing, before I dye. But Job ſhould have remembered, that there will be at the laſt day a reſurrection of names, as well as of bodies; which he that believeth maketh not haſte. Howſoever it was not amiſſe for Job ſo grievouſly diſeaſed, and now well in years, to bethink himſelf of death, and to diſcourſe of theſe three particulars, that ſpeak him a dying man. In the old, the Palm tree is full of bloomes, the map of age is figured on his forehead, the Calendars of death appear in the furrowes of his face, the mourners are ready to go about the ſtreets, and he is going to his long home, according to that elegant deſcription, Eccleſ. 12.Varro de're ruſt. l. 1. c. 1. He ſhould therefore ſay with Varro, Annus octogeſimus wie admonet, ut ſarcinas colligam, &c. It is high time for me to pack up, and to be gone out of this life: Or rather, as Simeon, Lord, now let thou thy ſervant depart in peace, &c.
My dayes are extinct] As a candle, Prov. 13.9. Or, Cut off (as a web) ſo ſome read it. The Original word is found only here.
The graves are ready for me.] Heb. The graves for me; q.d. I bid adieu to all things elſe, and as the grave gapes for me, ſo do I gape for the grave, foreign. I would it were even ſo, as Baſil ſaid, when Valens the Arian Emperor threatned him with death. But why doth Job ſpeak of graves in the plural? Surely, to ſhew that he was beſieged with many deaths: or elſe, becauſe the dead are buried (as it were) firſt in their grave-cloathes, and then in the coffin, and then in the Beir or Hearſe, and laſtly in the Sepulcher, which every place did, as it were, proffer to Job, and threaten him with death, in regard of his many paines and preſſures, by the ſcoffs and taunts of his friends. For,
Verſe 2. Are there not mockers with me?] Heb. If there be not mockers with me, q.d. deſpeream, Let me be puniſhed, or let me be blarned for wiſhing to argue it out with God: ſo ſome Jew-Doctors ſenſe it. job had before complained of his friends jearing and girding at him, chap. 16.20. To be mocked in miſery is no ſmall aggravation thereof. See what is threatned. Prov. 1.26. The Proverb is, Oculus, fides. & fa…a non patiuntur jocot. There's no jeſting with a mans eye, faith, and fame. Junius readreth the Text thus, For as much as there are no mockings with me, I meane honeſtly, and deal plainly, and yet mine eye continueth in their provocations, neither can I be ſet right in their opinions, ſo prejudiced they are againſt me.
And doth not mine eye continue in their prevoc…miums?] Heb. Lodg or tarry all night in their provocations, or bitterneſſes? Broughton readeth, In thoſe mans vexing lodgeth mine eye; that is, I lodg not ſo much in roy bed as in the thoughts of my friends un…neſſe. And indeed (ſaith one) a man may ſleep better upon bare boards, then upon hard words. Some refer it to the eye of his mind lifted up to God in prayer: but yet no ſweetneſſe coming from him either internally or externally. The former is rather to be followed.
Verſe 3. Lay down now, put me in a ſurety with thee] This Job ſpeaketh not to El… (as K. Moſes. Beza. and ſome others would have it) but to God himſelf, as chap. 16.7. whom he deſireth to lay down or appoint (as Exod. 1.11.) and put in Chriſt as a Surety to plead for him. See Heb. 7.22. and ſo Brentius expoundeth it; There is one only ſurety (ſaith he) one only Interceſſor, the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, who if he appear not in the eyes of our faith, we have none elſe that can undertake for us to God; neither is there any creature which can ſtand in the judgement of God, though he would never ſo fain be Surety for us: Thus he. And accordingly our late learned Annotatours reading the words thus: Appoint I pray thee my Surety with thee; who is he then that will ſt…ke upon my hand? that is, Appoint Chriſt, who is with thee in heaven, and hath undertaken to be my Surety: appoint him (I ſay) to plead my cauſe and to ſtand up for me, and then no man will dare to contend with me. And ſo it is futable to the Notes on chap. 16.21. and to Rom. 8.33. The Vulgar Latine, (not altogether from the purpoſe, ſaith Brentius,) tranſlates the whole verſe thus, Put me near thy ſelf, and then let whoſe will contend with me.
Verſe 4. Thou haſt hid their heart from underſtanding.] that is, Thou haſt hidden underſtanding from their heart, thou haſt left them in the dark, deſtitute of a right judgement, whilſt they condemn me for wicked, becauſe grievouſly afflicted; and thence it is that I do ſo confidently appeal to thee in Jeſus Chriſt, ſith my friends are ſo far miſtaken in this controverſie. If God give not both light and ſight, if he vouchſafe not to irradiate both Organ and Object, the beſt will be bemiſted. Every good gift and perfect cometh from above, even from the Father of lights, Jam. 1.17. It was he that made Reverend Doctor Sibbs (as one ſaith of him) Spiritually rational, and rationally Spiritual; One that ſeemed to ſee the inſides of Nature and Grace, and the world and heaven, by thoſe perfect Anatomies he had made of them all.
Therefore ſhalt thou not exalt them] Therefore thou ſhalt not give them honour: ſo Broughton rendreth it. But that's not all, Liptoti eſt, ſaith Mercer; it is a figure, wherein leſſe is ſaid, and more is meant: Thou ſhalt not only not exalt them, but thou ſhalt alſo abaſe and humble them: this conteſtation ſhall be nothing at all to their commendation in the end. It is the found knowledg of the truth according to godlineſſe, that exalteth a man, and makes him to be accounted of; and the contrary. Howbeit many great and good men have been greatly miſtaken in very great controverſies and tranſactions, as was Luther, Doctor Reſolutus, ſed non in omnibus Illuminatus. And yet how many Learned able men hath his name miſled in the point of Conſubſtantiation? Ʋrſin was carried away with it a while, till he read his Arguments which he found to be little better then Paralogiſmes. Holy Greenham. when preſſed to conformity to the Ceremonies by the Biſhop of Ely. who urged Luthers approbation of them; and are you wiſer then Luther? His ſober and gracious anſwer was, I reverence more the revealed will of God in teaching Luther ſo many neceſſary things to ſalvation, then I ſearch into his ſecret will, why he hid his heart from underſtanding in things leſs neceſſary.
Verſe 5. He that ſpeaketh flattery to his friends.] As you my friends do to, and for God, in ſeeming to aſſert his juſtice in puniſhing me for my wickedneſſe, ſo ſoothing and ſmoothing up the Almighty (quod ipſum nibil aliud eſt quam falſo Deo blaudiri, ſaith Merlin) and ſeeking to make the world believe by your great words, that you are his great Champions, whilſt you go about to cleare up his righteouſneſſe, by concluding me unrighteous, See chap. 13.7, 8. with the Notes.
The eyes of his children ſhall fail.] Not himſelf only ſhall ſmart (while the Lord curteth off flattering lips, and the deceitful tongue, Pſal. 12.3.) but his poor children ſhall rue for it. They ſhall lye languiſhing at Hopes Hoſpital, and after all be diſappointed, or their eyes ſhall fail with long looking after good, but nothing comes. They ſhall look for peace, and there is no good; and for a time of healing, but behold trouble, Jer. 14.19. God will deſtroy flatterers, head and tail, branch and ruſh, like as the Theſſalians, once utterly deſtroyed the City called,Hen. Steph. Apol. pro Herod. foreign or Flattery.
Verſe 6. He hath made me alſo a by-word of the people.] Here Job returnes to his old task of ſetting forth his own miſery; for what men are moſt ſenſible of, that their tongues do moſt of all run upon. Job is a by word or a Proverb to this day, for we ſay, As poor as Job; as of old they ſaid, Iro panperior, &c. He was become a common proverb, a publick mocking-ſtock, yea he was pro cantione and tympanum trita; as ſome ſenſe the next words. And aforetime (or, to mens faces) I was (or I am) … tabret: They ſing my miſeries to the Tabret, as a matter of mirth; they compoſe Comedies out of my Tragedies, and this greatneth my grief. I am openly a T…bret: ſo Broughton reads it. The Vulgar hath it, I am an example before them. The Chaldee Paraphraſt, I am at hell before them. The Hebrew word in Tophet, taken afterwards indeed for hell, but not ſo in Jobs t…me. The Septuagint, I became a ſport to them; David met with the like meaſure, Pſal. 69.19, 11. and the Church, Lam. 2.15.foreign And Chriſt on the Croſſe was matter of mirth to the malicious Jewes. God had made Job all this. He (that is, God) hath made me, &c. his name he ſpares in reverence: but every where he acknowledgeth God the Author of his troubles, as Mercer here noteth. The whole verſe may be read thus: He hath made me alſo a by-word of the people, where as aforetime, I was as a Tabret; that is, I am now a ſcorn to them who delighted in me in my proſperity.
Verſe 7. Mine eye alſo is dim by reaſon of ſorrow] Not only is my good name blaſted, but my body alſo is waſted: the nerves of mine eyes are contracted, the viſive faculty decayed, Pſal. 6.7. Mine eye is conſumed becauſe of grief, yea my ſoul and my belly,R. Levi. Pagnin Vatab. Pſal. 1.10. Not the viſive only, but the vital powers …re waſted (ſee chap. 16.16.) yea the intellective part, as well as the ſenſitive, underſtood by the formations in the next clauſe, that is, the cogitations, ſay they according to Gen. 6.5. But I rather take it according to our Tranſlation, for the members of the body.
And all my members are as a ſhadow] My membra are but umbra, they look more like a Skeleton, an Anatomy, an Apparition, then a true body, nothing being left but skin and bone ſo much meager'd are all my members. This is hyperbolica ma…orum ſuorum amplificatio, ſaith Merlin.
Verſe 8. Ʋpright men ſhall be a ſtonied at this] They ſhall ſilently admire and adore the fathomleſſe depth of the divine adminiſtration, when they ſee a man ſo upright to ſuffer ſuch heavy preſſures: yet ſhall they not cenſure me as you do, not condemn me for complaining, ſith there is a cauſe. They cannot indeed ſee far into Gods ſecret intentions, they do therefore mirari rather then rimari, like as the old Romanes dedicated unto Victory a certain Lake, the depth whereof they could not fathom.
And the innocent ſhall ſtir up himſelf againſt the hypocrite] He ſhall learn of me, not to be baffled out of his ſincerity; to be mocked out of his integrity, but to maintain and take comfort therein againſt all his falſe Accuſers. Oppoſition doth not weaken, but waken Heroick Spirits, 2 Sam. 6.21, 22. They proceed ſo much the more vigorouſly in the wayes of Holineſs; like as Lime burns the more for the cold water caſt upon it, and as the Palm-tree, which although it have many weights at the top, and many ſnakes at the bottome, yet it ſtirreth up it ſelfe, and flouriſheth, taking for its Poſie, Nee premor, nec perimor. Nothing hurteth or hindreth me.
Verſe 9. The righteous alſo ſhall hold on his way] Stumble he may for a time at his owne calamity, and worſe mens felicity; but as he that ſtumbleth, and yet falleth not, gets ground; ſo fareth it with the righteous in this caſe. Once David ſaid, Verily I have cleanſed my heart in vaine, and waſhed my hands in innocency: For all the day long have I been plagued, when had men have been proſpered. Hence he began to repent of his repentance, and to miſcenſure the generation of Gods children as thrice miſerable, Pſal. 73.13, 14, 15. but after a while, and upon better conſideration, he ſaid, This is mine infirmity; yea, he befooled and be beaſted himſelf, ver. 22. for ſo ſaying. And the like will all thoſe at length do, that belong to God, though for the preſent offended at Gods proceedings, and by their paſſions miſcarried to their coſt; yet they return to their right minds: forwards they may fall ſometimes, but not backwards, for that were far more dangerous. Lord, to whom ſhould we go, ſaith Peter? ſith thou alone haſt the words of eternal life, John 6.68. Neither know we where to mend our ſelves, by gadding about to change our way, Jer. 2.36. The righteous ſhall hold on his way, merdicùs tenebit, he ſhall hold it toughly, hold it as with tooth and nail, not going aſide a nailes bredth; foreign, he ſhall ſtick to it, as the Greek hath it.
And he that hath clean hands] Upright Innocent. Righteous, cleane handed, theſe all are the good mans adjuncts and Titles of honour, far beyond thoſe of the worlds greateſt Magnifico.
Shall wax ſtronger and ſtronger] Heb. Shall add ſtrength, Not only ſhall hee hold his own, but get more grace; not only perſevere, but proceed and make progreſſe. He ſhall take boldneſſe, Sumet audaciam.ſay the Septuagint, and (by an holy Antipenſtaſis) get heart of grace, as they call it, from the evil attempts of others againſt him; the more outragious they, the more couragious he; like as by Saint Pauls bonds many waxed confident, Phil. 1.14. and as the Primitive Chriſtians, the more they were killed up, the more numerous they became. True zeal is of a moſt maſculine,Plures efficimur quoties mctimur. Tertul. and couragious nature: it is inkindled, by quench-coales, quickened by rubs and remora's. Ba…uc repaired earneſtly, burſting out into heat, nehem. 3.20. Shall ſuch a man as I flye? ſaid that heavenly Spark, chap. 6.11. Shall I change my opinion, becauſe hoc Ithacus velit? Remit of my diligence, becauſe of a frown or a frump? becauſe ſuch a Perſecutour threatneth me? Oh that I might enjoy thoſe wild beaſts prepared for my death, ſaid Ignatius! Oh that I might have the maidenhead of that kind of ſuffering for Chriſt, ſaid that Martyr to Bonner, threatning to whip him, &c.
Verſe 10. But as for you all, do ye return, &c.] Change your minds, as Mal. 3. 18. and cloſe with me, lay aſide your prejudicate opinions, deliver up you ſelves to my diſcipline, who am ready to teach you things both weighty and neceſſary, Siquis culturae patientem accommodet aurem.
For I cannot find one wiſe man amongſt you.] Nihil hic ex odio dicit. ſaith an Interpreter. This Job ſpeaketh not out of hatred to their perſons, but freely uttereth that which he was perſwaded to be the truth, and wiſheth them a better underſtanding of the thing controverted betwixt himſelf and them at this time. Now it is no fault to ſpeak of men as we find them. See 1 Cor. 6.5. I ſpeak to your ſhame. is it ſo that there is not a wiſe man among you? and yet chap. 10.15. I ſpeak as to wiſe men, judg you what I ſay.
foreign.Theog.
Verſe 11. My dayes are paſt] q.d. Its paſt time of day for me to hope for a returne of a proſperous condition, ſith I am irrecoverably diſeaſed, and cannot be long of life.
My purpoſes are broken off.] Or, My thoughts are pluckt up by the roots. even the Poſſeſſions of mine heart. that is, thoſe thoughts that ſhould wholly poſſeſſe me, and take me up entirely, ſeizing upon my ſpirit; q.d. I am not now in caſe to think ſettledly and ſeriouſly of any good, my ſorrowes are ſo many, and my ſores ſo grievous. The Chaldee hath it, The Tables of my heart are broken. How fooliſh then are they who put off their repentance till they are caſt upon their ſick-beds, when they may ſoon find enough to do to attend the paine and infirmity of their bodies? To ſuffer and be ſick, (ſaith One) is work enough for any man at one time: he had not need to have his greateſt work to do, when he hath ſuch work to do.
Verſe 12. They change the night into day.] i.e. My troubled thoughts render my nights reſtleſs, filling me with confuſion, when the mind is unſettled the man cannot reſt.
The light is ſhort becauſe of darkneſſe] i.e. Comfort is long ere it cometh,Bern. and ſoon it expireth: Rara hora. brevis mora. The Vulgar, Poſt tenebras ſpero …ucem, here, After darkneſſe I hope for light (the ancient Motto of the Town of Geneva) is far fetch'd.
Verſe 13. If I wait, the grave is mine houſe.] In that congregation houſe of all living, (as it is called chap. 30.23) both I and my hopes muſt be ſuddenly lodged. Some render it thus, If I build, the grave is my houſe. Solomon calleth it, T… houſe of eternity, Eccleſ. 12.5. And the Egyptians accordingly call graves, everlaſting houſes, as … ſaith Lib. 1.
I have made my bed in darkneſs] The grave was Jobs houſe, and therein he had made his bed to reſt from his labours. There men follow their works no more, becauſe followed by their works, Rev. 14.14.
Verſe 14. I have ſaid to corruption, Thou art my father] See how he beſpeaks corruption and the wormes, Ac ſijam juris illorum, & Domeſticus eſſet as if he were of family with them, and neareſt of kin to them; ſo doth he court them, as it were, that they might be willing to receive him: ſhewing withal how willing himſelf was to dye; for whether do men in a ſtrange Country, and in miſery, deſire rather to go, then to the houſe of their parents? Here alſo Job declareth what will be the end of all men, and what ſhall be their kindred in the grave. Of corruption we came (for what elſe is the ſeed and blood of generation?) to corruption alſo we go, as ſons thereof; and Pulvu & Putredo we ſalute for ſiſters, that ſhall be moſt tender of us, and attendant upon us. Why then ſhould any boaſt of high kindred? To the pit I cry, O father. O ſiſter; O mother to the worm, ſo Broughton rendreth it Why ſhould any boaſt of bodily beauty, ſince corruption will ſhortly ſeize upon the faireſt face, which is now but putrefaction and wormes, once removed, and to the ſame muſt ſuddenly move back again. Mihi experto credite, ſaith Auſtin, Believe me who have made trial of it? Open a grave, and upon the dead mans head you ſhall find toads leaping begotten of his braines; upon his loynes Serpents crawling, begotten of his raines;Serm. 48. ad frat. in crem. in his belly wormes abounding, ariſing out of his entrailes. Behold what now we are, and what we ſhortly ſhall be; Behold the Original and filthineſs of ſin, &c.
Verſe 15. And where is now my hope, &c?] Heb. And where is my hope? ſcil. of reſtauration to my priſtine proſperity, which you have ſo often promiſed me, who am now ready ſet upon the confines of death? Job was paſt the Cape of good hope, in his own apprehenſion; but God turned again his captivity, chap. 42. Qui nil ſperare poteſt deſperet nihil. Job did well to propound death to himſelf, and prepare for it by ſuch aforementioned familiarity: but yet he ſhould have better bethought him of the infinite power and goodneſſe of God, who raiſeth the dead, and delighteth to help ſuch as are forſaken of their hopes. Who delivered us from ſo great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we truſt, that he will yet deliver, 2 Cor 1.10. The Hebrew word that ſignifieth hope, ſignifieth alſo a line, becauſe by hope the heart ſhould be ſtretcht out as a line to the thing it hopeth for; And becauſe it ſignifieth alſo a Congregation, Jerem. 3.17 Gen. 1.19.therefore ſome render this verſe thus, And where now is my congregation? And as for my congregation, who ſhall ſee it? q.d. I have no other family or familiars, but what are to be found in the grave.
Verſe 16. They ſhall go down to the bars of the pit.] That is, I and my things, or I and my hopes of proſperity, verſe 15. and they that will ſee the good I hope for, moſt paſſe through the gates of death to behold it, and lye down in the grave with me,Per irriſionem baec dicta ſunt. and then it ſhall appear. Cajetan thinks that this is ſpoken ironically to his friends, and by way of irriſion; q.d. Belike you think I ſhall be rich in the grave (who promiſe ſo much to me, and make me ſuch overtures of an happineſſe here) for I have no hope to be rich in this world. And the Septuagint ſeem to favour this ſenſe, rendring it, Shall my goods go into the grave with me? See 1 Tim. 6.7. with the Note.
When our reſt together is in the duſt] Or, When I ſhall reſt alone in the duſt, (as chap. 34.29.) and then
— Modo quem fortuna fovendo.De Annibal. Sil. Ital.
Congeſtis opibus doniſque refor ſit opimis,
Nudum tartareâ, portabit …vita cymbâ.