Commentary on Ezra Nehemiah Ester Job and Psalms, Commentary 4 · Chapter 18
CHAP. XVIII. Verſe 1. Then anſwered Bild ad the Shuhite, and ſaid.]
NOT ſo much diſputing, as inveying againſt Job in a ſharp and angry Oration, wherein he elegantly deſcribeth the woe of a wicked man, but wrongfully wreſteth the ſame againſt good Job. who might well ſay with him in Tacitus; Tu linguae, ego aurium dominus. If I cannot command thy tongue, yet I can command mine own ears: Or with Another, Didicit ille maledicere, & ego contemnere; This man hath learned to reproach, and I to ſlight his contempts and contumelies; unleſſe I ſhould yeeld that wicked men only are grievouſly afflicted in this life preſent, that they are not to be reckoned wicked, who proſper in their way; but thoſe only who ſufer extremely.
Verſe 2. How long will it be are you make an end of words?] Firſt he taxeth Job of talkativeneſſe, when himſelf talked much, but ſpake little,foreign. De Alcibiade Plutarch. ſave only what he had ſpoken before, chap. 8. Though Job had ſufficiently refuted him But as nothing in the world is more unreaſonable then an ignorant perſon, who thinketh nothing well done, but that which he doth himſelf; ſo thoſe that bear themſelves over-bold upon their owne knowledg, and over ween their own abilities account it a great injury if any diſſent from them in opinion and judgement. And ſuch a one here Bildad ſheweth himſelf to be by his exordium ex ab…pto. as Junius phraſeth it, his abrupt beginning, as if he could beare no longer with Jobs prittle prattle; who if he were more prolix then his friends, he had greater reaſon, as being heavily afflicted, and falſly accuſed,Quando tandem finem loquendi ſeu nugandi potius facies? Lav. Among the Romans the Plaintiff was allowed but three hours, the Defendant ſix. But why doth Bilànd beſpeak …ob here in the Plural Number? Was it for Honours ſake (as Cajetan holdeth?) I ſcarce think it. Was it becauſe he thought Job to be poſſeſſed by an evil ſpirit (as Philip after Bode?) No neither. But this he ſeemeth to do, either as bending his ſpeech to the by-ſtanders, who ſeemed to favour Job, and ſometimes to put in a word for him; whom therefore Bildad looked upon as his fellow hypocrites: or elſe, by an irony he ſpeaks unto Job as unto many,Vos ô Calliope precor. Virg. becauſe he ſeemed to ſet up his opinion above all theirs, and would needs have his counter to ſtand for a thouſand pounds.
mark and afterwards we will ſpeak] Let thy words be henceforth dipped and died in thy heart before they be uttered: let our words alſo be duly weighed, that ſome end may be put to theſe altercations and diſputes.
Verſe 3. Wherefore are we counted as beaſts, &c?] Here he taxeth Job of pride and arrogancy; grounding upon thoſe words of his taken at the worſt, chap. 12.7. and 17.4, 10. and not conſidering his caſe, that he was full of paine, which maketh wiſe men tetchy (as oppreſſion maketh them mad, Eccleſ. 7.7.) and that they had ſorely provoked him by their bitter taunts, and ſcurrilous invectives, which called for ſo ſharp a curry-comb. Peſſime antem habes by po…riſin. ſi contemnatur; Hypocriſie loves not to be ſighted, faith Brentius here. And Gregory upon this Text faith. Thus in Bildad Hereticks are ſet forth, who ſtomack it much that the faithful take upon them to reprove them, as carried away by errour; as if the knowledge of the truth reſided in themſelves only, and all others had no more underſtanding then beaſts. This people which know not the Law are curſed, ſay thoſe Phariſees, John. 7.49.John 11.49. Ye know nothing at all, ſaith Caiaphas to his Aſſeſſors. The Gnoſticks and Illuminates gave out themſelves, to be the only knowing men, &c. But if Bildad had been right ſet, he would neither have ſo far miſconſtrued Jobs words, nor yet have been behind to befool and be beaſt himſelf as Aſaph in like caſe did, Pſal. 73.22. Where he uſeth the Plural of the word here uſed in the Singular, calling himſelfe, Behemoth, id eſt, magna… & craſſam beſtiam, a great and a groſſe beaſt.
And reputed vile in your ſight] Heb. Polluted or unclean; that is, as beaſts unfit for food, much leſſe fit for ſacrifice. The ſame Hebrew word ſignifieth, polluted and vile. Every wicked man is a vile man, be he never ſo high and honourable in the worlds account, as Antiochus, Dan. 11.21. is called a vile perſon, and yet he was the great King of Syria, firnamed Epiphanes, or Illuſtrious, and by the flattering Samaritans, he was ſtiled, Antiochus the mighty God. See Pſal. 15.4.
Verſe 4. He teareth himſelf in anger.] Here he chargeth Job with deſperate madneſſe, as if through extreme impatience he fell ſoul upon his owne fleſh, as did that Demoniack in the Goſpel, Bajazet the great Turk in his iron Cage, Pope Boniface the eighth, when clapt up cloſe Priſoner in Saint Angelo: and as they ſay the Tyger doth, when he heareth a dram ſtruck up, he teareth his own fleſh with his teeth: or at all ravenous Deaſts teare in pleces the prey which they have taken. Many read the Text thus, O the man which teareth his ſoul in his anger. Or. O thou which teareſt thy ſelf. Labia mirdet, caput quaſſat, veſtimenta ſcindis, & ſe in cotumnas impingit. Sen….&c. The Moraliſt deſcribeth an angry man forcibly held by his friends, biting his own lips, rending his cloathes, and daſhing himſelf againſt the pillars, &c. Such a one Bildad maketh Job to be, … or Mankind, as we ſay: and he takes occaſion likely, from thoſe word of his, chap. 13.14. But love would have thought no evil. Bildad herein ſinned againſt the Law of love, las likewiſe he doth much more in the following vehement interrogation, charging Job with inſolent boldneſſe againſt God.
Shall the earth be forſaken for thee?] Shall God caſt off the care of his earthly Kingdome to gratifie thee, and to make good thine Aſſertion, That good men may ſuffer, and bad men go unpuniſhed? Never think it: thou maiſt ſooner expect him to overturn the whole world for thy ſake, and put every thing out of that order he hath decreed and made it in, then ceaſe to be juſt in puniſhing the wicked. The courſe of Juſtice is as firmly ſettled as the courſe of Nature is. Fias juſtitia, periac mand…. Of Fabricim it was ſaid, That the Sun might as eaſily be turned out of his track, as he out of his path of Juſtice; much more they it be ſo ſaid of Almighty God, the Rock that cannot be removed, though he varieth the manner, the means, the times and ſeaſons of executing Juſtice, as ſeemeth beſt unto his heavenly wiſdom.
Verſe 5. Tea the light of the wicked ſhall be put out.] The enſuing deſcription of a wicked mans unhappineſſe in life; at death, and after death, is very true, and daintily ſet forth, but falſly and wrongfully wreſted againſt Job, You, or, of a ſurety, the light of the wicked ſhall be put out: though thou wilt not hear of it, but the truth ſhall be ſpoken, however it be taken, and thou ſhalt hereby ſee thy ſelf to be a wicked man,Merlin. becauſe thy light is extinct, that is, thy outward proſperity fitly compared to light; becauſe 1. It cheareth our minds. 2. Directeth our hands to every buſineſſe. 3. Leſſeneth our frights. 4. Rendreth us conſpicuous. The light of the wicked ſhall put out it ſelf, (ſo ſome render it:) he is commonly the cauſe of his own ruine.
And the ſpark of his fire ſhall not ſhine] He is quenched as the fire of the thornes, Pſalm 118.12. Whereof after a while, neither ſpark nor ſpunk remaineth.
Verſ. 6. The light ſhall be dark in his Tabernacle] The glory of his family ſhall be obſcured: he and his ſhall come to utter and unexpected ruine, as Hamans did.
And his candle ſhalt be put out with him] He and his proſperity ſhall dye together: he ſhall go out in a ſnuff, and leave nothing behind him but a deteſtable name. Sicat fetis fugrens vedit, ſit ille moritas hone erepitium cecenit, ſaith Melancthon concerning Echius his laſt piece, De conjugio ficet duum, Or, his candle ſhall be put out above him, ſo the Vulgar Interpreter: the Lamps which gliſtered over head, during the pride and pomp of his Feaſts, ſhal give us more light: or if they give any, it ſhall be but to ſhine upon his Tomb.
Verſe 7. The ſteps of his ſtrength ſhall be ſtr…ed] that is, ſaith Vatablus, he ſhall not do what he would and was wont. He ſhall loſt his courage in the midſt of his enterprizes, and not be able to effect his attempts.
And his own counſel ſhall caſt him down] His cunning ſhall faile him, his counſel, whereby once he roſe, ſhall ſerve but to advance his overthrow, and to precipitate him into miſery. We uſe to ſay of a cunning-pated fellow, that he never wanteth a trick wherewith to help himſelf; but there is neither power not policy againſt the Lord and his judgements. Of the Athenians it is ſaid, that Minerva turned all their evil counſel into good unto them. Gods enemies have no ſuch friend to help them at a dead lift. The ſtone cut out of the mountaine without hands, ſhall bring down the golden Image with a powder, and make it like the chaſſe of the Summerfloor, Dan. 2.35.
Verſe 8. For he is caſt into a net by his own feet.] Wicked men are even ambitious of deſtruction: judgements need not go to find them out: they run to meet their bane. Divine Juſtice and their own indiſcretion undo them. He hath ſent his feet into the net. ſo the Vulgar rendreth it. He is ſent into a net by his own feet, ſo Mr. Broughton. His own iniquities ſhall take the wicked himſelf, and he ſhall be holden with the cords of his ſins, Prov. 5.22. theſe ſhall caſt him into inextricable ſtraits.
And he walketh upon a ſuare.] Ʋpon a platted grin, ſaith Broughton; whereout the more he ſtrives to get, the more he entangleth himſelf.Sen de ira lib. 3 cap. 6. Sic laqueas fera dum jactat aſtringit. Sic aves viſcum dum trepidantes excutiunt, plumis omnibus illinunt. So the beaſt whilſt he toſſeth the ſnares wherein he is taken, ſtraitneth them: So the birds, while they think to ſhake off the birdlime, beſmeare all their feathers with it.
Verſe 9. The grin ſhall take him by the heel] Or, He ſhal lay hold on the grin with his heel. ſo Mercer readeth it: that is, he fooliſhly runs upon his own ruine, he periſheth by his own overſight.
And the Robber ſhall prevail againſt him] Horridi ſitibundi, the ſhaghaired Ruffians that have waſted their own eſtates, and now thirſt after other mens. Broughton readeth it, The ſavage ſhall lay hold on him. So that either by ſecret contrivance, or open violence he ſhall be undone.
Verſe 10 The ſnare is laid for him in the way, &c.] This heap of words, net, ſnare, grin, trap, cords, ſheweth that God hath many wayes to catch the wicked with; and that nuſquam & nunquam non eis impendeat exitium, deſtruction is ready to meet them at every turning. God cannot want a weapon to beat a Rebel.
And a trap for him in the way] He walks as it were upon a Mine of Gun-powder. The Hebrew hath it, His trap; ſuch as moſt of the Ceſars. till Conſtantine the great met with; and among the reſt Maximinus (that Maſtive Tyrant eight foot high) who daily devoured forty pounds of fleſh, and drank thereto ſix gallons of Wine. This ſoul beaſt after he had raiſed the ſixth Perſecution againſt the Chriſtians, eſpecially againſt the Paſtors of the Church, and exerciſed many other great cruelties, was told to his teeth,Mi…m in theatro.
Elephas grandis eſt, & occiditur;
Leo fortis eſt, & occiditur:
Cave multos, ſi ſingulos non times.
And it befel him accordingly; for at the ſiege of Aquileia in Italy, Euſeb.he was ſlaine as he ſlept at noon in his Tent by his own ſouldiers. Ezekiel foretelleth the degenerate ſons of Joſiah. that they ſhall be taken by the King of Babylon as beaſts in a toil. So Pharaoh, that natural brute beaſt, was made to be taken and deſtroyed. 2 Pet. 2.12. with Exod. 9.16. So Saul complaineth that God had forſaken him, and the Philiſtines thoſe ſavage creatures, were upon him, 2 Sam. 28. Behold I will ſend for many hunters, and they ſhal hunt them, &c. Jer. 16.16.
Verſe 11. Terrors ſhall make him afraid on every ſide.] Theſe terrors are, as it were, the cruel Sergeants and mercileſſe Officers of that King of terrors,Apparitores & lictores. Jun. verſe 14 arreſting him as it were in the Devils name, and bringing him to juſtice. How can it be but a terrible time with him; when death comes with a Writ of Habeas Corpus, and the Devil with a Writ of Habeas animam? when the cold earth muſt have his body, and hot hell hold his ſoul, according to that of the Pſalmiſt, Let death ſeiz… upon them, and let them go down quick into hell; for wickedneſſe is in their dwellings, and among them, Pſal. 55.17. The ſad forethought hereof cauſeth many unutterable griefs and gripings, perplexities of ſpirit, and convulſions of ſoul, a very hell above ground, and a foretaſte of eternal torments. The word here rendred terror, ſignifieth utmoſt affrightments, ſuch as put a man well nigh out of his wits and diſtract him. R. Solomon underſtandeth it of devils; others of furies, ſuch as the Poets fain. Moſt certain it is,Cic. Orat. pro Roſc. Amer. that a body is not ſo tormented with ſtings, or torn with ſtripes, as a mind with remembrance of wicked actions, and fear of future evils.
And ſhall drive him to his feet.] As they did Cain that Caitiff, Qui factus eſt à corde ſ… fugitivus, Tertul.who would fain have fled from his own conſcience (if he could have known whither) and became a Fugitive and a Vagabond upon the earth, Gen. 4.12. ſeeking to outrun his terrors, which yet dogged him hard at the heels. They ſhal preſſe him at his feet, ſo Broughton readeth this Text.
Verſe 12.Fit famelicum robur ejus. His ſtrength ſhall be hunger-bitten] Heb. His ſtrength (or wealth) ſhal be famine. Or, Famine ſhall be his ſtrength. He, who whilom having health and wealth at will, fared deliciouſly and gathered ſtrength, ſhall be hunger-ſtarved, and hardly have priſoners pittance; ſo much only as will neither keep him alive, nor ſuffer him to dye. See 1 Sam. 2.5.36. 'Tis as much, faith Brentius, as we uſe to ſay of an extreme poore or feeble perſon, his wealth is poverty, his ſtrength weakneſſe.
And deſtruction ſhall be ready at his ſide] i.e. Shall ſuddenly and inevitably ſeize upon him, there will be no running away from it, for can a man run from his ſide? The word ſignifieth not an ordinary calamity, but a dreadful and direful deſtruction. Some underſtand it of the Pluriſie, or Ʋlcers in the ſide of a man: Others of ribroſt, as they call it, tortures inflicted on condemned perſons (as Heb. 11.34) who are beaten with bats.
Verſe 13. It ſhall devour the ſtrength of his skin] i.e. his bones which ſupport his skin; theſe deſtruction ſhall devour or ſwallow up at a bit, as an hungry Monſter.
The firſt born of death ſhall devour his ſtrength] i.e. The Devil. ſay ſome, that Deſtroyer, Rev. 9.11. that old Man-ſlayer, John 8.44. Prince of death, Heb. 2.14 (as Chriſt is called Prince of Life, Act. 3.15) and firſt born of death, as Chriſt is the firſt born of the Reſurrection, Col. 1.18. Others underſtand it, De cruentiſſima at funeſtiſſima morte, of the moſt tragick and cruel kind of death. See Iſai. 14.30. Broughton readeth it, A ſtrange death ſhall cat the branches of his body, judgments ſhal come upon thee in their perfection, ſaith God to Babylon, Iſai. 47.9.
Verſe 14. And his confidence ſhall be rooted out of his Tabernacle] Whatſoever he truſteth in about his houſe ſhall be pulled up by the roots, or grub'd up. Thus it befel Doeg, Pſal. 52.7. And this diſappointment, this broken confidence of his, ſhall bring him (or make him go) to the King of terrors; i.e. to death that moſt terrible of terribles,Ariſtot. as the Philoſopher calleth it. Or the Devil (as R. Solomon interpreteth it) that black Prince, Eph. 6.12. to whom wicked men are brought by death, which to them is not only Natures Slaughterman, but Gods curſe, and hels Purveyour. hence Rev. 6 8. death haleth hell at the heels of it.
Verſe 15. It ſhall dwell in his Tabernacles, becauſe it is none of his] Heb. Not his: for why? the King of terrors hath turned him out of it, and taken it up for an habitation for himſelf. Some render it thus, nothing or have nothing. (that is want) ſhall dwell in his Tabernacle, his houſe ſhall be repleniſhed with emptineſſe, ſcarcity ſhall be the furniture of his habitation.
Brimſtone ſhall be ſcattered upon his habitation] As is alſo threatned, Pſal. 11.6. And as was executed upon Sodom and her ſifters: as alſo upon Diocleſian the Tyrant; who giving over his Empire,Euſeb. de Vita Conſt. lib. 5 decreed to lead the reſt of his life quietly. But he eſcaped not ſo, for after that his houſe was wholly conſumed with lightening, and a flame of fire that fell from heaven (not without a ſulphurous ſmell) he hiding himſelf for fear of the lightning, dyed within a little after.
Verſe 16. His roots ſhall be dryed up beneath, &c.] The meaning is, ſaith D…odate, he ſhall be deprived of Gods grace, which is the root of all happineſſe, and of his bleſſing, which is the top of it.
Verſe 17. His remembrance ſhall periſh from the earth] As a tree when root and branch is gone is clean forgotten, and no man remembreth where it grew; ſo ſhall it be with the wicked,Mercer. Non celebrabitur ejus nomon & fama, niſe in malum, Eccleſ. 8. 10. It is reckoned as a great benefit to a wicked man, to have his memory dye with him, which if it be preſerved, ſtinks in keeping, and remains as a curſe and perpetual diſgrace.
And he ſhall have no name] i.e. no honourable Name, no renowne. A good name only is a name, Eccleſ. 7.1. as a good wife only is a wife, Prov. 18.22. Every married woman is not a wife. Zillah Lamechs wife, was but the ſhadow of a wife, as her name alſo ſignifieth. In like ſort, thoſe only have a name in the ſtreets or publick places, who are talked of for good; as the Martyrs, who have left their names for a bleſſing. Iſai. 65.15. when as their wretched Perſecutors have left a vile ſnuff behind, their Lamps being put out in obſcurity.
Verſe 18. He ſhall be driven out of light into darkneſſe] Heb. They ſhall drive him: ſcil the devils ſhall drive him out of the light of life into outer darkneſſe, as they did that rich wretch. Luke 12.20. confer Mat. 8.12. and 25.30. The Dutch Tranſlation readeth it, Men ſhall drive him. Others underſtand it of his troubles and ſorrowes.
And chaſed out of the world] As Tarquin was by Collatine, as Ph…as was by Heraclius, kickt off the ſtage of the world as one phraſeth it; or as Job ſaith of ſome wicked, buried before half dead, chap. 27.15. Men ſhall chap their hands at him, and ſhal hiſs him out of his place, verſe 23.
Verſe 19. he ſhall neither have ſon nor Nephew, &c.] A ſore affliction to be written childleſſe, which yet is the portion of ſome good people, as Abel; many Prophets and Apoſtles, for whoſe comfort that is written, Iſai. 56.4.5. God, as he will be to his childleſſe children better then ten ſons; ſo he will give them in his houſe,1 Sam. 1.8 Iſal. 96.5. and within his wals, a place and a name, better then of ſons and of daughters the wil give them an everlaſting name that ſhal never be cut off. Not ſo the ungodly, thoſe men of Gods hand; for though full of children, they leave the reſt of their ſubſtance to their babes, Pſal. 17.14. yet it will prove to be but luctnoſa foecunditas, as Hierom ſpeaketh, they ſhall weep for their loſt children, and not be comforted, becauſe they are not. Or if they ſurvive, they prove ſingular cuts and croſſes to their wretched Parents, who have cauſe enough to cry out as Moſes ſometimes did, let me dye out of hand, and not ſee my wretchedneſſe, Num. 11.15. They are filled with …medicinable ſorrowes, in the loſſe either of their children or of their eſtates by their waſteful children, ſo that they praiſe the dead above the living, and wiſh they had never been born, Eccleſ. 4.2, 3.
Nor any remaining in his dwellings] When the ſouldiers ſlew the Tyrant Maximinius and his ſon, at the ſiege of Aquil…ia, they cryed out, Ex peſſima geneve ne catulum quidem habendum, Of ſo ill a kind, let not a whelp be kept alive.
Verſe 20 Ther that come after him ſhal be aſt…ied at his day] Future Ages hearing the relation of his diſmal deſtruction, ſhall ſtand agaſt, as if they beheld the dirty ruines of ſome once beautiful City. Happy they, if in good earneſt they could make that good uſe of it, which Herodotus the Hiſtorian ſaith,foreign Herod. men ſhould make of the overthrow of Troy; viz. to take notice thereby, that great ſinners muſt look for great puniſhments from God. But Ham and his Poſterity were little the better for the Deluge in their dayes: not the adjacent Countries for Sodoms downfal.
As they that went before were afrighted,] ſcil. His contemporaries and eye-witneſſes of his calamity apprehended horror, ſo the Hebrew hath it, they took a fright: which yet was little to the purpoſe without faith and repentance; and unleſſe their hearts fell down, when their hairs ſtood upright.
Verſe 21. Surely ſuch are the dwellings of the wicked] As ſure as death 'tis ſo; and this is oft inculcated, becauſe hardly believed. Bildad hints at Job in all this, and therefore ſpeaks of the wicked here in the ſingular number; as who ſhould ſay, Thou art the man. But Jobs innocency ſerved him for an Heptab…ean Buckler.
And this is the place] that is, the ſtate.Pſal. 14.4
Of him that knoweth not God] Periphraſis impii, ſaith Druſius: this is the character of a graceleſſe man. have the workers of iniquity no knowledg? No none, that they were a button the better for.