Commentary on Ezra Nehemiah Ester Job and Psalms, Commentary 4 · Chapter 7
CHAP. VII. Verſe 1. Is there not an appointed time to m…n upon the earth?]
THere is certainly: Our bounds are preſcribed us; and a pillar ſet by him who beares …p the heavens, which we are not to tranſpaſſe. Stat ſua cuique dies, (ſaid the He…then Poet; our laſt day ſtands, the reſt run. It is ſaid of the Turkes,Virg. Aeneid. 10. Sr. H. Blounts Voyage into Levant. Humanae vitae terminus non eſt de…reto ſimplici & abſoluto … Heming. that they ſhun not the company of thoſe that have the prague, but pointing upon their fore-heads …ay, it was written there at their birth when they ſhould die. Now if there be an appointed time &c. what meane the Lutherans to teach that God hath not determined the period of mens dayes, but it is in mans power to lengthen or ſhorten them: In this one verſe we have two metaphors, both which do evince the contrary. The … is from ſouldiers, implyed in the word … tranſlated an appointed time, or a warfare, becauſe there was a ſet time for ſouldiers to fight, and a ſet time alſo for them to ſerve. The ſecond is from an ….
Are not his dayes alſo like the dayes of an …?] De…cribit humanae vitae brevitatem, ſaith Vatablus. Here he deſcribeth the ſhortneſſe of mans life, and withall that his dayes are determined, for with an hireling wee agree to worke with us for a certaine time, and uſually for a day, or by the day; and hence we call them day-labourers. It importeth, then that the time of mans life is ſhort and ſet: for hirelings are appointed to an hour. See Job 14.14. Eccleſ. 2.3. John 7.30. Iſa. 38.5. Fifteene yeares juſt were added to Hezekiahs life: our haires are …, much more our dayes. This Job alledgeth to ſet forth his own extreme miſery, as one condemned to … torment without any reſpite or refreſhing: and therefore in a worſe caſe then any ſouldier or ſervant.
Verſe 2. As a ſervant earnestly deſireth the ſhadow &c.] Heb. gapeth after, or gaſpeth for the … that is, for ſome place of cool repoſe after his hard labour in the hot ſun-ſhine, as in harveſt; or for the ſhadow, that is; for dark night, or for the evening.
Cum … diſcedens ….
And … for the reward of his work] Heb. expecteth his work, Virg. Eclog.that is, his …ges. Gods work is its own wages: and in doing thereof (not only for doing thereof) there is great reward, Pſal. 19.11. Righteouſneſſe is its own recompence; … for his wages, he ſets his heart upon it, Deut. … and God provideth there, that it be duely paid him: and thoſe that detaine …, ſee Jam. 5.4. 'tis a …rying …. The whole verſe may cohere …, and be thus …endred, Is not man as a ſervant that earneſtly deſireth the ſhadow and is he not as an … that looketh for the reward of his Work? …ut it is better to … with that when followeth, according to our …ranſlation.
Verſe 3. So … months of vanity] So, but a great deale worſe …. The labouring ſervant hath his ſhade; the painful …; But I am ſhade to …, or have aſſigned to me for …, But whole months of vanity, that is, of moleſtation and miſery, … of the l…aſt comfort o… hope or amendment. The ſouldier, ſervant …: but with me it is every day worſe then other; and … here would be a little hell to me. From the months of vanity, here mentioned … ſome render … it may be gathered that Jobs calamities laſted a long time, twelve months, ſay the Hebrewes, ſeven years, ſaith … in any ſort, we think our …. For Months of vanity ſome reade … ever in the Eclipſe.
And weariſome nights are appointed to me.] ſc. by God: and that ſo exactly as if he had numbred them to a night. See Dan. 10.1. Pondere, menſurâ, …mero Deus omnia fecit: It is he that cutteth us out our conditions, that prepareth for us troubleſome dayes and tireſome nights, and purpoſely that he may take us off from the inordinate love of life: like as by ſtrait binding (which mortifieth and deadeth the fleſh) men are made more able to beare the cutting off of a member; ſo ſhall we take our cutting off from this world the more gently, by how much the more painful, pinching dayes and nights we have endured.
Verſe 4. When I, lie down, I ſay, when ſhall I ariſe &c.] Here is a graphicall deſcription of a weariſome night. The night is moſt laborious and irkeſome to ſick people… then they revolve their troubles, and being free from viſits of friends, they viſit their own afflictions, and ſtudy their owne diſtempers freely, then they lye all night wiſhing for day, telling the clock hearkning for the cock (that natural cloc…) toſſing to and fro unto the dawning of the day, not able to gee the leaſt wink of ſleep, that nurſe of nature, and ſweet parentheſis of mens griefes and cares. Oh preſent the condition of a reſtleſſe ſick man to your thoughts, (ſaith an Interpreter here) praiſe God for quiet nights, and pity thoſe to whom weariſome nights are appointed.
Verſe 5. My fleſh is cloathed with worms.] Here Job ſheweth how and whence his nights were ſo weariſome and reſtleſſe: he was in his grave-clothes before he died (ſaith one) viz. Mr. Caryl.a gowne of wormes ſet or embroidered with clods of duſt. Covered he was with ſores, and putrified ulcers full of wormes, which made him an abhorring to himſelfe.
And clods of duſt] A fit dreſſe for a dying man. The word ſignifieth, the filings of any metall, or the ſcrapings of an unclean thing. He meaneth then the ſcurfe, ſcraped off from him, or the duſt contracted by his ſitting upon the ground, chap. 2.8.
My skin is broken] Or, cleft and chapt (as the earth is in drought) in moſt loathſome and formidable manner.
And become loathſome] Or melted, as in that diſtemper which Phyſicians call corruptionem totius ſubſtantiae: or as in the leproſie or gangrene, when the fleſh falleth off from the bones. Hinc igitur diſce patientiam in morbis, ſaith Lavater. Hence then learne to be patient under the moſt noyſome and troubleſome diſeaſes. What ſit, not lye, nor live, nor die: was not this holy Jobs condition, and worſe? Remember that there are not a few ſick as heart can hold; ſore all over, and want neceſſary food and phyſick which thou doſt not: conſider that God could, and juſtly might lay more and heavier plagues upon thee, &c. When Dr. Munſter was ſick, and ſome friends came to viſit him, being very ſorry for the paines he was put to lay the ulcers of his body; O my deare friends, ſaid he, theſe biles and blaines gemmae ſun… & pr…tioſa ornamenta Dei, are Gods gemmes and Jewels wherewith he adorneth his friends, that hee may draw them to himſelf, which ornaments let us eſteem far more precious then all the gold and wealth of this whole world; ſoon after which ſpeech,Job. Manl. loc. com. 127. Melch. Adam. he piouſly and peaceably fell aſleep in the Lord. graſerus alſo when he ſaw his body begin to ſwell with a dropſie, and other diſtempers, Euge Deo ſit laus & gloria, ſaid he, Oh bleſſed be God, that my deliverance is at hand, & hor…la gratiſſima, and that ſweet hour that ſhall put an end to all my miſeries.
Verſe 6. My dayes are … ] Which is of a very ſwift and ſudden motion. Nights and dayes paſſe the … of … life forward and backward, to and again. The right caſts it to the day, and the day to the night; between theſe two, time quickly weares off the threed of life. I … cut off like a weaver, my life ſaith good Hezekiah, Iſa. 38.12. And the … this in their fiction of the three ſiſter-Deſtinies, whereof the Poet ſaith, Clotho colum bajulat, Lacheſi… trahi…, Atropos …
You that are weavers, ſaith Lavater, … of this text, and learn to live holily.
And they are ſpent without hope] Heb. in not hope. I cannot … that I ſhall ever recover, or be …: whatever thou, O Elip…, haſt, … about … put me in hope. All Jobs deſire was death, which he looked upon as the … remedy of all.
Verſe 7. O remember that my life is wind] Before ſwifter or lighter then a weavers ſhuttle (or then a word or ſpeech, as the Septuagint there render it) now,foreign. my life is a wind, or as a wind (ſo the Chaldee paraphraſeth) that ſpeedily paſſeth away, and returneth not. So St. James, What is your life? ſaith he; It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and th…n vaniſheth away. Jam. 4.14. One hath well obſerved, that the Holy Ghoſt giveth us very may Items of this (and eſpecially in this book) which ſhewes, that we are very apt to forget it. A point this is eaſie to be known, but very hard to be believed: every man aſſents to it, but few live it, and improve it to reformation.
Mine eyes ſh…ll no more ſ…e good] ſc. in this world, for in the world to come hee was confident of the beatificall viſion, chap. 19.27. Hezekiah hath a like expreſſion when ſentenced to die: I ſaid in the cutting off of my dayes; I ſhall not ſee the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living; (that is, in this life preſent, Pſal. 27.13. and 52 5. and 142.5. Iſa. 53.8. called alſo the light of the living, John 9.4. Pſal. 56.13.) I ſhill behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world, Iſa. 38.11. And this, both ſick Job, and ſick Hezekiah tell the Lord, and both of them begin alike with O remember, Iſa. 38.3. God forgetteth not his people and their condition: howbeit he requireth and expecteth that they ſhould be his Remembrancers for their own and others good, Iſa. 62.6, 7. See the Margin.
Verſe 8. Th… eye of him that hath ſeen me, ſhall ſee me no more] In death we ſhall neither ſee, nor be ſeen, but be ſoon both out of ſight and out of mind too. It is ſtoried of Richard the third, that he cauſed the dead corps of his two ſmothered Nephews to be cloſed in lead, and ſo put in a coffin full of holes, and hooked at the ends with two hookes of iron, and ſo to be caſt into a place called the Black-deeps,Speed 935. at the Thames mouth, whereby they ſhould never riſe up, nor be any more ſeen. Such a place is the grave till the laſt day: for then the ſea ſhall give up the dead which are in it, and death ad he grave ſhall render up the dead that are in them, Rev. 20.13. then ſhall Adam ſee all his nephews at once &c.
Thine eyes are upon me, and I am not] Thou even lookeſt me to death; like as elſewhere God is ſaid to frown men to destruction, Pſalm 80.16. and Pſalm 104.29. they are not able to endure his flaming eyes, ſparkling out wrath againſt them. What mad men therefore are they that ſpeak and act againſt Him who can ſo eaſily do them to death? If God but ſet his eyes upon them for evil (as he oft threatneth to do, Amos 9.4. Job 16.9.) they are undone.
Verſe 9. As the cloud is conſumed and vaniſheth away] A cloud is nothing elſe but a vapour thickened in the middle Region of the aire by the cold encompaſſing and driving it together, pſalm 18.19. veſſels they are as thin as the liquor that is in them; but ſome are waterleſſe: the former are ſoon emptied and diſſolved; the later as ſoon ſcattered by the wind, and vaniſh away. See the Note on verſe 7.
So he that goeth down to the grave ſhall come up no more,] ſc. to live and converſe here with men, as ver. 10. Or he ſhall come up no more, ſc. without a miracle (as Lazarus and ſome others long ſince dead roſe againe) he cannot return to me, ſaid David of his deceaſed child, 2 Sam. 12.23. God could ſend ſome from the dead to warn the living; but that is not now to be expected, as Abraham told the rich man, Luk. 16. Thoſe ſpirits of dead men that ſo oft appeared in times of Popery (requiring their friends to ſing Maſſes and Dirges for them; and that drew this verſe from Theodorus Gaza, ſunt aliquid manes, lethum non omnia finit) were either deluſions, or elſe divels in the ſhape of men. That Job doubted of the Reſurrection, or denied it, (as Rabbi Solomon, and ſome other, both Hebrew and Greek writers conclude from this text) is a manifeſt injury done to this good man, and a force offered to the text, as appeareth by that which next followeth.
Verſe 10. He ſhall return no more to his houſe] Either to diſpatch buſineſſes, or to enjoy comforts: he hath utterly done with the affaires of this world. Melanchthon telleth of an aunt of his, who having buried her husband, and ſitting ſorrowfully by the fires ſide, ſaw (as ſhe thought) her husband coming into the roome, and talking to her familiarly about the payment of certaine debts, and other buſineſſes belonging to the houſe: and when he had thus talked with her a long time, he bid her give him her hand; ſhe at firſt refuſed, but was at length perſwaded to do it: he taking her by the hand ſo burnt it, that it was as black as a coal, and ſo he departed. Was not this the divel?
Neither ſhall his place know him any more] His place of habitation, or his place of honour and ruledome: theſe ſhall no more acknowledge him, and welcome him back, as they uſed to do after a journey. Death is the concluſion of all worldly comforts and relations. Hence wicked people are ſo loth to depart, becauſe there is ſtruck by death an everlaſting parting-blow betwixt them and their preſent comforts, without hope of better. ſpes & fortuna valete, ſaid one great man at his death. Cardinall Burbon would not part with his part in Paris for his part in paradiſe. Fie, ſaid another rick Cardinall, will not death be hired? will mony do nothing? Never did Adam go more unwillingly out of paradiſe, the Jebuſites out of the ſtrong-hold of Zion, the unjuſt ſteward out of his office, or the divels out of the demoniack, then graceleſſe people do out of their earthly tabernacles, becauſe they know they ſhall return no more; and having hopes in this life only, they muſt needs look upon themſelves as moſt miſerable.
Verſe 11. Therefore I will not refraine my mouth.] Heb. I will not prohibite my month, ſc. from ſpeaking, I will bite in my grief no longer: but, ſith death, the certaine end of all outward troubles, is not farre from mee; I will by my further complaints, preſſe the Lord to haſten it, and not ſuppreſſe my ſorrowes, but give them a vent.
I will ſpeake in the anguiſh of my ſpirit] Heb. In the ſtraitneſſe or diſtreſſe of my ſpirit, which is almoſt ſuffocated with grief.
I will complaine in the bitterneſſe my ſoul.] his greateſt troubles were inward: and if by godly ſorrow for his ſinnes he had powred forth his ſoule in an humble confeſſion (as ſome underſtand him here) he had taken a right courſe: but thus boiſterouſly to break out into complaints, ſavoureth of humane infirmity, and ſheweth quantae ſint hominis vires ſibi à Deo derelicti, what a poor creature man is when God leaveth him to himſelf,Mercer. and ſubjecteth him to his judgments.
Verſe 12. Am I a ſea, or a whale] Can I bear all troubles, as the ſea receives all waters, and the whale beares all tempeſts? This (as is well obſerved) was too bold a ſpeech to God from a creature: for when his hand is on our backs, our hands ſhould be upon our mouths, as Pſalm 39.9. I was dumb, or (as others read it.) I ſhould have been dumb — becauſe thou didſt it. But it is a faire ſtep to perfection and victory, when one can kiſſe Gods rod and ſay, as Pſalm 44.17. All this is come upon us, yet have we not forgotten thee, nor declined from thy way. Job was not without his impatiencies: but being he was right for the maine, and at length bewailed them, God looked not upon him as he doth upon thoſe refractaries, who to their impatience adde impenitence; and to their paſſive diſobedience, active.
That thou ſet teſt a watch over me?] That thou ſurroundeſt me with ſorrowes, and wilt not ſuffer me to die?Pſal. 191. …ſal. 141.3. Here Job ſhould have ſet a better watch over his lips then thus boiſterouſly to have bluſtered againſt God (who is foreign, not to be called to an account for his proceedings) like the raging ſea, or unruly whirle-poole. He ſhould have conſidered, that the beſt men have ſomewhat of the ſea in them, that muſt be bounded; and ſomewhat of the whale, that muſt be watched and kept under: and that God never layes more upon a man then there is need, though he may think otherwiſe.
Verſe 13. When I ſay, my bed ſhall comfort me] The bed was the moſt proper and probable meanes of refreſhment: but it is not the bed that can give ſleep, nor the couch, eaſe. Creatures are not able of themſelves to give out the comforts committed to them: their common nature muſt be aſſiſted with a ſpecial word of bleſſing, or elſe they do us no good: Man liveth not by bread only &c. God maketh the merciful mans bed, Pſalm 41.3. So he giveth his beloved ſleep, quiet ſleep: (Shena with an A…eph quieſcent:) Pſal. 127. He is the God of all mercies, and the Father of all conſolation, 2 Cor. 1.3. It is he that ſhines through the creature, which elſe is but as the aire, without light. Look now the aire lights us not without the Sun; nor fuel heats us not without fire: ſo neither can any man or means comfort or content us without God.
My couch ſhall eaſe my complains] Heb. Shall lift up, or take away, viz. the burthen of my cares and griefe: ſome part of my load at leaſt: but it fell out otherwiſe: for
Verſe 14. Then thou skarest me with dreames] Extremam tentationem deſcribit, ſaith Vatablus; and the divel doubtleſs, had a great hand in this buſineſs, (for it was within his commiſſion, and he would not neglect any part of it;) but Job taketh notice of none but God the chief agent, and to him he applieth himſelf. His providence is exerciſed even about dreams, which in melancholy people, fall out (eſpecially when they are ſick) to be oftentimes very horrid and hideous; as that they fall down from ſome high place, commit ſome capital offence, are ſlain, torn in pieces by divels &c. Biſhop Foliots terrible night-viſion was before mentioned. Richard the third after the murther of his two innocent Nephews, and Charls the ninth of France after the Pariſian maſſacre had ſuch dreadful dreams; that they became a terror to themſelves and to all about them. But to inſtance in better men;Beza in vitae. Calvin in the year of grace 1562 being ſick of the gout, dreamed, that he heard a great noiſe of drums beaten up moſt vehemently, as they uſe to be in warlike marches. Pareus alſo Anno 1618 ſaw in a dream the City of Heidelberg ſet on fire in may places, and the Prince Electors palace all on a light flame: this he ſet down the next morning in his day-book, and added theſe words, O Deus clementiſſime averte ſiniſtrum omen &c. Such fearful dreams cauſe a ſick ſleep, and a worſe waking. This Job complaineth of here:Philip. Par. in vita Patris. and yet more fully in the next words.
Verſe 15. So that my ſoul chuſeth ſtrangling] i. e. Quamvis duriſſimam ſed praeſentiſſimam mortem, any violent or ignominious death, ſo it were a ſpeedy death. Hippocrates telleth us, that may have been ſo affrighted with dreams and apparitions, that they have hanged themſelves, leaped into deep pits, or otherwiſe made themſelves away. Let thoſe that either have not been ſo terrified, or ſo tempted, or ſo deſerted of God, bleſs him for that mercy.
And death rather then life] Heb. Rather then my bones; that is, any kind of death rather then ſuch a body, which is no nothing elſe but a bag of bones: or then ſuch rotten bones full of ſores and ulcers: he maketh mention of his bones, becauſe his pain had pierced as farre as his very bones; the putrefaction had ſunk down into his marrow.
Verſe 16. I loath it, I would not live alway] I loath or abhor it, that is, my life, or I loath them, that is, my bones, verſe 15. I would not live alway, that is,Aug. de civitato Dei, l. 9. c. 10. long in this world, and in this condition. Plotinus the Philoſopher held it a ſpecial mercy of God to men, that they were mortal; and did not alwaies live to labour under the miſeries of this wretched life. Ca…o profeſſed, that if he might have his age renewed as the Eagles, ſo that he might be made young again, he would ſeriouſly refuſe it.Cic. Cato Major How much better might Job ſay thus, ſith the righteous hath hope in his death; and might well take up that of the Poet.
Ʋſque adeóne mori miſerum eſt?
The dayes of the beſt are ſo full of evil both of ſin and pain, that it is good they are not fuller of dayes; if they ſhould have length of life added to heaps of ſorrows, and perpetuity with all their miſery; how miſerable were they! Chriſt promiſeth it as a point of favour to his, that the dayes of trouble ſhould be ſhortned, Matth. 24.22. and that he may put an end to the world, he diſpatcheth away the generations with all the convenient ſpeed that may be.
Therefore let me alone] Some read thus, I cannot live for ever, or very long,Quod citò ceſſat & deficit. Mercer in Pagnin. therefore let me alone,] that is, give over afflicting me, and let me go quietly to my grave, Pſalm 39.13. Here one well obſerveth, that the world and time, while they continue, are alwaies ceaſing; and therefore have their denomination from this word which ſignifieth to ceaſe.
For my dayes are vanity] Hebel, a puffe of wind, or a bubble on the water. Mans body is a bubble, his ſoul the wind that filleth it. The bubble riſeth higher and higher, till at laſt it breaketh: ſo doth the body riſe from infancy to youth, from youth to age &c. till at length it cracketh and diſſolveth. The life of man is a vain life. This Job often beats upon, and why, ſee the Note on ver. 7.
Verſe 17. What is man that thou ſhouldſt magnify him?] i. e. make ſo much adoe about him, or look upon him as a fit match for the great God to grapple with, Pſalm 14.3. or to take care of his affairs? Debile argumentum, ſaith Vatablus here, a poor argument: but Job maketh uſe of all kind of arguments to move God to make an end of him: Domine fac finem, fac finem, ſaid dying Eraſmus; but what he meant by thoſe words, I know not, ſaith Melancthon, who reporteth it.
And that thou ſhouldſt ſet thine heart upon him?] So as to make any account of ſo mean and miſerable a creature, Pſalm 144.3. to magnifie him whom thou mighteſt rather vilifie, or indeed, nullifie; or, that thou ſhouldst ſet they heart againſt him, ſc. to deſtroy him, as chap. 34.14. That's but an ignoble conteſt; ubi & vincere inglorium eſt, & atteriſordidum.
Verſe 18. That thou ſhouldſt viſit him every morning] Be at ſo much pains, as it were, with him, as to chaſten him: and every morning to do it, that is, certainly and early; God took Job to task ſo ſoon as he was awake every morning; and this hee thought much of, and had rather have been without: but that was his weakneſs, ſith the rod is as neceſſary as food.
And try him every moment] Proving by affliction both what corruption, and what grace is in his heart; this David reckoneth upon the ſcore of Gods favours, and prayeth for, Pſal. 139. ult. This God promiſeth as a ſpecial bleſſing, J… 9.7. and withall aſſureth, that he will try and …efine his people, but not as ſilver, Iſa. 48.10. He will not deal with them as in rigour of juſtice he might do, becauſe if he ſhould do ſo, they having more droſs in them then good ore, more corruption then grace, they would ſoon be conſumed in this fiery trial: this God conſidered, and ſo ſhould Job have done, and have given over his growling.
Verſe 19.Pſalm 139.10. How long wilt thou not depart from me?] Here he ſeems deſirous to be rid of Gods company; of his afflicting preſenſe: ſo true is that of the Apoſtle, Heb. 12.11. No chaſtening for the preſent ſeemeth to be joyous, but grievous, till patience come to have her perfect work; and men be brought to cry out, as one did under a great fit of the ſtone, The uſe Lord, the uſe; not ſo much eaſe of my pain, as a good uſe of my ſuffering; this Job came to at length, no doubt: mean while, we have in him, as Mercer obſerveth, mirum ubique ſpecimen, a wonderful inſtance of that conflict between Fleſh and Spirit that is in the Saints.
Nor let me alone, till I may ſwallow down my ſpittle] That is, not afford me the leaſt intermiſſion, no not a ſpitting-while. He will not ſuffer me to take my breath, chap 9.18. Hierome thinks that Job was troubled with a ſquinſey or ſore throat, which hindred the ſwallowing of his ſpittle; neither had he power to ſpit out the corrupt matter that ran down his throat. Oh what a ſweet mercy is health! and how ill able are the beſt without ſpecial ſupport from heaven to bear ſickneſs! the Stoicks, who ſaid, that he who lived honeſtly might live chearfully though under may bodily weakneſſes, ſenſerunt ipſi in morbis ſe magnificentius locutos eſſe quàm verius, ſaith one;Wolſi…. that is, when it came to their own turn to be ſick, they well perceived, that they had ſpoken rather bravely then truely.
Verſe 20. I have ſinned] or, Have I ſinned? Have I fallen into any foul offence, as theſe men charge me? Am I guilty of any thing more then involuntary failings, unavoidable infirmities? although I know that theſe alſo are downright ſins, fruits of the fleſh properly ſo called, miſſings of the mark, as the word here ſignifieth, and for ſuch I humbly confeſſe them, I put my ſelf into the hands of thy juſtice in hope of thy mercy: and what wilt thou more of thy poor creature?
What ſhall I do unto thee] No ſooner had Job confeſſed his ſin, but he is deſirous to know a remedy. Reprobates can cry Peccavi, I have ſinned: but then they proceed not to ſay as here, What ſhall I do? they open their wound, but lay not on a plaiſter, and ſo the wounds made by ſin are more putrified, and grow more dangerous. Job would be directed what to do for remedy: he would have pardoning grace and prevailing grace upon any terms: and more then this, what can I do unto thee? as the Septuagint render this text.foreign.
O thou preſerver of men?] Of all men, but eſpecially of t…em that b…lieve, 1 Tim. 4.10 The Grecians called their Jupiter foreign, the Deliverer or Preſerver of their perſons: and again foreign from foreign a wall, as if he were the watch and defender of their houſes.Some tender it O thou obſerver of men. But theſe are praiſes proper to the true God the Keeper of his Iſrael, Pſalm 121.4. The Preſerver of the Faithful, Pſalm 31.23. Whom he keepeth as the apple of his eye, Pſalm 17.8. that tendereſt piece of the tendereſt part, moſt diligently and ſtrongly guarded by nature with …unicles. It is the wiſedom of a Chriſtian in his addreſſes into God to make choice of fit and appoſite titles and Attributes: for the ſtrengthening of his faith, and increaſing of his fervency.
Why haſt thou ſet me as a mark againſt thee] As a bul-wark, as an object, or as a rock of offence, againſt which thou mayeſt alwaies daſh: ſo Vatablus rendreth it: to the ſame ſenſe Job asketh chap. 19.11. and 13.24. Wherefore holdeſt thou me for thine enemy? So Lam. 3.12. and Job 16.13. Job conceived, that God dealt with him no otherwiſe then the Turks did with the great Crucifix of Conſtantinople, Turk. hiſt. 347upon the head whereof they put a Turks cap, and ſo ſettting it up in deriſion, ſhot at it with their arrows, calling it the God of the Christians: Or as the ſame Turks at the taking of Tripolis in Barbary, dealt with one John de Chabas a French man, who in the time of the ſiege had ſhot off the hand of the Clark General of the Army.Ibid. 756. They brought him into the town, ſaith the ſtory, and when they had cut off his hands and noſe, they put him quick into the ground to the waſt, and there for their pleaſure ſhot at him with their arrowes, and afterwards cut his throat.
So that I am a burden to my ſelf] How can he be otherwiſe, who is a but-mark for Almighty God, who cleft his very reins a ſunder, and powred our his gall upon the ground, Job 16.13. Job had once before complained, that the poiſon of Gods arrows had drunk up his ſpirits chap. 6. Neither did any thing lie ſo heavy upon him, or was ſo burdenſome to him as this, that God ſeemed to frown upon him, and to fight againſt him with his own hand. The Septuagint and Talmudiſts read thus, So that I am a burthen unto th…e, viz. with my complaints and expoſtulations: this, ſay they, was the ancient reading.
Verſe 21. And why dost thou not pardon my tranſgreſſion] Heb. Lift up or take away: for ſin was Job… greateſt burden, which therefore he prayeth to God to pardon: and that not in heaven only, but in his own conſcience: and then no darkneſs can be ſo deſolate, no croſs ſo cutting, no burden ſo importable, but he ſhall by Gods grace, be able to deal with it. Hence this vehement expoſtulation of his for remiſſion and removal of ſin firſt, and then of its evil conſequents; for pardon of ſinne is a voluminous mercy; and being juſtified by faith we can glory in tribulation Rom. 5.1, 3.
For now ſhall I ſleep in the duſt] In the duſt of death: Pſal. 22.15.and therefore muſt have help preſently, or not at all: ſith a man once departed is no more to be found in this world, though never ſo diligently ſought for. See verſe 7, 8. One paraphraſeth theſe words thus, For now I ſhall die, and then when thou lookeſt to receive thy morning ſacrifice of praiſe as aforetime, I ſhall not be found to give it thee.