Exposition of Job 22-26, Commentary · Chapter 24
JOB, CHAP. 24, Verſ. 19, 20.
Drought and heate, conſume the ſnow waters, ſo doth the grave theſe which have ſinned.
The womb ſhall forget him, and the worme ſhall feed ſweetly on him; he ſhall be no more remembred, and wickedneſſe ſhall be broken as a tree.
THere are two different tranſlations of the 19th verſe; I ſhall propoſe them, and then explicate our owne.
Firſt, thus; In the drought and heate they rob, and in the ſnow water, they ſin to the grave.
Secondly, (to the ſame ſenſe by way of ſimilitude) like as the dry earth and heate drinke up the ſnow water, ſo they ſin even to the grave.
Both theſe rendrings carry in them two things generally remarkable.
Firſt, The obſtinacy, and perſeverance of wicked men in ſin while they live.
Secondly, Their impunity in ſin untill death.
In the drought and heate they rob, and in the ſnow water.
That is, they rob and ſpoyle at all times, or in all the ſeaſons of the yeare, in hard times, in the hardeſt times, in the extremity of drought, and in the extremity of cold, They never give over, they ſin to the grave. This reading is much inſiſted upon by ſome, and as the ſence is uſefull,foreign rapuit vi & apertè res aut perſonas. ſo the text may beare it. For the verb ſignifies to ſnatch a thing openly, and forceably, as well as to conſume ſecretly, and ſo may be rendred by robbing, as well as by conſuming.
In drought and heate they rob, and in the ſnow waters.
Firſt, We may conſider this drought and heate with the ſnow water as expreſſing thoſe ſeaſons which are very troubleſome to the wicked man, to doe his worke in, to rob, and ſpoyle: extreame heate, and extreame cold, are great impediments to action, yet in heate and ſnow they rob.
Whence obſerve.
A wicked man will breake through all difficulties, to finde a way to his beloved ſin.
Though he be in danger of melting with heate, or of freezing with cold, yet he will rob, or doe any other miſchiefe that his heart is ſet upon: neyther heate, nor cold, neyther wett, or dry, ſhall keepe him in, yea though an Angel with a drawne ſword in his hand ſtand in his way (as in the way of Balaam) yet, when he hath a minde, he will goe on. We may ſay of every bold and preſumptuous ſinner, that he ſins in heate, and cold, he ſins in the ſight of wrath and death. The threatenings (which are the portion of ſuch) have the extreamity of heate and cold in them; The threatenings have ſword and fire in them, wrath and death in them, yet the wicked ſin in the face of them, and (upon the m… ter) dare them to doe their worſt. A godly man, whoſe heart is bent and ſet heaven-ward, will walke on his way, though he muſt paſſe through heate, and cold, though he meete with dangers, and difficulties, though he meete many Lyons in his way, yet he will not turne out of his way. Paul ſaith of himſelfe and his fellow-labourers (2 Cor. 6.4.) In all things approving our ſelves as the Miniſters of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in neceſſities, in diſtreſſes, in ſtripes, in impriſonments, &c. And a little after (v. 8.) By honour, and diſhonour, by evill report, and good report, &c. Here was working in heate and cold, in fire and froſt, in all ſorts of providences from God, in all ſorts of aſpects from men. Paul and his colleagues, never minded what men did to them, but what the minde of God was they ſhould doe. And thus every godly man workes, or doth the worke of God. For though every Godly man attaines not to ſuch a degree of zeale and holy courage as Paul had; yet he hath a truth of zeale and holy courage which will (according to his meaſure) carry him through a world of evills and incumbrances, to the doing of that good, which duty and conſcience, or the conſcience of his duty calls him to. Now as Godly men labour to approve themſelves the Miniſters or ſervants of God, ſo ungodly men will approve themſelves the ſervants of ſin in much patience, in afflictions, in neceſſities, and in diſtreſſes; they will run all hazzards, and venture through all extreamities, rather then leave the law of a luſt unfulfilled. The Lord put the Jewes to much ſuffering for their ſins, yet ſin they would; Why ſhould ye be ſtricken any more, (ſaith he, Iſa. 1.5.) Ye will revolt more and more; while I have been ſtriking, ye have been revolting. The ſame pertinacy is complained of (Iſa. 57.17.) I ſmote him, and was wrath, yet he went on frowardly in the way of his heart; that is, in a ſinfull way. The heart of man knowes no other way, till himſelfe is formed after the heart of God, and in that ſinfull way he will goe, though God make his heart ake as he goes, I ſmote him, and was wroth, yet he went on, &c.
In drought and heate they rob, and in the ſnow water.
Againe, we may take drought, heate, and ſnow water, not onelyonly as importing their ſufferings while they were doing in ſuch times, but alſo as importing the ſeverall ſeaſons of time, as if he had ſayd, they will ſin both winter and ſummer, that is, continually: wee ſay of ſome, they are never well neither full nor faſting: As full and faſting imply all the conditions of man, ſo hot and cold, ſummer and winter, imply all diviſions of time.
Hence note.
Evill men will doe evill allwayes.
Sinning time is never out with them, they doe not ſin by fits or ſtarts, in an ill mood onelyonly, or through a ſtreſſe of temptation, but they ſin from a principle within, they have a ſpring of wickednes within, and that will ever be ſending and flowing out. A good man may be overtaken with ſin at any time, but he doth not ſin at all times, in winter, and ſummer, in heate, and cold. Corruption will be working where Grace is, but where Grace is not, nothing workes but corruption. If wicked men be not doing evill in every moment of time, it is not becauſe they at any time would not doe evill, but becauſe at all times they cannot; And therefore the tranſlation now underhand ſpeakes of their whole life as one continued act of ſin.
They ſin to the grave.
That is, till they dye, and ſo are caryed out to the grave. So that this manner of ſpeaking, They ſin to the Grave, ſignifyes the utmoſt perſeverance of wicked men in ſinning; as if it had not been enough to ſay, they ſin in heate, and cold, winter, and ſummer, but they ſin out the laſt inch of time, even till they come to the graves mouth.
Whence Note.
Wicked men will not ceaſe to ſin while they continue to live.
The Apoſtle Peter (2 Pet. 2.14.) ſaith of that generation, who have eyes full of adultery, and that cannot ceaſe from ſin, ſin is their nature, it is not what they have acquired, but what is implanted in them, and borne with them. And becauſe ſin is naturall to them, therefore they cannot get it off untill their nature is changed. And hence it is that converſion or regeneration is the change of our nature as well as of our actions. A man unregenerate ſins as naturally as he lives: he ſins as naturally as he ſees or heares, or exerciſeth any of thoſe naturall faculties, ſo naturally doth he ſin, and therefore he ſins to the grave. And this is a rational demonſtration of the Juſtice of God in awarding eternall puniſhment for ſin committed in time, or in a ſhort time, (the whole time of a mans life, in which ſin is committed, is but a ſhort time, a nothing to eternity) wherein ſin ſhall be puniſhed. This, I ſay, is a demonſtration of the Juſtice of God in puniſhing wicked men) becauſe if they could have lived to eternity, they would have done evill to eternity, they doe evill as they can, and as long as they can. Seeing then, there is a principle in man to ſin eternally, it is but juſt with God if he puniſh ſinners eternally: did not the grave ſtop him, his heart would never ſtop him from ſin. In heate and cold they rob, they ſin to the grave.
Further as theſe words are put into a ſimilitude, they intimate the eaſineſſe, and naturallneſſe of their ſinning, as well as the continuance of it; Like as the hot earth drinketh up the ſnow water, ſo wicked men ſin to the grave: they ſin to death, and they ſin with as much eaſe and naturalnes as the earth, when dry and thirſty, drinks up the ſnow water. Sinners are ſayd to drinke iniquity as water, (Job 15.16.) They are ſayd to draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and ſin as it were with cart ropes, (Iſa. 5.18.) The laſt of theſe compariſons notes their ſtrength and groſſeneſſe in ſinning; The ſecond notes their wit and cunning in ſinning; The third (which ſuites with the preſent text) notes their readynes and eaſynes to ſinne; They can doe it as eaſyly as drinke, as eaſyly as the hot earth drinketh up the ſnow water.
So much of that tranſlation; I come now to conſider our owne.
Drought and heate conſume the ſnow waters.
foreign ſiccitas. propriè ariditatem terrae ſignificat, unde pro terra arida & inculta ſumitur.Drought or drineſſe; The word notes the drineſſe of the earth, and is often put for dry earth, as alſo for earth undreſt, or for a deſert place, becauſe in ſuch places the earth is uſually parcht with heate and over-dry. And hence the word (Tſijm) in the plural number ſignifyes a people that dwell in a wilderneſſe, or in a deſert. So the people of Iſrael were called while they marched ſlowly throught it to Canaan (Pſal. 74.14.) Thou brakeſt the head of the Leviathan, foreign populo ſo…itud… nicolis, aut de ſerta incolenti.and gaveſt him to be meate for the people, who dwelt in the wilderneſſe. And as men, ſo thoſe wild beaſts that dwelt in deſerts, or ſolitary places are called Tſijm; (Iſa. 34.14.) The wilde beaſts of the deſert ſhall alſo meete with the wilde beaſts of the land, and the Satyre ſhall cry to his fellow, the Shrich-Owle alſo ſhall reſt there, and finde for her ſelfe a place of reſt. Tſijm are ſuch uncouth creatures as inhabit Tſijah, dry and deſert places. Drought And heate.
foreign caluit Heb…aeis Cham calidum, et chum nigrum ſonat, hinc chami nomen a calore vel nigredine. Jupiter Hammon.Cham the originall word ſignifyes both to be hot, and to be blacke; The ſecond ſonne of Noah, (who mocked his father) was named Cham, and it is ſuppoſed that the poſterity of Cham inhabited Africa, which is alſo called Ammonia, being a hot Countrey, and the people of it blacke. And from this Hebrew word (it is conceaved) the Heathens alſo called the Sun Jupiter Hammon; and they had Sun-Images called Chammamin (Levit. 26.30.) which they worſhipped.
Drought and heate conſume the ſnow water.
The word (as many other in the Hebrew) hath a neerneſſe of ſound as well as in ſence with our Engliſh word guſſell, and wee ſay of Great drinkers, They are Guzzlers. The dry earth and heate guſſell or drinke in the ſnow water, as the intemperate perſon guſſels and drinks downe his liquor. Thus, drought and heate conſume the ſnow water, that is, the ſnow when melted into water.
So doth the grave thoſe that have ſinned.
There is a wonderfull conciſenes in the Hebrew,foreign intra brevi…as quae obſcuritatem parit, non dubium eſt ſimilitudinem eſſe. Merc: we finde there no particle of likenes, nor is there any expreſſion of thoſe that, as appeares by the different letter in our tranſlation; yet there is no doubt but the words carry in them the force of a ſimilitude, therefore we may ſafely ſupply them, according to our reading; So doth the grave thoſe that have ſinned.
The ſame word is uſed indifferently in the Original both for the grave and hell; both ſignifications are made uſe of by Interpreters in this place. Firſt, the grave or death; ſecondly, Hell, which is the ſecond death, and everlaſting death conſumeth thoſe that have ſinned.
But why doth he ſay, the grave conſumeth thoſe that have ſinned? Can he meane any ſpeciall ſort of men by this, foraſmuch as all men have ſinned and ſin dayly?
I anſwer, It is a truth, the grave conſumeth, and death reigneth over all, for that all have ſinned; Whereſoever ſin hath to doe, death hath to doe, the terretories of death are as large as the terretories of ſin; And had it not been for ſin, death had never had any dominion in the world, nor can the grave conſume any but thoſe who have ſinned. The Body of man had never come into the graves mouth, and it had been too hard a morſel for the ſtomacke of the grave to digeſt, had it not been for ſin; For though the body of man in its materialls and conſtitution was mortall, that is, was under a poſſibility of dying before he ſinned, yet if ſin had not brought him under the threat of death, God had never ſubjected him under that decree of dying, in purſuance of both which the grave now conſumeth (all) thoſe that have ſinned. The grave conſumes Godly men becauſe they have ſinned, and the grave conſumes wicked men becauſe they have ſinned; yet there is a great difference among theſe ſinners who dye, and a greater difference among theſe ſinners when they are dead.
And therefore Job ſpeakes here deſtinctively; for though it be a truth that all whether Godly or wicked have ſinned, and that the grave conſumeth all, who have ſinned; yet Job doth not here intend all men by Thoſe who have ſinned. For by them Job meanes groſſe preſumptuous and impoenitent ſinners; he meanes it not of thoſe who ſin according to common fraylety, but of thoſe who ſin with a high hand obſtinately. Such he meanes, even oppreſſours, adulterers, murtherers, of whom he ſpake by name before; theſe and ſuch as theſe are the ſinners whom he intends, while he ſaith, ſo doth the grave thoſe that have ſinned.
And it be ſaid, ſo doth the grave thoſe that (in this ſence) have not ſinned.
I anſwer, The Grave is ſayd in a ſpeciall manner to conſume thoſe who have thus ſinned.
Firſt, Becauſe ſuch ſinners doe more ſubject and lay themſelves open to death, by their wicked courſes and intemperate living. Such ſinners ſpoyle their bodyes, and corrupt their blood, they fill themſelves with diſeaſes, which bring them early to the Grave.
Secondly, Becauſe God doth often cut the thread of ſuch mens lives when they are ſtrong and healthy, and tumbles them into the graves mouth to be conſumed, before they have lived out halfe their dayes.
The words being thus opened, fall under a twofold interpretation.
Firſt, As implying the felicity (ſuch as it is) of wicked men in dying, or the eaſineſſe of their death; as they live in pleaſure, ſo they dye without paine. That's a poynt inſiſted upon at the 13th verſe of the 21th Chapter, They ſpend their dayes in wealth, and in a moment (or with eaſe) they goe downe to the grave. Moriuntur facillimè & ſuaviſſime, ita ut nihil doloris aut cruciatus ſenti ant, non lenta morte contabeſcunt ut magna ex parte probi. Merc: Ex Hebraeis aliqui putant indicari leniſſimam mortem in piorum, qua lenitur et inſenſibilt…è… liqu fiant, &c. Pined:And againe (ver. 32, 33.) Hee ſhall be brought to the grave, the clods of the valley ſhall be ſweet unto him. Where Job ſhews that wicked men have as much eaſe in death as others, and many times a great deale more. They dye in a moment, not tyred out with the torture of chronical diſeaſes, but having a quicke and ſpeedy paſſage out of the world, are diſſolved even as the ſnow is by the heate and warmth of the Sunne. This ſence ſome of note inſiſt chiefly upon, as moſt ſuiteable to Jobs ſcope in deſcribing the corporall, and temporall felicity of wicked men, even in death, which carryes the greateſt appearance of terror and trouble in it.
But I rather take theſe words as a deſcription of the miſerable end and ſad concluſion of a wicked man. For the word which we render, to conſume, ſignifies a forceable ſwallowing downe, a kinde of devouring, which doth not conſiſt with that other explication.
Drought and heate conſume the ſnow-waters, ſo doth the grave thoſe that have ſinned.
Hence obſerve.
Firſt, Some ſin ſo as if they were the onelyonly ſinners, or as if they onelyonly had ſinned.
All men ſin, but ſome goe away with the name, as if they onelyonly were worthy to be called ſinners. In which ſence the Evangeliſt ſayth (Luke 7.37.) And behold a woman in the City which was a ſinner, when ſhe knew that Jeſus ſat in the Phariſees houſe brought an albaſter box of ointment, &c. But were not all the women in the City ſinners? They were ſo, but this woman had a common fame for a ſinner, that is, for an uncleane, wanton woman; ſhee was a ſinner of ſinners, the chiefe of ſinners in that City. So (Luk. 19.7.) when Chriſt went to the houſe of Zacheus, the Phariſees were vexed, and murmured, ſaying, that he was gone to be gueſt with a man which was a ſinner; As if they had ſayd, he is gon to the houſe of a notorious ſinner, a man ſo ſinfull, and guilty, that all men ſeeme innocent and ſinleſſe in compariſon of him. So they accounted That Zacheus the Publican; and doubtleſſe he was as noted a man for ſin before his converſion, as he was for grace after it. As they who are borne of God doe not commit ſin, yea, cannot ſin becauſe they are borne of God (1 Joh. 3.9.) that is, their ſinning is no ſinning in Gods account, and comparatively to the ſinning of others. So they who are borne of the Devill (as Chriſt ſaith thoſe contradicting Jewes were, Joh. 8.44.) doe nothing but commit ſin, and ſin ſo as if they (and their like) alone did ſin. For as no godly man ſins as a wicked man doth, ſo ſom… wicked men ſin at ſuch a rate, that it may be ſaid they only ſin, evē in reſpect of the generality of wicked men. Thus alſo ſome Godly men doe ſo farre exceed and out-ſtrip other Godly men in holynes and the acting of their Graces, as if they onelyonly were Godly, as if they onelyonly had the acting of thoſe graces. Abraham beleived as if he onelyonly had been a beleever; and Job was patient, as if none had patience but he; David was a man ſo upright, as if onelyonly he had been upright, or a man after Gods owne heart. There are Saints like Abraham and David, none like them, and there are ſinners, like Jeroboam and Ahab, none like them.
So doth the grave thoſe that have ſinned.
Obſerve.
They who are extreamely ſinfull, make themſelves ſevenfold more ſubject to death then other men.
They who ſin as if none did ſin but they, are ſo ſubject to death, as if none were ſubject to death but they. For if every ſin, the leaſt ſin doth put us into the hand or under the power of death, then great ſins multiplyed and continued in, put us into the hand and under the power of death much more. The Pſalmiſt ſaith of wicked worldly men (Pſal. 49.14.) Like ſheepe they are layd in the grave, death ſhall feed on them, and their beauty ſhall conſume in the grave, from their dwelling; or (as we put in the Margin) the grave being an habitation to every one of them ſhall conſume their beauty.
But ſome may object, Is not this true of Godly men too, are not they thus handled by death, and the grave? doth not death feed on them? and doth not the grave conſume their beauty?
I anſwer, though it doth, yet it doth not ſo feed upon, nor conſume them, as it feedes upon and conſumes wicked men. For the Pſalmiſt ſpeakes here of death as it were triumphing over the wicked, whereas the Godly triumph over death. For, firſt he ſaith, The wicked are layd in the grave like ſheepe; They lived like Wolves or Lyons, but they are layd in the grave like ſheepe. If it be asked, why like ſheepe? I anſwer, not for the innocency of their lives, but for their impotency in death; as if it had been ſayd, when once death took them in hand to lay them in the grave, they could make no more reſiſtance then a ſheepe can againſt a Lyon or a Wolfe; And when death hath thus layd them in the grave, then ſecondly (ſaith the Pſalmiſt) death ſhall feed on them, as a Lyon doth upon a ſheepe, or any wild beaſt upon his prey, which is a further degree of deaths triumph over the wicked; And thirdly, their beauty ſhall conſume in the grave, that is, all their bodily and natural beauty (and that is all the beauty which they have) ſhall conſume in the Grave, whereas the Godly, have a beauty (and they count it their onelyonly beauty) which the grave cannot conſume, and that is the beauty of their graces, the beauty of holynes, the ſpirituall beauty of the inner man, yea and the ſpirituall beauty of their outward holy actings ſhall not conſume in the Grave; For bleſſed are the dead that dye in the Lord, for from henceforth, ſaith the Spirit, they reſt from their labours, and their workes follow them (Rev. 14.13.) that is, their good workes follow them (not to death but into life) and will be both beauty and bleſſednes to them from the Lord for ever. Whereas curſed are the dead that dye in their ſins, for from henceforth, they ſhall be denyed reſt for ever, and none of their workes, wherein they tooke pleaſure in this world, ſhall follow them into the next to give them any pleaſure. All their beauty and outward bleſſednes ends in the grave. If in this life onelyonly we have hope in Chriſt, ſayth the Apoſtle of beleevers (1 Cor. 15.19.) we are of all men moſt miſerable; then how miſerable are they, who have no hope beyond this life, or if they have, both that, and their preſent beauty conſume together in the grave. Thus it is plaine, that though godly men dye, yet death hath not ſuch a hand over them, as over the wicked. And as wicked men are more under the hand of death then the Godly when they dye, ſo they are continually more lyable unto death. Sin, which unfits men to dye comfortably, fits them (as it were) to dye naturally: The more ſinfull any man is, the ſooner may death ſurpriſe him. Holynes hath not onelyonly a promiſe of eternall life hereafter, but of a long life here (Pſal. 34.12, 13.) And ſin is not onelyonly under a threat of eternal death hereafter, but of a ſpeedy death here. (Pſal. 55.23.) But thou O Lord ſhalt bring them (that is, wicked men) downe into the pit of deſtruction, (But when? it may be long firſt, the next words make anſwer) Bloody and deceitfull men ſhall not live out halfe their dayes; That is, not halfe the dayes which as others doe ſo they naturally might live; eyther the Juſtice of God or of man ſhall cut ſuch men off in the midſt of their dayes. The grave gapes for thoſe who have thus ſinned. So then, though there are many ſpirituall reaſons referring to eternal life, which may move the ſons of men to take heed of ſin,Pro, ſepalchrū eſt cur malim infernus aut inferi, Nam ſepulch…um rapit etiam bonos i…feri ſolos eos rapiunt qui peccaverunt i e. improbos Druſ: yet there is a ſtrong motive from the concernments of this preſent temporal life, and that not onelyonly as to the comforts of it, but alſo as to the very continuance of it. They haſten themſelves to the grave who make haſt to ſin, and ſo at once endanger the hopes of the next life, and the enjoyment of this.
Laſtly, Some, becauſe the Grave (in a general ſence) conſumes the Godly as wel as the ſinner (in the ſence laſt expreſſed) doe therefore reſtraine the word Sheol in this place to hell, as it ſignifyes the place or ſtate of the damned, which is proper onelyonly to thoſe who have ſinned, and dye in their ſinnes. So the whole verſe is thus rendred.Ʋt terra torri da & calor abſumunt aquas invales, ita infernus eos qui peccaverunt. Tygur: As dry earth and heate conſume the ſnow waters, ſo hell conſumeth thoſe that have ſinned. All that ſin and turne not, ſhall be turned to hell; But ſhall hell conſume them? they ſhall ever be conſuming, but never conſumed. Hell ſhall conſume them as to a comfortable being, but it ſhall not conſume them as to a being; they ſhall be allwayes dying, but never dead. Hell is the portion and all the portion of all wicked men hereafter, what ever portion of worldly profit or pleaſure they have had here: hell ſhall conſume them, and they ſhall be conſuming for ever.
The 20th verſe may carry the ſence of this interpretation, but it complyeth more clearely with the former, deſcribing the calamitous condition of a wicked man at his departure out of this world.
Verſ. 20. The womb ſhall forget him, the worme ſhall feed ſweetly on him, he ſhall be no more remembred, and wickedneſſe ſhall be broken as a tree.
The number varyes here againe, Job ſpake in the plural number immediately before, yet here keeping to the ſame ſubject, he ſpeakes in the ſingular.
The womb ſhall forget him.
foreign a verbo quod intenſiſſi…rè & tenerrimè amare ſigniſicat.That is, They who loved him moſt tenderly and dearely ſhall forget him. The word which we render the womb, is of a verbe which ſignifyes to love, with greateſt intenſeneſſe and tendernes: it is applyed to the love of man to God, (Pſal. 18.1.) I love the Lord, I love the Lord dearely with bowells of affection; and it is often applyed to the love of God unto man. Some tranſlate it here by the Abſtract;Vim majorem haber per abſtractum. Obliviſcetur ejus miſeratio, ſive amor ſive dilectio, i. e. illi qui eum ſuaviter amabunt. Bold: Love, merciemercy, or pittie ſhall forget him. Which may be taken two wayes; Firſt, that thoſe friends who before were pittifull to him, ſhould forget him; his lovers, and acquaintance, who were deare to him even as his bowels, they ſhall forget him; or ſecondly, mercy ſhall forget him, that is, the mercy of God, or the God of mercy ſhall forget him, God who is alltogether mercy ſhall forget him; hell ſhall conſume him, and mercy, or the mercifull God ſhall forget him for ever. The vulgar reads it by way of imprecation, let mercy forget him; others as a direct denunciation, mercy ſhall forget him; But I rather apprehend that this phraſe, or manner of ſpeaking, The wombe ſhall forget him, doth onelyonly import thus much; That when the wicked man dyeth, he ſhall be as much forgotten among men, as if ſuch a man had never come out of his mothers wombe, nor been born into the world. But are not wicked men remembred to have been in the world when once they goe out of the world? uſually they doe ſuch things in the world as cannot eaſily be forgotten; And are not many wicked men, who dyed ſome thouſands of yeares agoe, remembred unto this day, as if they had dyed but yeſterday? I anſwer, As to forget, alwayes implyeth former knowledge, and acquaintance, ſo ſometimes it implyeth onelyonly preſent neglect. When we paſſe by, or ſlight a man, then we are ſayd to forget him, though we not onelyonly remember who he is, but ſee him before our eyes. Much more then may we be ſayd to forget thoſe men being dead, whom we ſlighted while they lived, and never ſpeake of but with contempt and abhorrence both of their perſons and actions ſince they dyed. The wombe ſhall forget him.
Yet as the former verſe is expounded by ſome, (as was there touched) to ſhew how quiet and eaſie a paſſage wicked men uſually have out of this world by death, ſo this clauſe alſo of the verſe in hand, yea the whole verſe is expounded to the ſame ſence; I will onelyonly hint it, and paſſe onne.
The wombe ſhall forget him.
That is, his mother ſhall not be troubled or grieved at his death, becauſe he dyed without griefe or trouble.
The wormes ſhall feede ſweetly on him.
That is, The grave ſhall be no ſeveerer to him then to others.Ita ſuavitèr obdormit, ut in ſepulchro ei vermis duſceſcere videatur. Druſ: There the wormes feed upon all men, and they ſhall feed ſweetly on him; or it ſhall be a kinde of ſweetnes and pleaſure to him, to have the wormes feeding on him; which is no more then what Job ſayd upon the ſame argument (Chap. 21.33.) The clods of the valley ſhall be ſweete to him.
He ſhall be no more remembred.
That is, there ſhall no hard fate or evill accident befall him when he dyes to adminiſter matter of diſcourſe concerning him: for when a man is cut off by ſome remarkeable ſtroake of Judgement eyther from the hand of God or man, his death becomes the diſcourſe and Table-talke of all ſorts of men, for that generation at leaſt, if not for many more. What hath cauſed Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, to be remembred to this day, was it not the ſtrangenes of their death? (Numb. 14.29, 30.) And Moſes ſayd, If theſe men dye the common death of all men, or if they be viſited after the viſitation of all men, then the Lord hath not ſent me; but if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and ſwallow them up, &c. This dreadfull hand of God upon them in ſwallowing them up alive, hath made them to be remembred more then many thouſands of honeſt and good men in Iſrael, who dyed in their beds. Upon this account Ananias & Saphira are remembred, and ſo is That Herod (Act. 12.23.) Who was eaten of wormes & gave up the Ghoſt, becauſe he gave not glory unto God. But ſaith Job (according to this expoſition) the wicked mans death is commonly ſo fayre, and ſo much after the common death of all men, that no man reremembers him any more.
And wickedneſſe ſhall be broken as a tree.
That is, the wicked man ſhall dye like an old rotten tree, he ſhall moulder away and decay by peice-meale, or gradually, as a tree doth which is never hewen downe, but is ſuffered to waſt and dye alone. Thus the interpretation is carried through the whole verſe, as a proofe, that bad men may (in this kinde) have a good death.
But though this be a truth, and ſuites well with Jobs ſcope in ſome paſſages of this Chapter, as alſo in other paſſages of this booke, that wicked men dye as to outward appearance as fairely, and ſweetly, as the godly, ſo that as no man knoweth love, or hatred by all that is before him, but all things (in this life) come alike to all; There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked (Eccl: 9.1, 2.) So all things come alike to all in death, ſo farre as it meerely concernes the ſeparation of ſoule and body; yet I rather conceive that this verſe declares wrath and judgement to wicked men dying, or their miſery and wretchednes in death. And therefore firſt, the wombe, that is, his neereſt relations, and friends, even his mother, and wife, ſhall forget him. They expected no good from him while he lived, and ſo it was little ſorrow to them when he dyed. Some men live till their friends are weary of them,Mater quia a vivo nihil expectabat ſolain, neq pro mortuo amplius angitur. & every one thinks the world is well rid of them when they dye. Secondly, The worme ſhall feed ſweetly on him, that is, as he fed ſweetly upon ſin before, ſo now the worme ſhall have a ſweete morſell of him; Which ſome interpret alſo as a circumlocution of an ignominious or at leaſt a vulgar buryall; as if he had ſayd, he ſhall not have the buryall of the noble and honourable, who uſually are ſecured from wormes by ſpices and imbalmings (ſpice and perfume fence the dead body againſt the worme) But though he lived honourably, death ſhall overtake him, and he ſhall be buryed ignominiouſly, or he ſhall be buryed among common men, he ſhall not have that priviledge which appertaines to his ſtate, preſervation from the wormes. And (which is a greater miſery then both the former) Thirdly, He ſhall be no more remembred, that is, he ſhall be no more ſpoken of with honour, but his name ſhall rot, as a man that is not worth the remembring. His name ſhall not be regiſterd with honour, nor kept upon the file, with men of credit and renowne. So that as the firſt part of the verſe ſhewes how his neereſt relations and lovers ſhall forget him, ſo this latter part ſhewes that he ſhall be remembred no more of any others.
The Original word which we tranſlate to remember, Meſhciim ſecretarij zichronoth, memoriae hiſtoriae, monumenta, zacha…, Maſculus.taken in other formes, ſignifyes a hiſtory, or a monument of record, as alſo a recorder or regiſter, who writes and ſets downe things for memory. And hence alſo a man-childe in the Hebrew is called Zachar, becauſe the family is reckoned by the males, they only being named in genallogyes, and regiſtred in the monuments of antiquity: ſo that theſe words, He ſhall be no more remembred, ſound thus much, he ſhall be a man whoſe name is quite blotted or raſed out of all memorialls. And This curſe of being no more remembred, may be taken as was intimated before, eyther firſt abſolutely, he ſhall not be thought of, named, or remembred at all, or ſecondly, relatively, he ſhall no more be remembred with honour, his name will ſmell worſe then his rotten carkaſſe when he is dead, and whenſoever he is mentioned, it will be like rakeing in a dunghill which raiſeth up a filthy ſtench and vapour. Poſſibly while he lived he was ſpoken of with honour, he had many flatterers, who crept to him, bowed to him, adored him, and called him a gracious Lord, but when he dyeth his reputation dyeth too, he ſhall be no more remembred with honour; when any man ceaſeth to be remembred as he once was, he may be ſaid not to be remembred at all. The worſt and wickedeſt men that ever were in the world may be ſtill remembred, but when they are remembred it is with ſome marke of infamie, or with a blacke brand upon their name.
Hence note.
Not to be remembred at all when we are dead, or to be remembred with diſhonour, is the portion of the wicked.
Many pretious Saints have both lived in obſcurity and being dead 'tis ſcarſe remembred that they ever lived, but none of the knowne Saints did ever live in diſgrace (unleſſe in their opinion who had no grace) and being dead they are remembred by all (who have grace) with honour. But They who have been moſt famous for wickedneſſe while they lived in this world, the moſt famous oppreſſours, adulterers, and robbers, have dyed undeſiered, and their name… hath rotted being dead (Prov. 10.7.) David (Pſal. 69.28.) powreth out this curſe upon his enemies, Let them be blotted out of the booke of the living, and not remembred among the righteous. The Jewes were wont to number their familyes, and to take their names; ſo they did when they came out of Egypt. In which ſence the booke of numbers may be called, The booke of the living; and we may take the booke of the living in a double notion, eyther firſt for the booke of thoſe who lived naturally, or ſecondly, of thoſe who lived ſpiritually, and ſo were ſuch as ſhould live eternally (Phil. 4.3. Rev. 3.5.) David ſeemes to intend this booke of the living, becauſe he addeth, let them not be remembred among the righteous. As if he had ſayd, Theſe men made an outward profeſſion and ſeemed once to be in the liſt and catalogue of the righteous, they had once an eſteeme and a name among the people of God (as all hypocrites have till they are unmasked) but they have diſcovered themſelves to be of another alliance, therefore let them be no more named nor remembred as having any relation to that ſociety. Thus we may interpret that imprecation of Moſes (Exod. 32.32.) when the Lords wrath waxed hott againſt the people of Iſrael, and would have deſtroyed them, Moſes prayed, Yet now if thou wilt forgive their ſin, and if not, blot me I pray thee out of the booke which thou haſt written, that is, out of the booke which thou haſt commanded to be written as a record of the people of Iſrael; As if he had ſayd,Voluit Moyſes de libro legis deleri nomen ſuum ne unquā ulla in ea plus mentio fieret, nec legiſlator haberetur vel dux populi. Rab: Sol: Ex pungi ſe voluit ex catalogo quaſi ſcriptorum patrum, i. e. principum virorum populi Hebraei, ſc: patriarcharum, &c. qui vocabatur liber Juſtorum. Bold: Ab ipſo populi dei catalogo radi poſcebat, ut nulla deinceps inter fidelium nominis ſui mē tio fieret, quamvis fidiſſimus dei ſervus eſſe perſeveret. Haec deletio nominis a libro viventium populi dei opprobrioſa nimis erat & infamis ſceleratorum poena. Id: let me be reckoned no more for an Iſraelite, eſpecially let me not have a glorious, honourable name in Iſrael (ſuch a one Moſes had being the leader of that people) Blot me out of the booke which thou haſt written, let not my name ſtand upon that record. The Lord had ſayd (ver. 20.) Let me alone that my wrath may wax hot againſt them, that I may conſume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. And Moſes beſought the Lord, &c. As if he had ſaid, I ſtand not upon my own name, I am ſo farre from being ambitiouſly deſirous to be the head of a greater nation then theſe, that rather then thy name ſhould ſuffer, I care not to be taken notice of as the head of this nation, no nor as the meaneſt member of them, no nor to be accounted ſo much as a common Iſraelite. Blot me out of the booke which thou haſt written. This alſo is a fayre interpretation of Pauls meaning (Rom. 9.3.) when he wiſhed himſelfe accurſed from Chriſt for his brethren, his kinſmen according to the fleſh. We may ſuppoſe that Moſes and Paul were moved with the ſame Spirit of zeale for the Glory of God in both their wiſhes; And that when Moſes wiſhed (upon that account) to be blotted out of the Booke which God had written, he wiſhed the ſame thing which Paul did, when he wiſhed to be accurſed or an anathema from Chriſt; That is, to be as a perſon ſeparated or excommunicated from the ſociety or communion of the faithfull, and ſo no more to be remembred among the Saints, or to have his name blotted out of the Church-records, though he had been ſo great a planter and propagater of the Churches. There are two Scriptures that ſpeake of ſuch writings or holy records (Iſa. 4.3.) It ſhall then come to paſſe, that he that is left in Sion, and he that remains in Jeruſalem ſhall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living (or to life) in Jeruſalem. Many might live in Jeruſalem, who were not written among the living, or to life in Jeruſalem. Thus to be written to life, or among the living, is to be written in the Catalogue of thoſe who are reckoned to have a life of Grace, holynes, and ſanctification here, as alſo to be heyres and expectants of a life of Glory hereafter. Againe we have a like evidence of this (Ezek. 13.9.) My hand ſhall be upon the Prophets that ſee vanity, and that divine lies, they ſhall not be in the aſſembly of my people, neither ſhall they be written in the writing of the houſe of Iſrael. As when the Lord brought the people of Iſrael out of Aegypt, he commanded them to be muſtered or numbred (Num. 1.2, 3.) Thus alſo when they returned from the Babylonian Captivity, they were numbred againe (Ezr: Chap. 2. Neh. Chap. 7.) Now thoſe records in which their names were written, are conceaved to be the writings of the houſe of Iſrael, mentioned in this 13th of Ezekiel, as alſo, the Booke of the living or to life, in the fourth of Iſaiah, at leaſt that both theſe Scriptures allude to thoſe records. And it was the cuſtome of the Jewes, that when any of them acted wickedly, his name was raſed out of thoſe records as unworthy to be remembred among the people of God, and was looked upon as a dead man, yea as a damned man, who hath no name in the booke of life ſo often mentioned in Scripture, or whoſe name might be ſayd to be blotted out of it.
From all which it appeares how great a curſe it is to be no more remembred, with reſpect and honour, which Job affirmes ſhall be the condition of wicked men. Which he further confirmes in the laſt clauſe of the verſe.
And wickedneſſe ſhall be broken as a tree.
Here the abſtract (as elſewhere frequently in Scripture) is put for the concrete, That man who obſtinately perſeveres in ſin, is not onelyonly wicked, but wickedneſſe it ſelfe. (Pſal. 107.42.) All iniquity ſhall ſtop her mouth, that is, ſuch men as are full of iniquity, ſhall have nothing to ſay or object againſt the righteous dealings of God, but ſhall be ſilent in darkenes. So (Job 35.13.) men extreamely vaine are called vanity, and we uſually call crafty men craft, covetous men covetouſneſſe, and proud men are called pride; So a man much given to peace, is in Scripture-language called peace, (Pſal. 120.7.) I am peace, or I peace, but they make themſelves ready for warre. They who are much carryed to or in any thing, are ſometimes called by the name of that thing, or they take the name of it upon themſelves. Thus David ſpake (Pſ. 109.4.) For my love they are my adverſaries, but I give my ſelfe to prayer; The Hebrew is, I prayer. David was ſo much ſet upon prayer, that he was prayer it ſelfe; and a wicked man is ſo ſet upon wickedneſſe, that he is wickedneſſe it ſelfe.
Wickedneſſe ſhall be broken as a tree.
What tree? The text determines not, but ſpeakes indefinitely, as a tree. We may underſtand it firſt of a barren tree; barren trees are broken, and cut downe. The word broken, imports violence, and ſo a violent breaking; wicked men ſhall be broken violently. Chriſt ſayth of the Barren tree (Luk. 13.8.) Cut it downe, why cumbereth it the ground. Fruitfull trees adorne and beautifie the ground, but barren trees doe onelyonly burden and cumber it. As good not to be as to be good for nothing. The wicked ſhall be cut downe and broken as a barren tree; ſecondly (which provokes more to breaking) they ſhall be broken as a tree that bringeth forth diſtaſtfull, bitter, poyſonous fruite; It is not good to let a tree live, which brings forth evill and deadly fruit. If they deſerve to be broken who bring forth no fruit, then much more they who bring forth none but noughty fruit. Now as the wicked are alwayes barren of good fruit, ſo they are alwayes bearing evill fruit, nor can they beare any other, Doe men gather grapes of thornes? Thirdly, they ſhall be broken as a tree that is rent and ſhivered both body and boughes with a tempeſt, or ſtorme of thunder and lightening; Thus many tall and goodly trees are broken, and thus the wicked ſhall be broken, a ſtorme, a tempeſt from heaven ſhall breake them. The downefall and deſtruction of wicked men hath been inſiſted upon from other paſſages of this booke, and therefore I forbeare to adde any thing further here.