Commentary on the Old Testament Volume 2-4, Biblical commentary 2 · Job · Chapter 14
CHAP. XIIII.
HEre Job having spoken of a mans being consumed by sin, Chap. 13. 28. proceedeth to speake more at large of the frailty of his life, first caused by sinne, saying.
Man that is borne of a woman, is of few days, and full of trouble, &c. Of which Vers. 1.the sense is plain. And because he is so fraile, and as was sayd before, like unto a leafe and dry stubble, he saith,
Why dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? As if he thought it an unworthy thing for the divine majesty to Vers. 3.looke so narrowly into his wayes, and finding any thing amisse in him, to proceed to the executing of his judgements upon him, and the rather because he is borne in uncleannesse and sinne, and hath no power to make himselfe clean, as followeth, V. 4.
Who can draw a clean thing out of that which is unclean? not one. Of being borne in sin, David speaketh, and of all Adams posterity, Paul, so that Vers. 4. Psal. 51. Rom. …. ….hereby the Anabaptist is convinced, that an infant is polluted by sinne, and needeth washing by the water of baptisme so soon as may be, and it is not in the power of any unclean person to sanctifie himselfe or another, onelyonly Christ, who was born without sinne, and who so would be cleansed must be cleansed by him, for he is the Lord our righteousnesse, and his bloud cleanseth us from all sinne, but neither can we come to him for this, unlesse 1 Ioh. 1. 6. Ioh. 6. 44 Vers. 5.the Father draweth us,
Seeing his dayes are with thee, and the number of his moneths are determined; thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot passe: By dayes here, Gregory understandeth the few dayes of a mans life by nature, by months larger spaces of time, to which notwithstanding he of his mercy prolonged his life: But whether a man liveth a shorter or a longer time, this is before by God appointed, he hath set the bounds of every mans time, which he cannot go beyond: And as of his life, so of his prosperity, and adversity, how long he shall injoy the one, or be under the other: Here then we see the cause, why some likely to live long be short lived, and others more infirme live longer: God hath set the boundary of each ones life to the very day. Whereas Hezekiah passe this boundary fifteen yeares, it is answered, the time of his living set by God, was these fifteen yeares also: But the Prophet Esay was sent to him, to threaten him with death of the sicknesse, which then he had, because he merited it by his sin, that he might humble himself as he did. and so be released again from that dangerous sicknesse: or else it may be conceived, that the time set by the Lord, was then come, which although he could not pass, yet God could prolong his life still, at his pleasure, because it is only said, the bounds set him can no man pass.
Turn from him that he may rest, til he shall accomplish as an hireling his Vers. 6. Chap. 7. 2.day. Having laid a ground for a plea, to be released from his present misery, now he prayeth for it, as if he had said: For somuch as my time, of all men is very short, but a day, as an hirelings time is; give me some rest again, during this my short time, and then let the time of my departure come when thou pleasest.
For there is hope of a tree if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, &c. Vers. 7.Of man returning no more, after that he is dead, see before chap. 7. 9, 10. Which is set forth by divers comparisons there; Here a contrary comparison from a tree is brought to illustrate it further, because man is often set forth by a tree in the holy Scriptures: For the literal sense, all things saith Gregory, are so plain here, that there is no need to say any more upon Gregor.that: But we may by this tree reviving again after cutting down, understand a just man, and by the man, betwixt whom and him the comparison is made, the wicked man: the just although he be cut down by death, suffering martyrdome in his younger time, and waxing old, dyeth his natural death, or otherwise, yet he shall live again, yea although being dead, he lyeth in the dust: And as the tree through the sent of water liveth again and brancheth, so he by divine virtue, coming from above, shall have his dead body raised up to live gloriously in heaven.
But man dyeth and wasteth away, he giveth up the ghost, and where is he? And to make this allegory good, the just man is compared to a tree. Ps. 1. Vers. 10.And …esse the Father of David is likened to a tree cut down, the stump only being left, but afterwards branching again:J And to waters is the spirit of God often compared, as hath been before said: And if this place be thus understood, Iob sheweth here the same faith touching the resurrection to glory, that he doth plainly speak of Chap. 19. 25. Although in this place obscurely and enigmatically.
As the waters fall from the Sea, and the floud decayeth and dryeth up: So man lyeth down, and riseth not till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake Vers. 11.nor be raysed out of their sleep. Here mans minde is compared to waters flowing from the Sea, and to floods of water, the one salt, the other sweet, because he is unstable in his waies, sometime having lustful thoughts in his minde, and sometime wrathful, and sometime covetous, yet his minde is sometime also as sweet water, for his thoughts of love and joy: And he is said when he dyeth, to lye down, and then in speaking of his reviving, he saith: He awaketh no more til the heavens fayl, to shew that he beleived, that the death of man, is but as a sleep, from which he shall at the end of the World awake, it being as easy for God then to raise him up, restoring to him his own body, as to wake one out of his sleep: Some because there is no word in the Hebrew signifying As, take it not for a similitude, but a dissimilitude, as that of a tree before going, as if he had said: Waters falling from the Sea, and floods be dryed up, but going into vapors that ascend up in time, they dissolve again into rain; whereby these waters are renewed again: but with man lying down, that is dying, it is not so; thus Chrysost Chrysost. August.and August. And to waters dryed up, are men aptly compared in death because then the Humidum radicale, the moysture, the prop of life, is drye… up, but no more renewed til the last day, when yet it shall hot be restore… to the same state of heat and moysture; but instead of natural, rise spiritual, as is taught, 1. Cor 15. And this exposition is most probable these two verses being spoken, like unto these before going of trees, the words rendred there, But man, being Hebr. And man, as here And man lyet… down. If it be understood as a similitude, it holdeth not, because waters being dryed up are renewed again, as hath been said, and the places where they were, continue not alwaies dry, but if they be dry now, flow again with waters, time after time, to the end of the World: So doth not man, although there be one certain time appointed wherein he shall rise.
O! That thou wouldst hide me in the grave, and keep me secret, til thy wrath be past; that thou wouldst appoint me a set time, and remember me. The Vers. 13. Gregory.Vulg For Grave hath In inferno: Whence Gregory gathereth undoubtedly, that the faithful under the old Testament dying, went to a place below neare Hel, where they rested til Christ coming, and then were delivered and this he saith Job sheweth here, that he knew very well, which made him pray so, and that God at his set time would remember him, coming then to take him thence, up to his heavenly Kingdome. For man being shut out of Paradise, the way was so kept; that he could not of himself ever enter in again any more, therefore Christ must first come and take him thence up with him to the Paradise of God aboue. But from this exposition, even they that follow the Vulg. Lat. goe except Lyra and Dionysius some saying, that nothing else is ment but that he desired to rest in the grave amongst the dead, provided that God would remember him in the time by him appointed, for all men to rise to life again, and thus he prayed, because in living here he had no comfort, by reason of the tokens of Gods wrath now upon him: He therefore desireth rather to dye, and lyein the grave, til the whole time of Gods anger against his faithful servants should be past and the time come of making them to rejoyce for ever, which is not til the day of Judgment: Touching the place imagined where the faithful dying before Christs coming, rested below neare to Hel, there is no ground in holy Scripture for it, and therefore it is not probably so meant: For we read only of Heaven and Hel, and therefore this by them called Limbus patrum is non ens as well as Purgatory.
If a man dyeth, shall he live again? All mine appointed time I will wait Vers. 14.til my change cometh. This is added as a most comfortable conclusion upon the premises, as if he had said, is thus, when a faithful person dyeth, shall he rise again at the appoynted time before spoken of, then will I wait all the time appoynted me to live here, comforting my self in the expectation of that most happy change to come, when corruption shall be changed into incorruption, and mortality into immortality: And as Job, so every faithful person should be comforted herewith, in the midst of all worldly sufferings. The vulg. For appoynted time, hath the time of my warfare, and foreign also signifyeth warfare, as was before shewed, chap. 7. 1. And this life is a warfare for suffering hardship, but our comfort lyeth in our hope of that blessed change, for then saith he. Thou shalt call, and I will Vers. 15.answer thee, thou wilt have a desire to the work of thy hands. Taht is, I shall answer thee by the similitude of thy holinesse and glory, that shall be in me; but this I shall not have of my self, but thy hands shall work me to this: According to which it is said. We shall be like unto him, for we shall see him, as he is.
My transgresslon is sealed up in a bag, thou sowest up mine iniquity. This 1 Ioh. 3. 4. Vers. 17.and V. 16. are not much unlike to chap. 13. 26. 27. Shew how God marketh and writeth and sealeth or soweth up, as it were, every mans sinns, keepping a memoriall of them to be opened at the day of judgment unlesse they be seriously repented of: The vulgar for these words V. 16. Dost not thou watch over my sinne, hath, Parce peccat is meis, spare my sinnes, and if it be read without an interrogation Do not watch my sinnes, It comes all to one. He meaneth that God observed all his doings, but he prayeth not to deal strictly with him therefore by increasing his paine, as yet he did: And for the words V. 17. Thou sealest up my faults as in a sack, and cured mine iniquity, but the word foreign signifieth Conjungere or applicare, whereby yet may be meant joyning together the gaping wounds made in me by iniquity after the manner of a Chirurgeon, that healeth them. And then it is meant, that although the Lord tracketh his Servants, as it were, in their sinnfull steps and recordeth them here to punish them, but by so doing he healeth them, and thus these words aptly follow those. V. 15. Thou wilt desire to the work of thy hands.
Surely the mountaine falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place: The waters weare the stones, thou washest away the things that Vers. 18.grow out of the dust of the earth, and thou destroyest the hope of man. Having in the former words spoken of Gods sealing up and yet healing his sinnes, now hee sheweth by what meanes even the best are tempted and drawn to sinn, whereby they come to destruction. And here are two sorts of temptations spoken of by way of similitude. The one more violent, and sudden, as the falling of a mounntain and the removing of a rock: The other of longer continuance and more gentle, yet having its effect also, as the water which is continually falling, although it bee soft, pierceth into and holloweth the hard stone, and waters running wash away things growing out of the earth, as trees growing by the rivers side, the ground about their rootes being gulled, and so they made to fall and carryed away. For thus even righteous men, some that stand as mountaines or rockes by the sudden shaking of an earthquake fall, some as it were into the Sea vanishing, some from virtue to vice, as David standing as a mountaine or rock through the spirit of grace and prophesie, which hee had, being suddenly assaulted by the sight of Bathshebahs beauty fell into most grosse sinnes, and Salomon standing as a mighty tree, or being impenetrable as a stone through the solidity of grace to his old age, then was pierced by the continuall allurements of his idolatrous wifes, and had the fat earth of grace in which hee stood and grew, washed away, whereby hee fell to be an idolater also; and thus God destroyeth the hope of miserable man, as the word foreign signifieth: Thus Gregory who also rendreth the next verse thus.
Thou hast strengthned him with a little that he might passe on for ever. According Gregor. Vers. 20.to the vulg latine expounding it thus, when hee thus falleth, whereby he incurreth the danger of destruction, thou strengthnest him by thy grace again for the little time, that he hath to live here, and by this meanes when he passeth hence he goeth to that life which shall never have end.
N. Translat. Thou prevailest for ever against and hee passeth, thou changest his countenance and sendest him away Hebr. It is as well thou strengthnest him to overcome, and he shall walk changing his face, thou sendest him. And therefore I see not but that it may be expounded according to Gregory, As if he had sayd, thus it is with the best man, but when by temptation he is brought into so great danger, he recovereth strength by thy grace to overcome these his spirituall enemies again, and when age and death commeth, changing his countenance thou sendest him out of this miserable and sinfull life, and so out of the danger of temptations for ever hereafter, to live securely for evermore.
Some, although in the reading they follow the vulgar, yet give this sense, thou strengthnest him to live here a while, but as other earthly things, he is soone changed, his face growing old and wrinckled, and his haire white, and so thou sendest him out of this world. But then they expound the words of v. 18. 19. thus. Great mountains, and hard rocks, stones, and tree… growing are worne out in time, therefore man much more; when t… by sufferings consumest him, and if he hath strength to live and come out of such miseries, yet so weak and fraile is his nature, that he changeth eftsoo… againe and dyeth.
His sonns come to honour and he knoweth it not, &c. His flesh upon him shal… Vers. 21.have paine, and his Soul within him shall mourn. Man being gone out of this life, knoweth not how it falleth out to his children here, whether they live in honour or dishonour, because the dead know not the things of the living in this world. Thus Gregory, and hitherto well; but then hee distinguisheth without ground only upon mans imagination, that this is the case Gregor.of the carnall, but, not of the spirituall, for they being in the clearnesse of God, see all things done here. And he further addeth, that by children here, works done by men are mystically meant, as 1 Tim. 2. in speaking of women, that through child-breaing they shall be saved, it is not literally meant; for then such as beare no children, but serve the Lord alwayes in chastity should not be saved. But good works are the children, whereby faithfull women are saved. And whereas it is said, man knoweth not whether they be in honour or not, it is meant, that hee knoweth not whether the good works that he doth be accepted before God, or not: and then returning to man yet living, again he speaks of the pain of their flesh, and sorrow of heart: But I prefer, following the literall sense only here, and like not of his attributing to works the honour to come, or the uncertainty of being accepted in our well doing: this is Gregories dirt, which I reject, although I make use of his gold.
For the last words, vers. 22. the Vulg. to make the sense more full, inserteth these words, Whilst he liveth: His flesh whilst he liveth shall have paine. The meaning is, although being dead and gone, he is not troubled, as Parents be here at that which befalleth their children, yet in his going out of this world his flesh shall have paine, and his soule sorrow, he being in the pangs of death, wholly taken herewith, which should make every man in the time of his life and health to prepare himselfe for God, and not to put off the Note. care of this till these pangs seize upon him, and his mind being hereby distracted, he be most unfit.