Commentary on the Old Testament Volume 2-4, Biblical commentary 2 · Job · Chapter 16
CAAP. XVI.
MIserable comforters are yee all. Here Job, first teacheth, that a man Vers. 2.ought not in the misery of his neighbour, sharply to reprove him, as by his sinnes deserving to suffer so, when he knoweth no wickednesse in him, for whosoever doth thus, is a miserable comforter, or overous or burthensome, as the Vulg. rendreth it, adding weight to the burthen, which he already beareth to make him sinke under it, which is against the love, that we ought to beare one to another.
I also could speak as yee do, if your Soule were in my Soules stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake my head at you. He speaketh not thus, Vers. 4.saith Grogory, as cursing them, for he only intimateth a wish of that which might do their soules good, and keeping them from sinning, as now they Gregor.did by their proud insulting over him, whom they ought, if they had any Note. true love in them, to have comforted him, and sympathized with him in his misery: For this is one good thing, that cometh of suffering, to learn hereby to succour others being in misery, according to the saying, Sepius ipse miser miseris succurrere disce. Being often in misery thy self, thou learnest to succour the miserable. And our Lord himself by his sufferings, is commended unto us by this, that he knew, how to compassionate those that suffer: And it is to be noted, that he saith not, My Soule, in your Hebr. 2. 18.Soules stead, but yours in mine. For then both he and they, should have been in an evil case, but thus it would have been for their good, as hath been said.
But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should asswage your greife. The vulg. I would move my lips as sparing you. Whereupon Vers. 5.Gregory, Great wisdome is required in a Preacher, in his speaking against the sinnes of his hearers, for some are gentle and easy to be wrought upon by reproofe, these may be freely reproved, and being thus dealt withall, they will repent: But others are stout and proud, and if they be reproved take indignation at it, and are made worse: That the Teacher then Note. may in moving his lips, spare and provide for the good of either, what must he do, but freely reprove the one sort in particular, but not the other, but only by generally speaking against such a sin, as he knoweth him to be guilty of, and in thus doing he shall spare them both: The first sort by not sparing to speak unto him, because he will be reformed, and so shall be spared, and not by God be punished for his sin: And the other by sparing to speak in particular to him, and only against his sin in generall, for thus he happily may apply it to himself, and be ashamed, and turn. Hebr. the word rendred, Asswage your greife, or spare you, is foreign signifying Prohibere, to withhold, or forbeare, and this is the same in effect, with the word Spare, so that he meaneth, he would have spared to speak so, as whereby they should have been stirred up against him, and made uncapable of good by his speaking, and contrariwise frame his speech, so as that they might have been hereby benefited and comforted.
Though I speak, my greife is not asswaged; and though I forbeare, what am I eased? That is, I have spoken wishing, that your soules were in my soules Vers. 6.stead, thus to ease my minde, or as I could otherwise think fit, but this cannot be, neither am I any thing eased hereby, or if I hold my peace, I …all give you occasion to think yee have prevailed, and that I am such a wicked man, as yee imagine me to be.
But now he hath made me weary, thou hast made desolate all my company: As it he had said, I am not only, not eased whether I speak or be silent, but Vers. 7.more oppressed in regard of Gods being against me, which most perplexeth my minde of all other things: And because he is against me, he makes my companions and friends against me also, for thus a man that hath no hope, but despaireth of Gods favour, or wanteth all sense hereof, takes God now to be his enemy, and is hereby utterly discomforted: And to shew that his apprehensions were such, touching God at this time; he goeth on V. 8. 9. Saying in the bitternesse of his Soul, Thou hast filled me with Vers. 8. Vers. 9.wrinkles, which is a witnesse against me. &c. He teareth me with his wrath, who hateth me and gnasheth upon me with his teeth, mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me. Whereby saith Ferus, we may see, in what a perplexed Note. estate wicked reprobates shall be at the last day, when God shall declare Ferus.himself to be such an enemy unto them indeed; for so much as one of his elect, and a most rare man, but conceiving him to be against him, because he had no present sense of his favour, was thus extremly troubled.
They have gaped upon me with their mouth, they have smitten me upon the check reproachfully, &c. Having spoken of his trouble inwardly, for Gods Vers. 10.seeming barah dealing towards him, now he turneth himself to speak of these his false friends, and there enemy-like carriage towards him: For then they gaped upon him with their mouths, and smote him upon the cheek, when they spake so reproachfully to him, charging him as an oppressor and tyrant, that had entered into battel against God, as it were, as Eliphaz had spoken with ful mouth, chap. 15.
I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder, &c. That is, God by his Vers. 12.judgments upon me and mine; and so he proceedeth in shewing the greatnesse of his sufferings, to Vers. 17. Wherein he pleadeth for himself, Vers. 17.saying, Not for any injustice in my hands, also my prayer is pure. Here Job justifieth not himself, as clear from all sin; but from the sin wherewith they charged him, that is, rapine, as the word foreign properly signifieth, and hence one fowle with crooked clawes, viz. The night O…le, is so called, for thus sometime Jerome rendreth the word, therefore he hereby meaneth close and covert seeking, or make a prey of other men with his hands, as the night-owle doth with his clawes of other living creatures in the dark: And he saith, that his prayers were pure, because his hands were pure and clean from bloud, as theirs be not, who get goods by rapine and injustice, as Isa. 1. 15. Where for this it is said, Your hands are ful of bloud: and 1 Tim. 2. 8. Vers. 18.lift up pure hands.
O earth cover not thou my bloud, and let my cry have no place. That is, if I have de▪filed my hands with bloud, by doing violence to my subjects, in any thing through oppressions, inriching my selfe, O earth open thou thy mouth against me, as sometime against Cain shedding his brother Abells bloud, and declare, as by crying aloud, this my wickedness, that God may take revenge upon me, and let not my cry in praying have any place, but let God stop his eares against it. A most patheticall speech, able to move the hearts of his friends to relent to heare it, and streightway to alter their opinion of him; It is as if he had sayd, I perceive that I have hitherto spoken to men obstructed in their eares by a prejudicate opinion against me, now therefore (O earth) I speak to thee who wilt be more ready to heare then they, do thy office as the creature of the righteous Judge, by crying out against me for any blood, that ever hath fallen from my hand upon thee, and spare mee not; And thou (O God) if it be so, as they accuse mee, let my prayers have no place, nor ever prevaile with thee for mercy, of which I stand in so great need. Gregory making all things here allegoricall, without cause applyeth this to the bloud of Christ, which is not hidden, but every where made known by the preaching of the Gospel to have bee… shed for our sinnes, as also his crying out when hee suffered.
Also behold now my witnesse is in heaven. Having called upon the earth, Vers. 19.as the manner of Gods Prophets hath sometime beene, as of Moses and Isaiah in particular, against a stubborn and hard hearted people, now hee turneth himselfe to God, of whom hee had spoken before, as his enemy, yet having the testimony of a good conscience, hee was bold to appeal to him, and to oppose him as a witnesse against their approbrious calumniations. From which, and that before going, V. 17. not what an evill case they are in, that by oppression and tyranny gather worldly goods, the very earth is a Note. witnesse against them, and ceaseth not to cry out for revenge, and for their cryes and prayers they be of none availe with God. But contrariwise, they that do keepe a good conscience, flee all injustice and wrong, are happy in the midst of all worldly miseries, for God in Heaven is a witnesse for them, and so it will appeare to the terrour of their traducers, and to their own everlasting comfort, as is declared, Psal. 50. 1, 2, 3.
O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth with his neighbour. Having sayd, v. 18. that his witnesse was in heaven, now againe he Vers. 21.yet setteth forth the majesty and super-excellency of God above all men. If hee were as a man, hee might be summoned to come in for a witnesse and clear him from the foule aspersions layd upon him. But for so much as hee was not, hee must even be content and go now away out of this word, Vers. 22.into which hee should never return again, in the account of these men wicked, & worthily thus brought to his end, unto which he saith, there was but a short time; And in the next Chapter hee correcteth himselfe, having sayd here, A few yeares, and I go from whence I shall no more return: Saying;