Morals on the Book of Job (Moralia)

' darkened;' but, as I remember that I have already olten said, blessed Job, while bearing a type of Holy Church, uses at one time the voice of the body, and at another time the voice of the Head; and while he is speaking of her members, he is raised on a sadden to speak the words of her Head. Whence here too it is added;

Ver. 17. / have suffered this u-iihoiii the wickedness of mine h<ind, ichilst I made pure prayers to God.

25. He suffered without the wickedness of His hand, Whoi Pet. did no sin, neither teas guile found in His mouiht and yet ' ^^' endured ihe pain of the Cross for our redemption. Who only above all others ' made pure prayers to God,' in that even in the very anguish of His Passion He prayed in behalf of His persecutors, saying, Father, fonjire them, for tlieyj^xike know not ichat they do. For what can be described, what ^^' ^^' can be conceived more pure in prayer, than when the mercifulness of intercession is vouchsafed even those, from whose hands pain is undergone } Whence it was brought to pass, that that Blood of our Redeemer, which His persecutors in raging had spilt, afterwards in believing they drank, and proclaimed Him to be the Son of God. Concerning which same Blood it is fitly subjoined;

Ver. 18. 0 earth, cover thou not tny blood; and let my cry find no place to lie hid in thee.

26. It was said to man on his committing sin, Earth xxiii. thou art, and unto earth shall thou return; and this ' earth' f^f"* ^' does not ' cover the blood' of our Redeemer: in that each several sinner taking to himself the price of his reden)ption makes confession and sings praise, and publishes it to all of his neighbours that he is able. Moreover, ' earth did not cover His blood,' in that Holy Church has now preached the mystery of His redemption in all parts of the world. And observe what is added: And let my cry find no place to lie hid in thee. For the very blood of redemption that is taken is itself ' the ci'y' of our Redeemer. Hence Paul too says, And to the Blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better Ueh.vi, things than that of Abel. It had been said of the blood of ^^• Abel; The voice of thy brothefs blood crieth unto Me from Gen. 4 the ground. But ' the Blood of Jesus speaketh better things '^-

Job 16, than the blood of Abel,' because the blood of Abel brought ^^' the deatli of his fiatiicidal brother, but the blood of the Lord won life for Ilis persecutors. So then that the Sacraments of our Lord's Passion may not be ineffectual in us, we arc bound to imitate that which we take, and to preach to others what we adore. For ' His cry does find a place to lie hid in us,' if wliat the mind has been brought to believe the tongue is silent about. But that His cry may not lie hid in us, it remains that each one of us according to his smaU measure should make known to his neighbours the mystery of his own quickening. It is good to recall the eyes of the interior to the hour of the Lord's Passion, when the Jews raged against Him in persecution, and the Disciples fled I fi-om Him in alarm. For He that appeared to die in theT flesh was not in any wise believed to be God. Hence it isj properly added in this place, mens ■ 27. For when the Son was brought to His downfall onJ lit. • ///^^ earth, there was a witness to Him in heaven. Since thel piice,' rather is the witness of the Son; concerning AVhom He '^.Jj^;;''" Himself saith in the Gospel, And the Father Himself A VI If Which hath sent Me, hath borne ivitness of 3Ie. Who is also "xxiv ^'^o^^^b called ' mine heart's associate,' in that with one will,] John 5, and with one counsel, the Father acts always in unioni Mat 11 ^^^*^ ^^® ^°"* ^^^^lose witness too He is, in that no man\ 27. ' knoweth the Son but the Father. Thus He had then ' witness in heaven,' and His ' heart's associate' on high, whenJ they, who saw Him dying in the flesh, had their eyes closedj to see the power of His Divine nature; and whereas menJ did not know, yet in the hour of death the Mediator betweenl (Jod and man did know, that the Father was working togetherj with Himself. Wiiich perhaps may be likewise applied tc the voice of His Body. For Holy Church for this reasoi undergoes the miseries of this life, that the grace above maj lead her on her way to the rewards of eternity. She slightsj the death of her flesh, because she is intent on the glory oi the resurrection; and what she suffers is transitory, whad she expects everlasting, concerning which same everlastinj Idessings she has no misgiving, in that she has already 3

Our Lord ' knoios our frame' as having taken it on Him. 108 faithful testimony in the glory of her Redeemer. For she Book sees with the mind the resurrection of His flesh, and is^^HL_ strongly fortified to have hope, in that what she sees already brought to pass in her Head, she hopes without doubting will also follow in His Body, which is herself. Which same Church the Psalmist seeing destined to continue in everlasting perfection, describes her under the title of the moon. A P^- 89, perfect moonfor everlastimj. And whereas the Resurrection of the Lord heartens her to entertain the hope of a Resurrection, he properly added. And a faithful witness in heaven. Forasmuch as that she may not tremble for her own resurrection, she has Him in heaven for a witness, Who rose again from the dead; and so let the faithful People when it suffers adversity, when it is harassed with sore tribulations, lift up the mind to the hope of the glory to follow, and trusting in the resurrection of the Redeemer, let it say. Also now behold my witness is in heaven, and mine associate on high. Who is also rightly called ' an associate,' in that He was acquainted with our nature, not onl}' by creating, but by taking it uj)on Himself. For His knowing is His having undertaken what belongs to us. Whence too it is said by the Psalmist, For He knoweth our frame. For what won- Ps. 103, der is it if He is said emphatically ' to know our frame,' ^"** when it is plain that there is nothing that He does not know? But His ' knowing our frame,' is His having taken it upon Himself out of pitifulness.

28. Yet this voice may together with blessed Job suitably apply to each one of ourselves as well; for every man who in what he does aims at human praises, seeks a ' witness' on earth; but he that is eager to please Almighty God by his deeds, takes thought that he has a ' witness in heaven.' And it often happens that the very good things themselves in us are found fault with by inconsiderate men; but he that ' has a witness in heaven,' has no need to fear men's reproofs. Hence it is yet further added;

Ver. 20. My friends are fidl of ivords; but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.

29. For what is denoted by the eye, but the intent of the xxv. heart? as it is written, if thine eye be single, thy whole body Matt. 6, shall be full of light. For when any thing is done with a

1 04 Job's ivish to know why God thus dealt with him.

JOB 16, good intention, tlic enacting of that intention contracts no v.-^^soil in the sight of God; and so when friends are full of llisT. words, i. e. wl)en the very same persons detract that arc joined witli us in faith, ' the eye' must needs ' pour out tears to God,' that so the whole bent of our heart may run out in the piercing of interior love, and lift itself up to the things of the interior, the more exactly that being forced back by external reproaches, it is driven to turn back within, lest it should vanish away without. It proceeds;

Ver. -2 1. O/i! that a man were so Judged with God, as a son of man is judged with his fellow! xxvi. 30. We acknowledge indeed always that we are sinners, yet often, when laid under the rod, we do not know for what sin in particular we are stricken, and we sift ourselves with minute examining, that if we might in any way be able we might trace out the cause of our being struck; and whereas this is for the most part hidden from us, our blindness becomes a load upon us, and we are the more pained at what we are suffering. But any one that ' comes to judgment with his neighbour,' both says what he thinks, and knows what answer is made in return, and strikes a blow where he will, and knows from what quarter he is struck. But he that is smittten with the visitation of God, while he knows indeed that he is beaten, but knows not why he is beaten, as it were himself says what he thinks, but does not know what may be said against him; seeing that he himself indeed groans under the rod, but God does not declare openly for what cause of vengeance He strikes him. Therefore it is said now. Oh! that a man were so judged with God^ as a son of man is judged with his neighbour! As if it were expressed in plain words; ' As in all, that I say, 1 am heard, so would that I heard all that is said concerning nie.' Which, nevertheless, can never be brought about in this lile, in that there is a great obstruction before the eyes of our heart, against our beholding the subtle nature of God, even our mere frailty by itself; but we shall then see Him with clearness by Whom we are now searchingly beheld, when this frailty laid aside, we attain to the grace of the 1 Cor. interior contemplation, of which Paul saith, For then shall I '•T. ''^- know, as also I am, known. Hence blessed Job, seeing that that knowledge can never be in the fullest way perfected Book here, groans indeed over the blindness of the present life; JEiHl yet consoles himself by the shortness thereof, saying,

Ver. 22. When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.

31. Every thing that passes is short, even though it should xxvii. seem slow in being finished, but in the way of death we

' go, and do not return by it,' not because we are not brought back by rising again to the life of the flesh, but because we do not come again to the labours of this mortal life, or to earn rewards by our labours.

32. ' The spirit is wasted to thinness,' by the fear of judg-xxviii. ment; in that the minds of the Elect, the more they feel themselves to be approaching the final Judgment, tremble so much the more fearfully in the searching of their own selves; and if they ever find in themselves any carnal thoughts, they consume them by the fervour oi" their penance; nor do they suffer their thoughts to expand with carnal delight, in that they pass sentence and inflict punishment on themselves more rigorously in proportion as they are awaiting the strict Judge close at hand; whence it comes to pass, that they look upon their departure as always near. For the minds of the lost do many things wickedly on this account, because they suppose themselves living here for long; and so ' the spirit of the righteous is wasted to thinness,' but the spirit of the wicked is thickened. For in proportion as they swell out in self-elation, they have not the wearing down of the spirit: but the righteous, whilst they consider the shortness of their life, eschew the sins of pride and impurity. And hence it is

83. For he that bethinks himself what he will be in death, xxix. is always rendered fearful in practice, and from the very cause that henceforth he does not as it were live in his own eyes, he does genuinely live in the eyes of his Creator; he goes after nothing of a nature to pass away, he withstands all the desires of the present life, and views himself as almost dead, in that he is not unaware that he is destined to die. For

Kk; Jiih, nut sinniiif/ xvichnUy, a type of Him Who sinned not.

JoHir, a iierfcct life is an imitation of death, which while the

^' rigliteous diligently enact, they escape the snares of sins.

Ecclus. Wlicnce it is written, Whatsoever thou takest in hand^ re-

'i/i^T. tnemhcr thy latter end, and thou shall never do amiss. And

Ali.ko,]jj,jj(.j; blessed Job, because he sees that his ' days are shortened,' and reflects that ' the grave only is left him,' fitly

/ have not sinned, and mine eye ahidelh in bitternesses. XXX. 34. As if he expressed himself in plain words; ' I have not been guilty of sin, and I have undergone scourges.' But on this j)oint, seeing that in many passages of this history he confesses himself to have been guilty of sinning, is the mind moved by the thought with what reason he now denies himself to have committed sin? But with reference to this the reason quickly occurs, in that neither did he sin to such an extent as to deserve strokes of the rod, nor yet was capable of being without sin. For that he was stricken not for the correcting of sin, but the increasing of grace, the Judge Himself bears witness. Who praises while He strikes. Andl again, that he was not without sin neither does he himselfl| deny, who is commended by the Judge, and therefore commended because he denies it not. But I think that we shall I make out these words the better, if we understand them aS' s])oken in the voice of the Head. For our Redeemer, in coming for our Redemption, at once did not sin and did ' undergo bitterness,' in that being without sin He undertook the punishment of our sin, in Whose voice it is added,

Ver. 3. <S'c^ me free, and put me beside thee, and let the hand of any one fight against me. xxxi. 35. For He did not sin either in thought or deed: He was made to ' abide in bitterness' by His Passion, He was ' set free' by the Resurrection, He was ' put beside' the Father by His Ascension; in that having gone up into heaven He sitteth on the right hand of God. And because, after the glory of His Ascension, Judica was stirred up in Ihe persecuting of His Disciples, it is rightly said here, Let the hand of any one \ fight against me. For the madness of the persecutors did then rage on His members, then the flame of cruelty blazed out against the life of the faithful; but where should the wicked go, or what should they do, whilst He Whom they Hook persecuted on earth was now sealed in heaven? Concei-ning J: 1

Ver. 4. Thou hast removed their heart far from discijjline. 36. For if they had been acquainted \^ith the keeping of xxxii. discipline, nor ever despised the precepts of our Redeemer, the mere mortal condition of their flesh by itself would have excited them to the love of the life immortal; for this very thing, even our being subject to corruption in this life, is of the scourge of discipline. For to be made to feel annoyance from heat and cold, from hunger and thirst, to be afflicted with diseases, and one day even to be put out of existence, what else are all these, but the scovuges of sin? Now there are some that both undergo scourges, and yet never fashion anew their life by the fear of Him Who scourges them. Whence it is rightly said now, Tho^l hast removed their heart far from discipline; in that though tlie body is under discipline, yet the heart is not under discipline, so long as a person is stricken with the rod, and yet not brought back to humbleness of mind. Nor yet is this spoken in such a sense, as if the Almighty and Merciful God 'removed the heart of man far from discipline,' but that having fallen away of his own accord, there in executing judgment He suffered him to remain, where he had fallen; as we also say to Him in praying, And lead us not into temptation, i. e. ' do not ever suffer us to be led into temptation.' It proceeds; Therefore they shall not he exalted.

37. For if the heart were under discipline, it would seek xxxiii. after things above, it would not be openmouthed to obtain transitory good things. Of those, then, whose heart is not under discipline, it is rightly said. Therefore they shall not he exalted, in that while let go at large in the lowest enjoyments, they are ever longing for the good things of earth, they never lift the heart to the delights of heaven; for they would be exalted, if they lifted their minds to the hope of the heavenly country; but they, who do not make it their business to guard their w^ay by discipline, ever in their desires lie grovelling in things below, and, what is more grievous, in lying low set themselves up, in that they are uplifted on the ground of things transitory. And they may

J..1. ir, be uiililUd, but cannot be exalted, in that they are sunk the ^- flcci)er below, by the very act by which they are rendered '^^''■'"■hi'^her to themselves; and so the heart that is without discipline cannot be exalted, in that the human mind, as when elevated amiss it is forced down below, so forced down aright is lifted up on high. It proceeds;

\cx. 5. He promiseth prey to his friends; and the eyes of his children shall fail.

xxxiv. 38. After that blessed Job had uttered a sentence relating to the multitude of the wicked, i. e. the body of our old enemy; he directly shifts the sentence to the very leader of them, i. e. the head of all the children of perdition, and returns from the plural to the singular number: for the devil and all wicked people are so one body, that it very often happens that the body is rated with the name of the head, and the head designated by the title of the body. Thus the body is rated with the name of the head, when it is said of a bad John 6, man. And one of you is a devil. And again the head is

7^- designated by the title of the body, when it is said of the

Mat.i3, apostate Angel himself, A man^ that is an enemy hath done

?^, this. Thus the prince of all the wicked has some for

' inimi- ' associates' and some as ' children.' For who are his

"" *"■ associates, but those apostate Angels, who fell with him from the seat of the heavenly country? or what others has he as children, saving bad men, who are begotten by his evil persuading in the practice of wickedness. Whence too it is

John 8 said by the voice of Truth to unbelievers. Ye are of your

39. So that evil author of error promises ' prey' to his ' associates,' in that he promises the evil spirits the souls of bad men to be seized at their latter end; and the eyes of his children shall fail, in that while he sets on the aims of men to look for earthly things only, he causes them to love that which they cannot keep for long: for neither can the bent of misdirected love remain, when it appears that both that which he loves, and he himself, who loves it, are tending to nought at a rapid rate. It may also be, that by ' the associates' perhaps are understood all those that are most cruel and already fidl of every kind of wickedness; but by the sons, tho.se who being still deluded by beguiling promises, are

Seeming judgments against the Righteous perplex many. 109 being nourished up to increasing of wickedness; that hence- Book forth the devil should as it were by the title of wickedness, '— have these as his ' associates,' who now no longer have whereunto to grow in perdition, while these he has as sons, whom he suckles with promises, that they may go on advancing to worse. But ' the eyes of his children shall fail,' in that the aims of the wicked fall to the ground, when all that they go after here, they leave behind, and there suffer without end what is fitted to fill them with grief It proceeds;

Ver. 6. He hath made we, as it were., a byword of the people, and I am an example before them.

40. This let blessed Job say in his own person, yea andxxxv. in the voice of all of the Elect. For every one that is stricken with the rod, is, as it were, ' made a byword of the people,' in that every fool, when he desires to curse any one, takes up his cursing in a likeness to him, whom he sees stricken with a temporal stroke, and wishes that punishment for his adversary, which he sees to have befallen the righteous man. And so it comes to pass that with persons not endowed with a right perception, the upright man is brought into an example, while both the punishment of the just passes current for the condemnation of him, and the glory that is in store for him is not foreseen by any expectance of faith. It proceeds;

Ver. 7. Mine eye is dim, for indignation, and all my members are as it were brought to nothing.

41. For ' the eye is dim for indignation,' when those very xxxvi, persons likewise, who in the Lord's Body, i. e. in the Church, are endued with the light of truth, whilst they see themselves too long despised and disdained by the wicked, are confounded in astonishment at the inscrutable judgment, and fail to fathom the secret of God; for what reason it is that the wicked are suffered to prevail against the innocence of the good? For who is not amazed, when Herodias by her daughter's dancing obtains at the hands of the drunken king, that the head of that Friend of the Bridegroom, that ' Prophet, and more than a Prophet,^ should be brought before the faces of his guests upon a charger.^ Now when the just are ' dimmed in indignation,' the weak very commonly go head-

11(1 The ' Innorenf how ' stirred against the hypocrite.^

Jon. 1 7, long into actual infulclity; whence it is added, And my mem-.li^ hers arc as it uerc hroiiyht to nothing. For by tlie term of *' members,' we have the tenderness of the weak set forth, wlio, while they behold bad men flourishing, and good men tormented, are sometimes brought to this pass, that they regret that they even began in good things, and so speedily fall back to doing evil things, as if the good they had begun were a detriment to their life. But this that he says, Mine eye is dimmed in indignation, he unfolds in plainer words, when he adds;

Ver. 8. Upright men shall he astonied at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite. xxxvii. 42. In this place, 'the innocent' is taken for the as yet im- LiT. perfectly righteous, who, as yet but commencing in good ways, though he is not minded to do mischief to others, yet is not at all able himself to do things that are perfect; and because the hearts of the little ones, while they see the wicked flourishing in the present life, are set on fire with the brands of envy; (for a man the more envies others present good in proportion as he less despises it himself Since of thatl which cannot be possessed by all men all of it together, whati '•desit' this one has would be so much lacking' to the other.) Now \^, ^^' ' the innocent is kindled against the hypocrite,' when even he 'deficit.' who is not used to injure any one, envies the glory of the dissembler. But if in this passage the innocent means any one perfect in goodness, * the innocent is moved against the hypocrite;' when he both sees him flourishing, and contemnsJ him and all his flourishing, and by preaching the things thatJ arc right plainly says that he ought to be despised by others,] the more in proportion as he sees him eagerly in quest 6i\ things, which cannot abide with him for long, and in thisj point of view it is yet further added;

Ver. 9. Tlie righteous also shall hold on his way, and to\ clean hands he shall add strength. xxxviii. 43. On considering the hypocrite, ' the righteous holds on I his way,' in that whilst he sees that it is by a wicked will that he obtains the things that are of the world, he is] himself tied and l)ound the stronger to the love of heavenly things, knowing that to good desires eternal rewards shall not be wanting, whereas both to bad and double hearts the good things of time are not denied; from which circumstance it Book comes that ' to clean hands he adds strength,' in that seeing -^^iHl, bad men win temporal glory, he brings his good works to perfection, and looks down upon temporal things from the loftier height in proportion as he sees them to abound even to the wicked. For he sees how much those things deserve to be despised, which Almighty God vouchsafes even to bad men: for if they were primarily great, the Creator would never vouchsafe them to His adversaries; and hence he considers that it is to himself an unworthy thing, that he should go after that good, which he sees to abound even to the wicked; but he applies his mind to the winning of heavenly blessings, which can never be shared with him by the children of ])erdition. Thus after he had introduced the outward advancements of the wicked, and the interior advancements of the good, he brought forward words of exhortation, saying,

44. Which same words of exhortation he properly frames xxxix. to the Elect, whom he calls to the eternal world; who are bidden in two ways, viz. that they should ' turn,' and that they should ' come;' ' turn' by faith, ' come' by practice. Or indeed that they ' turn' by abandoning evil deeds, and 'come' by doing good ones; as it is written. Depart from Fs. 37, evil, and do good: but that is wonderful which is added, ^'^' And may I not find one wise man among you.

45. For what does this mean, that he bids them to wisdom, xl. and yet wishes that he may not find them wise, saving that they cannot come to true wisdom, who are deceived in confidence in their own false wisdom? Concerning whom it is written, Woe unto you that are wise in your own eyes, and 2Jrudent\%.h,2\. in your own sight; and to whom it is said again. Be not wise Rom. with your own selves; whence that same great preacher ^-' ^^• sought that those, whom he found carnally wise, in order that they might attain true wisdom, should first become foolish; saying. If any man among you seemeth to he wise \ Cor. in this world, let him become a fool, that he tnay be loise.^' ^^' And ' Truth' saith by Itself, / thank Thee, O Father, Lord Mm. of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from^^' ^^-

1 1 '2 Poicer and persecution both bring earthly cares,

JoBi7,t/io icise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

— ^ And so because lliey that are wise in themselves cannot Lit *' come to true wisdom, blessed Job, being anxious for the conversion of liis hearers, rightly desires that he may not ' find any wise man among them.' As if he said to them in plain speech; ' Learn to be foolish in your own selves, that ye may be truly wise in God.' It goes on;

Ver. 11. 3Iy days are past a nay, my thoughts are scattered, racking my heart. xli. 4t). The Holy Church of the Elect sees that the spaces of her life pass in periods of day and night, in that it is hers in adversity to have ' a night,' and in prosperity, ' a day.' For there riseth as it were light unto her from the tranquillity of peace, and night from the grief of persecution. Novv as often as after the pauses of rest she returns to the toilsomeness of persecution, growing to a head against her, she testifies that her ' days have past;' in which days, however, she is accustomed to be weighed down with so much the heavier cares, in proportion as she bethinks her that for that very tranquillity of rest a more exact reckoning is required of her by the Judge. For in the tranquil state of peace, atil one time she is employed with the profits of souls, at another^ time she attends to the ministrations of earthly thuigs, which i same ministrations of earthl}^ affairs are more burthensome to the minds of good men, in proportion as by the act ofl looking at them they are torn away though but for a brief space from looking at the things of heaven. Whence blessedi Job, whether in his own voice, or the voice of the Church] Universal, after teslifj'ing that' his days were past,' thereupon] subjoined, 3Iy thoughts are scattered, racking my heart;: in that when temporal glory is gone to the minds of the] good, even that charge of earthly stewardship is likewise removed from them, which seemed to be torturing tliemi within their thoughts; for while they aim to be always benti upward for the perception of the things of heaven, by this] very circumstance that sometimes in their earthly stewardships they are made to descend to take thought of the lowest! matters, they feel themselves to be put to torture. Whence it is brought to pass, that the very hostility of persecution is]

itself too changed into a mighty exultation of joy, on account Book of the repose of the heart that is obtained. Hence it is fitly -

47. For ' the thoughts being scattered change night into xlii. day,' in that it is sometimes more grateful to the righteous through adversity to undergo sufferings, rather than as the effect of prosperity to be harassed with the chai'ge of earthly ministering. But because they have learnt by paying attention that both adversity passes away, and prosperity dawns again, it is fitly added; And again after darkness I look for light.

48. For ' the light is looked for after darkness,' in that xliii. after the night of the present life, the light eternal is discerned, or adversity and prospersity do so alternate here, that they do not cease to succeed one another by tui"ns. Whence it comes to pass that even in the light night is suspected, and in the night light is presumed on; as when it is written. In the day of prosperity he not forgetful of Ecdus. affliction, and in the day of affliction be not forgetful of ' prosperity. But mark, forasmuch as we have been redeemed by the grace of our Maker, we henceforth have this boon of heavenly bestowal, that when we are removed from dwelling in our flesh, we are at once carried off to receive heavenly rewards; in that since our Creator and Redeemer, penetrating the bars of hell, brought out from thence the souls of the Elect, He does not permit us to go there, from whence He has already by descending set others free. But they who were brought into this world before His Coming, whatsoever eminency of righteousness they may have had, could not on being divested of the body at once be admitted into the bosom of the heavenly country"; seeing that He had not as yet come. Who by His own descending should unloose the bars of hell, and place the souls of the righteous henceforth in their everlasting seat. Hence blessed Job, both feeling the stroke of affliction, and knowing that the recompensing of the righteous was as yet delayed, fitly subjoins;

1 14 Saints of old not punished though in hell. Man's cornipfio), Juii 17, Vcr. 13. If I waif, hell is mine house; and I have madi

]'|[.' 41). For the Ibrmer Saints could undergo adversity, and ycl could not, when brought out of the body, be at once freed from the regions of hell; in that He had not yet come, WIk should descend thereinto without sin, that He might set fret those, who were there bound by right of sin. And man then ' made his bed in darkness,' when he forsook the lighi of righteousness by consenting to the crafty Prompter: and whereas in those very regions of hell the souls of the righteous were kept imprisoned without torment, so that both on behal) of original sin they should still go down thereunto, and yel by right of their own deeds not undergo punishment; to have

' made their bed in the darkness,' in a manner, is to have

' grave prepared themselves rest in hell. For it was sad weariness '

'"™ to the Elect, after the dissolution of the flesh, not yet to see the likeness of the Creator. Which wearisomeness blessed

Job not impropcrl}' designates ' darkness.' But wherea;- this came in the punishment of infirmity, he rightly add;- that same infirmity directly, saying,

Ver. 14. / have said to corruption, Thou art my father\ and to the worm^ Thou art my mother and my sister. xlv. 50. What does this mean, that he said to corruption, Thoil art my father; saving that every man descends from ari already corrupted origin? and hence it is added. And. to thA uorin, Thou art my mother and my sister; in this way, viz/^ that we come into this world at once from corruption itselfi and along with corruption itself. For as regarels the mattei of corruptible flesh, the worm is our ' mother and sister,* iij that we both come forth out of corruption, and come vvitHl corruption which we carry about us. And if we majj understand it in a spiritual sense, nature is not unapproi priately called our ' mother,' and habit too a ' sister,' in thaJ we are from the one, and along with the other; which samij ' mother and sister' are ' worms,' in that in virtue of a corrupj nature and evil habit we are necessitated, as by a kind o\ ' worms,' so by disquieting thoughts to be gnawed in thJ mind. For the corrupted nature of the flesh, and bad habitj in that they generate numberless cares in the heart of ouJ frailty, are well called ' worms our mother and sister.' Fol caresgnawthemind, while they disquiet it. For righteous men Book do not cease either heedfully to take thought and counsel what - they are to do, or thoughtfully to look into it, whither they are destined to be led after the present life. And so because the Elect then, before the Coming of the Lord, both saw that they were in the toils of the present life, and still after the present life did not as yet receive the heavenly blessings, they were made to smart' with many thoughts of heart. 'ureban- For they waited for the grace of the Redeemer, and yet by living in the flesh could not attain thereto: whence it is fitly added,

51. What could be the ' expectation' of the righteous, xlvi. but God Who justifieth the righteous. Who should freely go down to (what was) the punishment of mankind, and by the efficacy of His righteousness set free the captives of death? For they never ceased to expect His appearing with intent expectation; they knew that it was to come, but they sought for it to come quickly. Wherefore he does not say, ' Where, then, is my expectation.'" but, where then is now my expectation? For in that he adds, now, he shewed that what was to come one day, he desired might come ^^dthout delay. It goes on,

And who considereth my patience?

52. He expressed the longing desire, wherewith whilst set ixlvii. in the flesh he hastes to be redeemed, and brought back \ from hell to the regions above. And indeed it belonged to but few men to enter into the consideration of these things, that they should learn to think of the labours of the present life, or of the subsequent delay after death. Both of which lajj the just grieved to be subject to before the coming of our pro Redeemer. And hence it is rightly said. And who considereth

M my patience? Verily, there is not lacking One, to ' consider patience.' But when God does not hear quickly, He is said, as it were, not ' to consider.' For the Redemption of mankind itself, which came at the end of the worid, by those who came before from the beginning of the worid was accounted slow, in that during a long period of time they were severed a from the recompensing of the heavenly things, as Truth testifies.

Which saith, Many prophets and kings have desired to.seeLnkelo,

1 1(» Jvl/s Umfjhif/s. Hoxc he could apeak of the ' lowest Hell'

J..H ir, Ihose thiiKjs uhich ye see^ and have not seen them. And sc _L®2_as lu that which is now said, Who considerelh my patience. the breathings of fervent desire are laid open. For neither as we said before, does God forbear to consider the patienc( of the righteous; but not ' to have regard,' in a manner means to ai)pear less quicldy answering to the aspiration' of longing desire, and by lengthened periods of time ti delay the grace of His Dispensation. Therefore let him say Who connldcreth my patience? in that what is short to Hin that ordereth, is long to him that loves. Hence, still reflectinon the privations of his delay, he repeats that which he ha* already said before; and being destined to descend below he redoubles the voice of his grief, saying,

Ver. 16. All of mine shall descend into the lowest hell.

xlviii. 53. Whereas it appears that among those below tin ri^diteous are held bound not in places of punishment, bu in the bosom of tranquillity above, an important questioi springs up before us, why it is that blessed Job declare;- saying, All of mine shall descend into the lowest hell; wh even if before the Advent of the Mediator between God an^

' lowest heir he had not to descend. Does he call the ver higher regions of hell, ' the lowest hell?' Plainly because i relation to the loftiness of heaven, the region of this sk may not unappropriately be called the lower region. Whenc when the Apostate Angels were plunged from the seats (

2 Pet. 2, Peter says, Fo?- if God spared not the Angels that sinnei

*' but delivered them, dragged down with infernal chains, im helU to be reserved for torments in the Judgment. If the relatively to the height of heaven this darksome air is inferno relatively to the elevation of this air, the earth which lii below may be taken both as infernal, and as deep; and rel tively to the height of that earth, even those parts of he which are higher than the other mansions of the pla( below, may in this place not unsuitably be denoted by tl designation of the lowest hell; in that what the sky is heaven, and the earth to the sky, the same is that high hollow of the regions below to the earth.

Job held his soul for all. His fears of Judgment. 117 mine shall descend; for whereas the soul alone shall descend Book

* all of his' shall descend there, but that he saw himself to be there entire where he perceives the great weight of his recompense? seeing that this which he leaves of himself without sense on the earth, until he returns to the incorruption of the resurrection, he does not feel to be himself. And so he declares that ' all of his will descend into the lowest hell,' whither he sees his soul only shall descend; in that

''"1 the whole of him is there, where he is capable of having a sense of that which he has got. Or, surely, ' all of his did

'"^ descend into hell,' in that the recompensing of all his toils was as yet expected to be received only in the rest of hell; and all that he has done as it were ' descends' there, in that there he finds rest in his recompensing for all things. Whence also the expected rest is itself added, when the words are thereupon introduced,

55. By which same words he both makes known what he xlix.

^' desires, and yet marks that he is still doubtful of receiving

™ the rest, lest he whose holy works so many scourges followed, should by the hidden judgment of the heavenly Judge, after

1 temporal scourges, have lasting torments likewise following him. Wherein it behoves ourselves to consider with exceeding fear which of us is now secure of the everlasting rest, if even he still trembles for it, proclaim of whose virtue the very Judge, Who smites, does Himself sound. For if tJieiVetA, righteous scarcely be saved, ichere shall the sinner and the i'1 ungodljj appear? For blessed Job knew that he should lici| attain to rest after the strokes of affliction, but that he might oal shake our hearts with fear, he himself seemed to doubt about the recompensing of Eternal rest, when he sa}s, Dosl thou el» think? plainly that ive might think well with what exceeding apprehension we ought ever to dread the Judgment to come, if even he, who was commended by the Judge, was not yet in his own words secure of the rewards of the Judg- i. 1. In a former part of this work we have handled the point

^'^''' that Ahnighty God, in order to amend the hearts of thos« under the law, brought forward the life of blessed Job for i testimony, who knew not the law and yet kept it, wh« observed the precepts of life, which he had not received ii writing. This man's conduct is first extolled by God's bear ing witness to it, and is afterwards suffered to be put t< the proof by the devil's plotting against it, that he migb pi'ove by the trials of tribulation, how much he had attainer before in a slate of peace. This man's life the adversary o the human race, evil disposed after his manner, both knevi to be commended by the attestation of God, and yet aske« for to prove it. And when he could not succeed in bringinj him to the ground, smitten with so many losses in his sub stance, so many bereavements, he set on his wife againfii him in the goading of mispersuasion, that at all events b;i the words of his own household he might ruin him, whom hi could never l)ring down by so many torments of tiding! f

But whereas what by woman's aid he won against Adam fin in paradise, he could not make good against this secon man sitting on a dunghill, he betook himself to other appl ances of tempting, that he should bring in his friends as administering consolation, and yet stir up their feelings i bitterness of upbraiding, that him whose patience scourge had failed to subdue, at least bitter words in the midst ( those scourges might succeed in overcoming. But th adversary, while laying his plots with craft, was a victim t the deceit, which he had contrived against the holy man, ij that for all the occasions of ruin that he brought upon the Book holy man, he supplied him with as many occasions of victory. ^^^' For against torments he maintained patience, against words, wisdom, in that he at once sustained the pains of stripes with resignation, and restrained the foolishness of ill advisers with wisdom. But whereas in those very sufferings and well-instructed speeches he bears a figure of Holy Church, by his friends, as we have already often said, uttering some things right and some foolish, heretics are not unjustly represented, who in respect of this, that they are friends of the holy man, say many things right of the wicked, but in respect of this, that they bear a likeness of heretics, very often transgress in the excesses of the lips, and they smite the breast of the holy man with the darts of their words, but are tired out by their very own smiting against his indomitable spirit. So then it is our business to distinguish with exact discrimination, both what there is in their words that they think aright concerning the lost, and what that they sound that is foolish as directed against blessed Job.

Ver. 1, 2. Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, Unto uhnl end ivill ye cast abroad words? understand Jirsf, and so let us speak.

M to her Holy Church is full of pride, while some things they ^i-LEa. fancy that she does not even understand. Whence Bildad the Shuhite, as it were, asserts that blessed Job had broken out into pride, when he declares ' that he ' casts abroad words.' ' ' fate- But he gives a token with what pride he was himself swoln,used who supposed that blessed Job spoke things that he did not*'^"'^ understand; and whei'eas all heretics complain that they are despised by Holy Church in her estimate of them, it is filly subjoined,

Ver. 3. Wherefore are we counted as beasts, and reputed as vile in your sight?

3. It is natural to the human mind to suppose that the iii. thing that it does is done to itself. Thus they believe themselves to be despised, who are used to desjiise the ways of lij the good; and whereas in such things as are capable of being k; understood by reason, the Church proves against heretics jjl that what they make up is unreasonable, they imagine them-

Job 18, solves lo be comited as 'beasts' in her view. On which — — supposition of their being despised, they directly break out "in disdain, and are urged to abuse of that Church. Whence it is added;

Ver. 4. Why dost thou ruin thy soul in thy fury? iv. 4. Heretics esteem whether a strong feeling for the rule of right, or the spiritual grace of holy preaching, not as good weight of virtue, but as the madness of fury. By which same fury they believe that ' the souls of the faithful are rained,' in that they imagine that the life of the Church is destroyed ' by the very same means whereby they see she is made to kindle against themselves. It goes on; Sliall the earth he forsaken for thee? V. 5. For they think that they themselves worship God every where, that they themselves have occupied the whole world. What is it tlien to say, SJiall the earth he forsaken for tliee? but what they often say to the faithful, viz. ' that if this thing which you say be true, all the earth is forsaken by God, which we ourselves already occupy from the multitude of us.' Now the holy Church universal proclaims that God cannot be truly worshipped saving within herself, asserting that all they that are without her shall never be saved. But conversely heretics, who are confident that it is possible for them to be saved even without her pale, maintain that the Divine aid is rendered to them in every place. Whence they say; Shall the earth be forsaken for thee? i. e. ' is it so, that whosoever is out of thee cannot be saved?' Whence it is added further;

And shall the rocks he moved out of their place? vi. (). Heretics call those persons ' rocks' who in their views by the sublimity of their thoughts stand out in the human race, which same they glory that they have for teachers. But when Holy Church addresses herself to the task of gathering together the different erring preachers within the bosom of the right faith, what else is tliis but that she ' removes the rocks from their places,' that having a right view of things, they may lie down in humility within her, who aforetime were standing stiff in their own wrong notions? But heretics altogether make against the doing of this, and withstand the * rocks being moved out of their places' on account of her selves, being lifted up in their thoughts, were embued with false doctrine, by coming to her should think what is true in a humble spirit.

7. Now it very often happens that heretics, when they see any persons w'ithin the bosom of Holy Church travailing whether with want or calamities, lift themselves up directly in the presumption of righteousness, and whatsoever they see to have happened of an adverse kind to the faithful, they suppose it is done for their iniquities, not knowing doubtless that the complexion of the present life does not in the least degree prove the worth of men's conduct. For very often both good things befal the bad, and bad ones befal the good, on the very principle that real goods are reserved for the good, and real ills for the bad, in the season of the eternal recompensing. Thus Bildad bearing a figure of heretics, who lift themselves up on the grounds of this life's good fortune, swells against the strokes of blessed Job, as if with their voice in opposition to the reproach of the righteous, and expressly he is arguing against the ungodly indeed, but how wickedly he speaks in such terms against a good man, he is not aware. Thus he added, saying,

Ver. 5. Shall not the light of the wicked be put out, and the flame of Ids fire cease to shine?

8. If he says this in describing the present life, he is mis- vii. taken; in that very often both the light of prosperity is seen in the ungodly, and the darkness of ignominy and poverty envelopes the godly. But if his discourse points to this, viz. to shew what the ungodly meet with in their end, it is said with truth, Sliall not the light of the tricked be put out, and the flame of his fire cease to shine? Which if it might have been rightly spoken in regard to an ungodly man, ought never to have been delivered against a holy man set fast in the midst of scourges. But let us, considering well the powers of his arm in delivering sentences, reflect how strongly he hurls the darts, and let us cease to look at him whom, while so hurling them, he aims to hit, knowing surely that he strikes a stone with foiled blows. So let him say; Sltall not the light of the wicked be put out? For even the ungodly have their ' light,' i. e. the good fortune of the present

Job 18, life, Ikit ' the light of the wiclied shiUl be put out,' in that — - this pixseut life's good fortune is speedily terminated along '^'*"'*'"\vitli life itself. Whence it is fitly added; and the flame of his fire shall not shi/te.

9. For every ungodly man has a ' flame of his own fire,' which he kindles in his heart from the heat of temporal desires, whilst he burns now with these now with those lusts, and fans his thoughts into a bigger flame by the diverse flatteries of the world. But if a fire has no flame, it does not shine by shedding any light. And so the flame of the fire is his outward beauty or power, which comes from his burning within. For what he anxiously desires to get, he very often wins, to the heaping up of his own ruin; and whether in the power of the loftiest pitch, or in the wealth of multiplied increase, he as it were shines in external glory. But ' the flame of his fire shall not shine,' in that, in the day of his departure hence, all the fair shew without is removed, and he is consumed by his own burning within alone. And ' so the flame' is removed from the ' fire,' when his exterior glory is separated from his interior burning. Even the righteous too have a flame of their fire, but one doubtless to shine bright, in this respect, that their desires give light in good works. But the light of the wicked does not shine in the least, in that hereby, viz. that they aim at what is evil, they are forced to darkness. And hence it follows; Ver. 6. The light shall be dark in his tabernacle. viii. 10. If we very frequently take darkness for sorrow, we ought without unfairness to take light for joy. And so ' the light is dark in his tabernacle,' in that in his conscience,, which he inhabits in wickedness, the joy which he had from things temporal is brought to an end. Whence too it iss fitly added;

And the candle that is over him shall be put out. Vox to speak in language grounded on the usage of many, Mucernaa ' candle" is a light in an earthen vessel, but a light in an earthen vessel, is delight in the flesh. And so ' the candle that is over him is put out,' in that when the recompensingj of his wickednesses comes upon the ungodly man, carnal delight is brought to nought in his heart. Now it is well that it is not said of this candle, ' which is by him,' but

' which is over him,' in that earthly enjoyments possess the Book mind of the bad, and so swallow it up in delight, that they *- are ' over' it, and not ' by' it. But the righteous even when they have the good fortune of the present life, are taught to force it to bow beneath them, that this, viz. that they are made glad in themselves with good things, they may get above by the counsel of a steadied mind, and surmount by the control of virtue. And so ' the candle' of the wicked man, ' which is over him, is put out,' in that his joy is quickly brought to an end, which possessed him wholly in this life, and the man, who now wickedly lets himself out at large in pleasures, punishment hereafter closely encompasses round about in woe. Whence it is yet further added; Ver. 7. The steps of his strength shall be straitened.

11. For now as it were he puts forth ' the steps of his ix. strength,' as often as he executes the violent acts of his power. But ' the steps of his strength shall be straitened,' in that the resources of his wickedness, which he now displays in his own gratification, punishment hereafter binds fast. It goes on;

12. Every bad man makes it his counsel now to aim at ^^ present things, to abandon the things of eternity, to do what is unjust, to sneer at what is just; but when the Judge of the just and unjust shall come, every ungodly person is ' cast down by his counsel,' in that for this that he chose to go after here with bad intent, he is drowned in the darkness of eternal woe. For that man whom temporal glory uplifts here, punishment without end there sinks down. He who here revels in self-gratification, is there tortured with everlasting vengeance. And it often happens that the very prosperity of this life, which is so eagerly hankered after by the ungodly, so clogs their steps, that even when they have the mind to return to good works, they are scarcely able: in that they have not the power to do what is right, while they fear to displease the lovers of this world. Whence it is brought to pass, that through that glory which the ungodly man derives from sin, his sins are yet further doubled and redoubled. Which l^ildad rightly sets forth, when he adds;

Job 18, N'cr. 8. For he hath put his own foot into the net, and he pA^- icalketh in the^ meshes of it. xi 13. He, who ' jnits his feet into a net,' cannot get them

Moral. out, when he has a mind; so he that lets himself down into habits of sin, cannot rise up the moment he wishes it; and he ' that walkelh in the meshes of a net,' entangles his steps in walking, and when he tries to extricate himself to walk, he is tied and bound that he cannot. ' For it very often happens that a man, beguiled by the delighlfulness of this wurld, reaches after the gloriousness of the honour thereof, that he attains to the effecting of his desires, and rejoices to have attained the object which he sought after; but seeing t])at the good things of this world, when not possessed, are objects of love, and very often, when possessed, grow worthless, he learns by the act of obtaining how worthless that is which he sought after. Whence being brought back to himself, he looks out how without sin to get quit of that which he sees himself to have gotten with sin; but the very same dignity which entangled him, holds him fast, and he cannot without further sins flee from thence, vvhereunto he came not without sin. And so he has ' put his feet into the net, and walketh in the meshes thereof,' in that when he strives to get quit, he then sees in a true light with what hard knots he is held bound. For we do not even know of our binding in a true sense, save when in striving to get free, we as it were try to lift our feet. And hence he makes known this same binding, by adding,

Ver. 9. The gin shall take hitn by the heel; in that the end shall be made fast in sin. And because the enemy of mankind, when he binds up in sin the life of each individual, eagerly pants after his death, it is rightly

And thirst shall burn furiously against him. ^"- 14. For our old enemy, when he ensnares the life in sin, thirsts that he may drink the death of the sinner. Which however may also be understood in another sense. For the evil mind when it sees that it has been brought into sin, seeks with a certain superficialness of thought to escape out ol the snares of sin; but fearing either the threats or re- abandons itself wholly to evil ways, in which it perceives itself to be already once bound. And so he whose life is bound fast in sin even to the end, has his ' heel held by the gin.' But forasmuch as in the same degree that he minds that he is tied and bound with evil habits, he is in despair of his return, by that very despairing he henceforth kindles more fiercely to the lusts of this world, the heat of desire arises within him, and the mind having been ensnared by previous sins, is inflamed to even worse transgressions. And hence it is added; And thirst shall hum furiously against him. For in his mind there is a ' thirst that burns out against him,' in that in proportion as he is used to do wicked things, he is the more vehemently on fire to drink down evil. Since for the ungodly man to ' thirst' is to lust after the good things of this world. And hence our Redeemer cures the man with the dropsy before the Pharisee's house, and when he was arguing against avarice, it is written. And the Pharisees also Lukeie, who were covetous heard all things; and they derided Him. What does it mean then that the man with the dropsy is cured before the house of the Pharisee, but that by the sickness of one man's body the sickness of heart in another is represented.'' For one sick of a dropsy, the more he drinks, thirsts the more, and every covetous person redoubles his thirst by drinking, in that when he has got the things he desires, he pants the more in desiring others. For he that by getting is made to long for more, has his thirst increased by drinking. It goes on;

Ver. 10. His snare is buried in the earth, and his trap upon the icay.

15. His ' snare is buried in the earth,' when sin is hidden xiii. under earthly interests. For our enemy in executing his plots shews to the human mind something to long after in earthly gain, and hides the snare of sin, that it may bind his soul tight, so that he should see indeed what he might set his heart on, and yet never see in what a snare of sin he is putting his foot. Now a trap^ has its name from entrapping, i deci- And ' a trap is' then ' placed' by our old enemy ' upon the P^^^ way,' when in the course of this world's practice, which the

Job I8,uiiii(l is bent to lullow, tlie snare of sin is prepared, which "• same would not so easily entrap, if it were possible to be seen. For a trap is so set, that, while the meat is displayed, it is not itself seen by the passers by. For like to meat in a trap is gain with sin, and the prosperity of this world with wickedness; and so when gain is sought after by one with a covetous view, it is as if the trap which is not seen laid hold of the foot of the mind. Thus there are often set before the mind along with sin, honours, riches, health, and temporal life, which, while the weak mind sees hke food, and does not see the trap, by the meat, which on seeing it longs after, it is caught fast in the sin, which is not seen. For there are kinds of tempers which border upon certain bad qualities. Thus harsh tempers are usually found to be united either to cruelty or to pride; but tempers that are soft, and joyous beyond what is becoming, are sometimes allied to lust and dissoluteness. Therefore the enemy of mankind surveys the tempers of each individual, to see what bad quality they are allied to, and he sets those objects before the face, which he sees ihe mind is most readily inclined to, so that to the soft and joyous tempers he often proposes dissoluteness, and sometimes vainglory, but to harsh dispositions he proposes pride or cruelty, and so there he sets a trap, where he sees the path of the mind to be, in that he there introduces peril by deception, where he has found that there is the ' way' of a kindred turn of thought. And, whereas all that the bad man does, he fears to undergo too, and reckons that to be doing l)y all others toward himself, which he himself prepares for all others, whom he is able, it rightly follows;

16. For he imagines all men to be such toward himself, as he himself strives to be towards all. And what effect these same terrors have in his conduct, is brought in, when it is said;

For if ' the feet be entangled,' they cannot have free steps, and are not able to accom])lish any journey; in that their own entanglements hold them fast. Therefore bad desires force ml.) vilest practice, and vilest practice holds fast in terror; which same terror entangles the feet, that they should have no power to step out into right practice. And it often happens Book that a person for this reason fears to be good, that he may not — '- himself suffer that at the hands of the wicked, which he remembers himself to have done to the good; and whereas he dreads to undergo that thing which he has himself done, on every side affrighted, on every side full of misgiving, he as it were has his feet entangled, who is ensnared by fear; he is able to do nothing freely; in that he has in a manner lost his going in good pi-actice by the same act, whereby he stepped out of the line into the evil which he set his heart on. It goes on;

17. After the manner of Holy Scripture, he has the ap- xv. pearance of wishing that which he foresees will be, not surely in the spirit of one uttering curses, but of one pronouncing prophecies. Thus every man, in that he consists of soul and flesh, is as it were made up of strength and weakness. For by virtue of that part, by which he was created a reasoning spirit, he is not improperly called ' strong,' but in respect of that, by which he is of a fleshly substance, he is weak. And so ' the strength' of man is the reasoning soul, which is able to resist by reason the tendencies to evil that assail it. And hence it is said again by blessed Job, Thou hast strengthened Job 14, him for a while, thai he vrig/it pass through /"or evermore. Since from a reasoning soul man derives it, that he should live for evermore. And so this wicked man's ' strength is hungerbitten,' in that his soul is not fed by any refreshment of the interior food. Of which same hunger God saith by the Prophet; / tcill send a famine in the land, not a famine ^mo9>^, of bread nor a thirst for water, hut of hearing the word of the Lord.

18. And it is well added. And starvation invade his ribs. For the ribs lace in the bowels, that lying out of sight within they should be fortified by their solidity. And so the ' ribs' of every one are the senses' of the mind, which fence the hidden • Vide thoughts. Therefore ' starvation invades the ribs,' when all^l^^;^^^^^ spiritual refreshment being removed, the senses of the mind fail, and cannot either rule or guard their thoughts. ' Starvation invades the ribs' of the wicked man, in that the interior hunger debilitates the senses of the mind, that they may not

1-28 Pride, ' the Jirsthorn of death ^ consumes the Wicked^

Job i«, rule their thoughts at all. For when the senses of the mind

^li- are dulled, the thoughts issue forth to things without, and,

'^"'^^'as it were, the ribs being weak, the bowels which might have lain in secret in a sound state, are poured forth without. Hence it comes that when the thoughts are spread abroad without, the mind being deceived goes after the image of exterior glory, and is pleased with nothing save what it beholds beautiful without; against whom the words yet further subjoined are fitly directed;

Ver. 13. Lei it devour the beauty of his skin; and let the firstborn death consume his arms. xvi. 19. ' The beauty of his skin' is temporal glory, which whereas it is coveted as an object without us, is retained as a beauty on the skin. But by the title of ' arms' works are not unfitly set forth, in that the work of the body is done by the arms. And what is death but sin, which kills the soul Eev.20, to the interior life? Whence it is written; Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection, in that he shall hereafter rise again joyfully in the flesh, who whilst sel in this life has risen again from the death of his soul. II then sin is death, ' the firstborn death' may not unsuitably Ecclus. be taken for pi'ide; in that it is written, Pride is the beyin- ^*^' ^^" ning of all sin. And so ' the beauty of his skin and hij arms the firstborn death devoureth,'' in that the glory or the practice of the bad man is overthrown by pride. For Ik might have been glorious even in this life without sin, if h( had not been proud. He might in the judgment of Hii Creator have been commended for some works, if before Hi; eyes pride had not overturned those very works. Thus W( often see rich people, who might have had wealth and glor without guilt, if they would have had them with humility But they are uplifted by possessions, they are flushed will honours, they disdain the rest of the world, and place thei life's whole hope and trust in the mere abundance of goo( Lukei2, things alone. Hence a certain rich man said. Soul, tho\ ^^' hast much good laid up for many years; take thine east eat, drink, and be merry. Which thoughts of their heart when the Judge above beholds, He plucks them away fc this very confidence of theirs by itself. Hence in this plac too it is fitlv added;

20. In this place by the title of ' death' we have denoted xvii. the enemy of the human race himself, who brought in death, who is set forth by a particular minister of his, of whom it is said to John, And his name was DeatJi. And so this Rev. 6, ' death,' in the day of departure hence, ' tramples upon the wicked man as a king,' in that him, whom he before deceived by soft persuasions, at the last he carries off to punishment in bonds of violence, and forces him down the more cruelly, in projjortion as he ties him the stronger in bad deeds. And here too while he possesses the heart of the lost sinner, he ' tramples' upon it, in that as often as he pressed it with feelings of delight, he as it were set upon it the feet of his tyrannical dominion.

21. But if by the title of ' death,' we are to understand not the devil explicitly, but sin, in consequence of which the lost meet with the doom to be dragged to death, then indeed such ' death tramples on the mind like a king,' when it possesses the same making no resistance. For temptation to sin cannot be away from man whilst set in this life. But it is one thing to resist sin tempting us, and another to be enthralled by it tyrannizing over us. And so the wicked man, because he is not taught to resist the persuasions of sin, and is not afraid to be subdued to its dominion, has it rightly said of him. Death as a king shall trample on him. For it was the reign of this death that Paul was keeping off from the hearts of his disciples, when he said, Let not sin there- Eom. 6, fore reign in your mortal body. Since he does not say, ' let it not be,' but, let it not reign, in that it cannot help but be, but reign it may not, in the hearts of the good. And so whereas, when a sin strikes the heart of the bad man, it does not find it resist, but bows it under its dominion, let it rightly be said. Let his cottjidence be rooted out (>f his tabernacle, and let death as a king trample on him. And so ' his confidence is rooted out of the earth,' when the bad man, who in this life had provided for himself many goods after his mind, is brought to nought by death in an instant. And ' death as a king tramples on him,' in that he is either pressed upon here by evil habits, or at the time

J011I8, of his death, hereby, viz. that he is carded off to punish-

- \^' uieiit, lie is brouglit under to the power of the devil. Which is thus (lone in the minds of the wicked on this account^ because, even when the opportunity of committing sin is lacking, the.suggestions of the desire are not in the least lacking to their minds. And whereas they do always follow the devil in practice, yet do they doubly bind themselves fast to him in thought. And so there is first sin in thought, and afterwards in act. Whence it is said to the daughter ol

Is. 47,1. Babylon, Come down and sit in f/ie dust, O Virgin dauyliter of B<dti/lon, sit on the earth. For whereas dust is always earth, earth is not always dust. What then are we to understand by dust but thoughts, which, while they perseveringly and silently fly up in the mind, blind its eyes? And what is denoted by ' the earth,' but an earthly way of acting.'' And whereas the mind of the lost sinner is first cast down tc imagine wicked things, and afterwards to do them, to tht daughter of Babylon, who came down from the judgment a: interior uprightness, it is rightly said in a wounding sentence that first she should ' sit in the dust,' and afterwards ' in the earth,' in that except she had lowered herself in thought, she would never have settled fast in bad practice. It goes on; J.et his fellows dwell in his tabernacle, because he is not.

xviii. 22. i. e. In his mind apostate angels shall have thei:i haunt by vilest thoughts, they being ' his fellows,' whc for this reason no longer ' is,' because he has departec from the Supreme Essence,, and for this is, by a daib augmented declension, as it were tending ' not to be,' in thap he has once fallen from Him Who truly is; who moreove is rightly said ' not to be,' in that he has lost well-being though he has not lost natural being. Still, yet further set ting forth these thoughts of the bad man with more minute ness, he subjoins, saying.

Let brimstone be scattered upon his habitation. xix. 23. What is ' brimstone' but the fuel of fire, which, howi ever, so cherishes the fire, that it sends out the very fouleS' stench. What then do wc understand by ' brimstone,' bui carnal sin, which, while it fills the mind with wicked though! lik(! a kind of ill savoius, is kindling everlasting fires for iti and whilst it spreads the cloud of its stench in the lost soui

Brimstone typifieft UNcleanness. Though tthe root 0/ works. 131 it is as it were providins: against it fuel for the flames to Book

• XIV come after. For that the ill savour of the flesh is understood 1- by brimstone, the mere histoi'V of Holy Writ by itself bears record, which relates that the Lord ' rained down fire and Gen. 19, brimstone upon Sodom.' Who, when He had determined to punish her carnal wickednesses, by the very character of the punishment marked out r,he stain of her guilt: since ' brimstone' hath stench, and fire burning; and so, forasmuch as they had been kindled to bad desires in the ill savour of the flesh, it was meet that they should perish by fire and brimstone combined; that by their just punishment they might be taught what they had done in unjust desire. And so this ' sulphur is scattered upon the habitation' of the wicked man, as often as the corrupt indulgence of the flesh exercises dominion within him; and whereas bad thoughts unceasingly occupy him, and forbid his bringing forth the fruit of good practice, it is rightly added;

Ver. 16. Let his roots be dried up beneath, and above let his crop be spoiled.

24. For what do we understand by the title of ' roots,' xx.;lie| which are set out of sight, and bring forth a shoot into open view, but the thoughts, which, while they are not seen in the heart, produce visible works? And hence by the title of a * crop' there is denoted the same visible practice, which is Ik thus produced from a hidden root. And whereas every bad man first dries up in the imaginings of temptation and after- ^f wards dies off" from good deeds, it is rightly said by Bildad,!ia^ Let his roots be dried up beneath, and above let his crop be vef spoiled, in that, whereas the wicked man sets his thoughts in Qrj things below, and neglects to seek the delights of everlasting;et. greenness, what is this but that he lets his ' roots be dried beneath?' Whose ' crop too is spoiled above,' in that all his practice is counted as nothing in the view of the judgment above, even if it seem good in the eyes of man. Thus the ' roots' are at the bottom, and the ' crop' above, in that we Ijjlj first send out good thoughts here, that we may one day deserve y to receive the fruit of our good works in eternal recompensing;,1,^1 but every wicked person when he abandons good thoughts, itii and pours himself forth upon the things that are without, has ' his roots dried up below:' but ' above his crop is

I3'i The vain ambilion uf Antichrist for a lastimj name.

Job 18, spoiled; in that he, who persists barren here, after this life i \7.js^ bidden to no rewards. It goes on;