Morals on the Book of Job (Moralia)

9. It is written, For into a malicious son/ wisdom shall viii. not enter; and it is declared by the Psalmist, The rich have a ' lacked and been a hungred* For if their want and hunger Ps. 34, were spoken of outward starving, then surely they would be any thing but rich, who were in want of the bread of the body. But forasmuch as whilst they are increased without, they are rendered void within, they are described as rich and needy at one and the same time, in that they never entitle themselves to be filled with the bread of wisdom. And so the children of this hypocrite are ' worn down with want,' because they that are born in hypocrisy in mimicry of him, whilst they do not hold the substance of truth, are brought to nought in the penury of the heart. And his hands shall repay him his own grief.

10. What is denoted by 'hands,' saving works? Thus ix. ' his hands will repay him grief,' because he will reap just damnation from his wicked course of life. Now it is well said, not ' give,' but ' repay,' in that his froward deeds shall pay him back eternal punishment like a kind of debt. But before he is brought to eternal punishment, let him add more fully the sort of character that he shews himself here.

His bones sliall he full qf the sin of his youth, and shall sleep with him in the dust.

Job 90, 11. The origin ol a bad beginning by preoccupying

— i— further multipliet the causes of sin. For when;i man has

_ begun to do evil, by custom be non grows to a worse height in that which In- bad begun. What then is the • youth1 of this hypocrite, but the beginning of wickedness, since in youth passion now begins t<> kindle? And the hypocrite then has vonth, when he begins t<> long for ami to embrace the passion for glory. Which same, whilst the soft salves of flatterers redouble it, they give strength t<>, and as it wen turn it into Loins. For what lie begins badly, In- is daily strengthening lor the worse by custom. Therefore let it be said; His bones shall be full of the sin of his youth; in that the r gid habits of evil practices in him arc taken from the -in of an ill beginning. Hence it is written in the Prov< rba, Prov. The young man according in his own wayt when he is old, 22' 6* will never depart therefrom. Which same 'bones' truly

'will slee)> with him in the diis!.' lor so long do evil practices endure in him, until they drag him to the dust of death. Since lor his ' bones,1 or evil habits, to ' sleep with him in the dust' i^ lor these never to quit him even to the very dust, that is, never to cease from sin even until death. Therefore had habits, which are once begun, keep hold of him, and daily become more hardened. Ami they

1 sleep with him in the dust,' because they are never ended but with his life. Bui this may betaken in another sense also. 12. For the hypocrite occasionally has something in practice that is strong and vigorous, but whilst he makes believe to have many good points that he is without, he which he has. Whence it is well said now;

His bones shall be full of the sin of his youth. For whereas in his levity and fickleness he does many things like a child, even in Strong ones which lie may do he is enervated in sin. Which same ' bones shall Bleep with him in the dust,' t>< < BUSe as all that hypocrisy which he carries on is dust, so too whatever he has in him that is BtTOUg is robbed of all its solidity, so that by pretension to virtue he loses that also which tin re might have been in him of 8 virtuous nature. \nd so lor ' his bom s' to ' sleep with him in the dust1 is even ii their be things done well, for them to come to nought together with his evil deeds. It proceeds;

if hat is ' mi' the tony ue not always what is ' undei' if. 17!'

month, he will hide it under his tongue.

13. ' Wickedness is sweet in the month1 of the hypocrite, xi. in that evil tastes sweet to him in the thought. For ' the mouth1 <>f the heart is the thought, whereof it is written; Deceitful lips spake evil* in a double heart. Now the evilp».i2,a that is thus sweet in the mouth of the hypocrite is hidden under the tongue, in thai the harshness of an evil disposition, which lies hidden in the mind, is concealed under the cloak of a mild address. For the evil would he on the tongue and not under it, if the hypocrite in speaking disclosed the mischievousness of his froward heart. Hut as is the case with most of the righteous, when they see any persons acting badly, who deserve to be visited with severe rebukes, they put harshness on the tongue, but under the tongue cover the kindness of their feelings; (whence too it is said to Holy Church by the voice of the Spouse; Honey and milk are Cant. 4, under Thy tongue. For they that shrink from disclosing the sweetness of their inward feeling to the weak, and so in speaking strike them with a degree of harshness, and yet amongst their harsh words secretly as it were let drop a sprinkling of sweetness, these persons clearly have sweetness not on the tongue, but under the tongue, in that amidst the hard words which they utter, they give out some that are sweet and softened, whereby the wounded mind may be cheered and refreshed by kindness;) so with the wicked severally, because they have evil not upon the tongue, bill under the tongue, in the words of their mouth they hold out sweet things, and in the thoughts of their heart are plotting mischiefs. For it is hence that Joab held the beard of Amasa -' Sam. with his right hand, whilst secretly putting his left hand to his sword, he shed out his bowels. For to hold the chin with the right hand is to caress as if in kindness. But he puts his left hand to his sword, who in secret strikes in malice. Hence too it is written concerning their head himself; Under his tongue is mischief and pain. For he Ps.io,;. that doth not display openly the ill that he designs, does not put forth on the tongue the mischief and pain of those, destruction he aims at, hut keeps them close undei the tongue. Now it is rightly added of this hypocrite, V( r. L3. He a ill spare it, and forsake H nott but keep it ill within /lis throat, xii. 1 1. For the evil that he delights in he ' spai wise

}]«• does not, bj practising penance, hunt it down in himsi It' Whence too it is added; and forsake it n<>l. For it he had the mind to ' forsake,' he would uot ' spare' it. but would pursue it closely. Now be 'keeps it within his throat;1 tuse he so retains it in thought, that be never utters it in Bpeech. It goes on;

Vet. it. His /'/■'•"'tin /ns belly shall be turned into the gall of asps within him.

\iii. 1"). What bread is in the belly, the same is- fulness i iitlilv gratification in the mind. So l, t the hypocrite now be filled to the full with the praises tendered him, let him revel in honours, ' Ins bread in Ids belly is turned into the u'all of asps,' because the fulness of transitory enjoyi in the final Eb tribution, will be turned to bitterness, in that what lure passed for the praise of greatness is discovered to have been' the gall of asps,1 i. e. the prompting of evil spirits For the wicked then perceive that they are infected with the venom of the old Berpent, when, being delivered over to avenging flames, they arc tormented alone with that prompter of theirs. \nd so this ' bread1 has one Bort of taste in the mouth, and another in the belly, in that the joy of transitory pleasure is sweet, while it ia tasted here l>v a chewing of t< etli, as it were, hut it turns hitter in the hilly, because when the joy is past it is swallowed to his ruing.

Hi. ( >r indeed forasmuch as hr. ad is not unsuitably taken for the si use of the II >l\ Scriptures, which refreshes the mind and furnishes it with the sinews of right practice, and the hypocrite generally makes it his object to be well instructed in the mysteries of Holy Writ, not that he maj live by them, but that it may appear to the rest of the world how learned he is, his • bread in his boweh is turned into the gall of asps,' in that whilst he boasts ofthe Knowled'.' oi the Sacred Law, he converts the draught oflife into a cup of poison to himself, and dies m a state of reprobation from the same cause, whence he appeared to derive instrnc- Boob tiiui unto life. Not is this again unfitly taken to be the xx' meaning, thai while t li> ■ hypocrite sometimes applies himself to the word..I instruction for display, being blinded bj God's judgment, he tabs in a wrong sense tli.it very word whirl: he seeks iii a wrong spirit. Bui when he tails into heretical error, it is Ids fate, that as by the ' gall of asps,1 the unhappy wretch perishes by * bread;' and in his ow n selfinstruction he finds death, because in the words of life lie never Boughl lite, lint it often happens that the sentences of divine warning, even if they be understood rightly by the hypocrite, forasmuch as he neglects to observe them in practice, are lost to him even before the course of tin present lite i^ at an end, so that it is taken from him to know, what while he knew he refused to practise. Hence it is added;

Ver. 15. The riches //■ hath swallowed down, he shall vomit hii, a ml Cod shall cast them out of his belly.

17. The hypocrite desires to know the revelations of God, xiv. yet not to practise them. He would speak sagely, but not live so. For this reason, then, that he does not do what he knows, even that which he knows he loses, that forasmuch as he does not unite pure practice with his knowledge, contemning purity of right practice he loses the knowledge also. Therefore the ' riches' of the Sacred Law, which he ' swallowed' in reading, he vomits in forgetting, and God ' casta them out of his belly,' in that what he would not observ< to do, by a righteous judgment He roots out of his recollection, that at all events he should not keep the precepts of God in the ton gue, which he kept not in his hie'. Whence it is said by the Prophet; But unto the wicked God saith, What P hast thou to do t<> dec/ore my statutes, and that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth f Which words of instruction if it ever at any time chance that the hypocrite should seem to retain in his mouth until the end, he will be condemned the more on the very grounds, whereon not even a had man is ever deprived of the good gifl of God. For it is written; To tho^c Unit remember His commandments to d<> them. P* ios, He then that keeps Hi— commandments in mind, hut never

thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.

This sunt he to me; This is the curse that goeth ovt r the face roll' saving Holy Writ, which whilst it telle us of heavenly themes, lifts up the bent of the mind to things on high; for while we see that it is above us, we leave minding, i. e.

bring things below. And it is described as having ' ■ breadth of ten cubits1 and a 'length of twenty cubits,1 in that the breadth of our practice is single, and the long expectance ui hope is extended to double, since in return for our good practice both here there is peace of mind, and tru re eternal joys in store for us. as Truth bears witness, Who gaith; ry one that hath forsaken houses nr lands, ftc.

shall receive an hundreofold, and shall inherit everlasting

Hi)-. For the number one hundred is completed by the number ten multiplied ten times. Thus he g Is back an hundredfold. who, though he lias nothing, by the mere perfection of his mind alone, no longer si cks to posst sa any thing in this world. And in this way, since by this same we have a double me i Bur paid hack to us lor a single one, that roll is justly drawn out through twenty cubits in length, which is earned out m breadth through ten. But because these very Bacred oracles stand for eternal condemnation to those who either will not acquaint themselves with them, or in any wise when made acquainted with them set them at nought, it is rightly said of this roll, This is the curse, which goeth forth over the face of the whole earth. And wherefore ii is (ail. d a i nise is added; For every one that is a thief, a> n is therein written, shall I"' fudged. Therefore the hypocrite, as he cans not to live alter the words of the law which he knows, and seeks golden opinions 1>\ store of instruction, will he ' a thief to be judged,1 since by this, that he speaks just words, he usurps to himself the praise of the

Gentler temptations first, violent ones offer. 188 just man's life. Concerning whom it is still farther added Book rightly,

10. The 'asj)' is a small serpent, but the 'viper' hath w. more length of body. And asps produce eggs, and their young are hatched from the eggs. But when vipers have conceived, their young ravin in their womb, which bursting the parents' sides issue out of their bellies. Hence too it is called the ' viper,' because it is a ' ' parent by violence.' ' ' ii Thus the viper is so produced that it comes forth by violence, pan and is brought into the world by the killing of the mother. What then is represented by the little asps, saving the hidden suggestions of impure spirits, who steal uponc the hearts of men by slight prompting at first, and what by the ' viper's tongue' save the violent temptation of the devil? For at first he steals upon them gently, but afterwards he drags them even by force. And so he ' sucks the poison of asps,' in that the little beginning of secret suggestion is first produced in the heart, but ' the viper's tongue slayeth him,' in that afterwards the captive soul is killed by the venom of violent temptation. In the first case unclean spirits speak to the heart of man with their crafty counsels, and these, while they persuade with gentleness, as it were infuse the poison of asps. Whence it is written, They break asps1 eggs, 13.59,5. and weave the spider's web; He that eateth <>f their eggs dielh, and that which is hatched breaketh out into a basilisk. Since to ' break asps' eggs,' to wicked men is, to manifest by evil deeds the counsels of evil spirits, which lurk in their hearts. Moreover, to ' weave spiders' webs' is, on account of the lust of this world, to be busied in any temporal employments. Which, whilst they are established with no stedfastness, assuredly are carried off by the wind of a mortal life. And it is well added; He that eateth of their eggs dieth. In that he that admits the counsels of impure spirits kills the life of his soul in him. ' And that which is hatched, breaketh out into a basilisk,' in that the suggestion of the bad spirit which is covered up in the heart, is nursed

Job so, unto lull iniquity • For ' basilisk ' m< ana tin- king of serpentSj "— and win i is the head of the -mh of perdition, gave Antichrist J Therefore ' ili.n, which is batched, will break out into a basilisk,1 in that he who harbours in himself the counsel of the ' asp1 to nourish them to life, being made a memlx i of the tricked bead, is engrafted into the bodj of Antichrist Of which hypocrite it is said, He shall suck the head qf aeps^ and tin- vifH r's tongue shall slat/ him, in that when he gladly welcomes the evil suggestion of our old enemy, afterwards h. surrenders himself vanquish* <1 to his forcible temptations. Hence too in Paradise, to man when he was Btanding, he brought in words of soft suggestion, hut him whom he once caught away to the act of consent, now henceforth he forces mi even resisting him, and conquered by the gratifications of hi^ corrupt state of being, kills him well nigh by dint of violence But perhaps we may hi- able to make out the meaning ol these game sentences by a contrary mode of inter' pretation. Thus because the ' asp1 kills quickly by its venom, but tin' ' viper' more slowly, by the ' asp1 we have denoted a violent anil instantaneous temptation, hut by the

' riper1 a gentle and prolonged one. And hence to the one death is said to lie in the k sucking of the head," hut to the viper ' in the tongue,1 in that a sudden temptation often as Boon as it arises kills the soul oil' its guard, hut a lengthened temptation, because it is longer recommending evil things by the suggesting of them, kills as does a viper with its tongue. And because every hypocrite, being penetrated with the suggestion of evil spirits, as with the poison of serpents, never considers what are tin gifts from above of the Holy Spirit, while- he Bpreads abroad the bent ofthe heart in golden opinions without, it is rightly added;

The Lord saith in tin- Gospel; //'• that believeth in

John", i/,., as the Scripture hath saia\ >ait oj his belly shall flow rivers qf living water. Where the Evangelist subjoins, saving. Hat this spake He (if the Spirit, which they that believe "a Una should receive. And s,, ' the streamlets of

Streamlets of the river of God unseen by the wicked, lv."> the river1 are the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Charity i> ca Booh streamlet of the river.' faith is 'a streamlel of the river; hope — — - is' a streamlet of the river/ Hut because no hypocrite ever loves either God or his neighbour, when he makes the transitory glory of the world his aim, he dues not see the streamlets of the river, in that lie is net watered with the overflowing iif charity. Whereas the hypocrite goes after }>n Bent gains, he disregards future blessings, and not having faith, he sees not in the mind ' the streamlet of the river,' inasmuch as faith is the evidence of things not seen. AndHeb.ii, while the hypocrite clings to the things that are seen, lie makes light of those, which are not seen, therefore he does not see the ' streamlets of the river' in desire, in that he is taken up with visible things alone. And it is written, For Bom. 6, what <i i, in,, seeth, why <l>>tl< he yet hope for? lie then would have seen ' streamlets of the river' if he had shut his ey< - to the glory of this world, and opened them to the love of the heavenly country. And observe that he does not say ' streams,1 but ' streamlets.' For the ' streamlets of the river' may be taken for those spiritual gifts, which trickle in such fine streams from heavenly sources into the soul of him that loveth, that they can never be compassed' by the mouth of the flesh. For it is often the case that the spirit of him that loves is filled with such a mighty gift of contemplation, that it has power to see what it has not power to utter. Now the ' torrent river' is the inundation of the Holy Spirit itself, which in exuberant outpouring is gathered in the soul of him in contemplation, when his mind is full beyond what he is able to comprehend. And it is necessary to be known, that when the grace of the Holy Spirit bathes us, it fills us with ' honey and butter' equally. For ' honey' falls from above, but ' butter' is drawn from the milk of animals, and so ' honey' is from the air, ' butter' from the flesh. Hut the Only-begotten Son of the Most High Father, while He is God above all things, was made Man one among all things. Who when he replenished us with the sweetness of His Divine Nature and the mystery of His Incarnation, satisfied us with ' honey and butter' at once. And so seeing that tin lb.lv Spirit rejoices the soul It has filled, at once with the

Jesse, sweetness of His divinity and the belief <>f lli^ Lncai - - nation, these are d. u ribed h ' the streamlets of 1 1 » « - tomnl ' rivet of honey sod butter1 together, in thai tbej both refresh the ton] with sweetness by the exalted knowledge <»i God, iTh, and anoint it iritb the mysterj of the Benefit1 bj the graoe rtoas-,,jtilr incarnation. Bnl whereas tin*, hypocrite, being dissipated in outward regards, does not taste these interior gifts, Ijoins to w bat alter punishments he ii tending, in thai it iv sdded;

\, p, h //,. shall pay for all the thing* that he hath done, not yet shall he be conswned. xvii. 21. For he ' pays1 in torment for those desires, winch he LlT- retained here contrarj to right, and being consigned to avenging flames, he is always dying, in that be is always kept alive in death. For he is never consumed in death, in that it' hi- life in dying were consumed, his punishment likeirise would be brought to an end together with his life; but thai he may be tormented without end, he is forced t<> live mi without end in punishment, that lie whose life here was drad in Bin, mav ha\r his death there living in punishment Lit him say then; He shall pay for all tin- thing* that ho hath done, nor yet shall he be eo isumedt forasmuch as he is tormented, and nol pul out, be dies and lives, he is tailing aw. iv and holding <»n, always finishing, without being finished. These things arc very terrible in the hearing of the car only, how infinitely more terrible in the enduring of them! Now because the multiplicity of his wickedness demands that be should never be without punishment, it is fitly added;

[ccording to il"' multitude of hie inventions slmii h, alto suffer. x \ iii 22. l"i whereas he found out many things in order to sin, he is tormented with new inventions in punishment. Since \>hat he could nol have Buspected here, he is made sensible ol there, when be is given over to vengeance. For as the 11 c1 in exercising themselves in good works, sometimes si t themselves i" do more than the I, c>rd thought lit t<> hid them, (for virginity of the flesh is no where commanded] bnl onlj commended; sum, ii n woe commanded, then it would follow that wedlock must henceforth he deemed sin, ami yet there ire mam strong in the virtue Of virginilv, SO as to rendei

// ouiixsions condemn, much more invention* in an. 187 iuoiv in service than they received in command.) bo very Hook commonly the wicked arc each practised in had ways, so '_ that they find out in evil doing more lor them to do than by the practice of the lost they received examples of irickedness. And hence they arc stricken with the torments of an ampler retribution, in that they too of their own lnads invented practices on an ampler scale, which they deserve to he stricken tor. And BO it is well said.

According t<> the multitude of his invention* shall he also suffer. For he would not find out new wickedness, except he also Bought it; and he would not seek it, except he was eager to do it of set purpose. Therefore in his tormenting the excessiveness of evil devising is taken into account, and he receives the pain of a worthy recompense. And although the woe of all the damned is infinite, yet they have worse torments inflicted upon them, who invented many things in wicked ways by their desires as well. Xow since Zophar has brought in the punishment of this hypocrite, he immediately adds his sin, nor does he describe any one in particular, but that from which all sins have their origin. For it is written, Covetousness is the root of all evil. He 1 Tim. then, whom covetousness is described as having dominion ' ' over, surely is proved to be subject to all evil propensities. Thus he subjoins.

Ver. If), 20. Because he hath broken down and laid bare the house of the poor, because he hath violently taken it away and not builded if, neither is he satisfied in his belli/.

2$. He ' breaks in pieces and lays bare the house of the xix. poor,' who is not ashamed as well to rob out of avarice him whom he crushes by power. ' He violently taketh it away and doth not build it.' As if it were expressed in plain words; ' He that ought to have builded it, he over and above takes it away.' For the Lord Who is to come in judgment, shall say to the reprobate. For I was an hungred, Mat.25, and ye gave Me no meal ■. I teas thirsty, and ye gave Me no4^'43, drink: I was a stranger, ami ye t"»k Me not in; naked, and ye covered Me nut. \v. as the consequence of which sin it is added. Depart from He, ye cursed, im<> everlasting fire, *.*\. prepared/or the devil and his angels. If then he is sentenced to so great a penalty, who is convicted merely of not having

Job 20, given away his own, with what punishim nt doe8 not that man

20^-21. jegerve t() i,,. stricken, who is proved to have taken the tilings of Others also? \nd BO In- ' took it away anil did not build it up." in that lie not only never gave any tiling of liis own, lmt also look away what was another's. Now it is well added; Surely his belly shall not lie satisfied, lor the ' belly' of the wicked man i- avarice, in thai there is collected together in it whatsoever is swallowed with wrong desire. Bui it i-* plain that avarice is not extinguished, but incr by the objects desired. For like lire, when it has got fuel to teed on, it increases; and from the same cause thai the flame appears to be restrained for a moment, it is seen a little while after to spread itself out. And it often happens that when Almighty God is greatly wroth with the covetous bouI, He fust lets all things accrue to it according to its wish, and afterwards takes it away in vengeance, that it may undergo eternal punishments on account of them. And hence it is

And when he shall have that which he desired, lie shall not be able /" possess it. xx. 24. For it is a mark of greater indignation, when that thing is given which is desired amiss, and therefrom there ensues sudden retribution, because he got that likewise, which he went after when God was wroth the while. And hence it is said by the Psalmist, where the people are described as having lusted after ilesh for food in a wrong way; Ps. 78, But whili their meat was yet in their mouths, Hie wrath <>/ ' ' God came upon them, and slew the most of them. For the judgments of God are used to be slower in appearing, when wrong wishes are hindered that they should not be put in execution. For the quicker that a bad wish is suffered to be fulfilled, it is usually punished the more speedily in proportion. And so by the very act, whereby the hypocrite is aggrandized in haste to become powerful, it is brought to pass with proportionate rapidity, that he should not be. For the trees too that grow slower, last to number many years, and those which make way in a short space of time, wither the sooner, and in a manner, whilst they are hasting to be, thej are going the wa\ not to be. It goes on;

25. ' His meat' is all that lie coveted with wrong desire; Book but when the hypocrite is struck, ' there is none of his meat — Aleft,' in that when he is himself carried to eternal punishments, he is parted from all the good-things that he had gotten here. And hence it is yet further added;

Therefore shall nought remain from his (/nods.

For if ' aught did remain of his goods,' he would take along with him the things that he had possession of. But because while going after every thing, he would not fear the Judge, upon being removed out of this life, he goes naked to the Judge. To which same wicked man, it is but little for his recompensing that he is tormented in after punishment, if only in this life he is let to go free. But there is no liberty in sin, seeing that it is written; where the Spirit of 2 Car. St the Lord is, there is liberty, and to the wicked soul usually its very own sin becomes its own punishment. And hence it is rightly added; la the fulness of his sufficiency, he shall be in straits.

20. For first from avarice he pants to heap together things xxn. he covets, and when he has gathered together a great multitude as it were in a kind of belly of avarice, ' in the fulness of his sufficiency, he is in straits,' in that whilst he is full of anxiety how he may keep the things he has gotten, his own fulness itself straitens him. For the field of a certain rich man had brought abundant fruits, but because he had not where to lay up such stores, he said, What shall I do, Lnkel2, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do; I will pull down my barns, and build greater. He then who from being straitened by his abundance said, What shall I do? was in a fever as if oppressed with a quantity of food. Let us consider with what longings he desired his land might produce abundant crops. Behold now his wishes are completed, seeing that the land did bring him abundant fruits. But forasmuch as there are not places enough to stow it away, the rich man being greatly aggrandized knows not what he should do. O straitness caused by ' fulness of sufficiency 1' By the abundance of his land the mind of the covetous man is straitened. For when he says, What shall I do / he clearly shews that, surcharged with the en-

190 Miseries "J sinful ttilHS hi TS and ken afiet

Job m, grossments of hit desires, he went heavily under ft kind o( his sufficiency //>■ shall be in straits. Since tin- mind of the covi tous Ulan, which had before Looked for rest from plenty, iraa afterwards put to worse trouble for the keeping tin root And hence it is also yet further added;

Ih shall burn tciih heatt <nn/ every woe shall come down xxiii. 27. For first he bad sorrow in tin- mere wearying of his own concupiscence bow to snatch hold of the thing how to - « are one sort by arte of Battery, another sort by means of threats; but alter that having possessed hi of the gifts of fortune he has attained ins desire, another annoyance wears him down, viz. that it is with bar and anxiety he keeps sale that which he remembers it cost him infinite trouble to acquire. On every side he dreads conspirators, and fears to lie himself subjected to the very thing that he has done to others. One more powerful be is afraid of, lest he lie exposed to violence from him; a poor man, when he Bees one, he looks on as a thief. The things themselves which he has boarded up. he is;i| great pains about, lest by the failure of their own inherent nature they be consumed by neglect. In all these particulars then, because fear by itself is punishment, the unhappy wretch sutlers things as great as he fears to stiller. And alter this he is yet further brought to hell, and given over to eternal torments. Therefore ' every woe eonieth down upon him,1 who is at once consumed first here by the punishment of coveting, afterwards by the trouble of safe keeping, and There at some future time by the punishment of retributive wrath.

28. But it is wonderful security of the heart, not to seek what does not belong to us, but to rest content with each day's sustenance day by day. From which Bame security it is that the Etesl everlasting also arises, Beeing that from a good and quiet frame we piss to eternal delights. Contrariwise lost sinners are at once worn down here in desires, and then in torments. And from the labour of taking thought there arises to them the labour of pain, in that by the fen i of avarice they are drawn into the tire of hell. And because,

How ti'uJ nuns douii wrath. Two SOWCei ol avarice. J 91 as we have already often Baid, it often happens that the Bonn wicked man, the sooner lie attains his object, is the more XV' easily carried nil to torment, it is added in the form of a wish;

Ver. 23. Would that hit belly might be filled, thai God mifjlit cast the Jury of His wrath upon him, and rain His war upon hi in.

29. The Lord ' rains His war1 upon this hypocrite, when xxiv he smites his deeds with the swords of His judgments. Thus for God to ' rain war,' is His pressing hard to destruction the life of the wicked man by His strict sentences from on high. God ' raining war' is His smiling the hearts that are lifted up against Himself, and His wounding the blasted soul with the darts of His judgments, as with a kind of thickening drops of rain, that when he is now carried off to judgment, one while he should remind himself how he coveted wickedly, and more wickedly set himself to heap together the things he coveted, at another time grieve that he is parted from the things thus heaped together, and one day feel tin- very lire of retribution, which, that he might not live well, he was too indifferent to foresee. It goes on;

Ver. 24. He shall flee from the iron, weapons; and rush upon the bow oj brass.

30. We ought to know, that avarice sometimes steals upon xxv. men from pride, and sometimes from apprehension. Thus there are some who whilst they aim to appear with greater power, are kindled to the going after the things of others; and there are some, who while they arc afraid lest the necessaries of the aids of life should be wanting to them, freely give their minds to covetousness, and go after the things of others when they fancy that their own may not be enough for them. Now all necessity is not unaptly termed ' iron,' in that it pains the life of him that wants with the wound of grief, as it is likewise expressed concerning the necessities of him, who, being sold by his brethren, led an afflicted life; The />o?z Ps. 105, entered into his soul. What then are ' the iron weapons' ' but necessities of the present life, which press hard upon, and push to extremity, the life of the needy: Since iron is consumed by rust, but brass is naturally more difficult to be consumed by it. Therefore by ' iron1 there is represented present necessity which is transient, but bj 'brass1 the n. And whereas the judgment Ibove ii oof heeded bj the mind of the wicked man, it is justly likened to a ' bow,1 since it strikes as it were oul of ambush, whilst the person that is struck does not observe it. And thus, U> ihall flee from the iron weapons, and ruth upon the bow of braes; in that whilst from dreading present necessities, he Beizes things without number, through arariciousness he is exposing himself before it**- severe Btrokea of the final judgmi m, and, w bile he ' fle< th the weapona of iron,1 he is iuntered by the arrows from the bos of brass, in that, while foolishly providing against the ills of time, he ia struck bj eternal doom. For whosoever with guilt fleeth thi harddi.v of need here, meets there an everlasting duration oi just r, tribution. But before 1 1 * < - lime that he ia hurried off to judgment, what are the things which this wicked man is busied in here, he yet further informs ns. It go< b on;

\ i r. 25. He is drawn andcometh out qf his sheath,;/>", lightening in his bitterness, xxvi. 81. This wicked man lays ]>h>ts in arts of robbery <>n his neighbours. And whilst he is plotting mischief in the thoughts of his heart, it ia as it'* the Bword were still in its sheath;' but when he wickedly < xecutes the mischief winch he has contrived, he ' cometh out of his sheath,9 in that he is b rough 1 out to view, from the secresy of his thoughts, in the wickedness of evil doing. He is Bhewn to light in the deed, such as he was, hidden from view, in the thought And observe thai he Bays, drawn andcometh out; i. e. ' drawn' by the deceiver, bul * coming out1 by the act of his own free will. For he that ia ' drawn1 unquestionably follows one that draws him. But he that ' cometh forth,1 seems to act according t<> his own will. That man, then, who i^ at once drawn to the several wicked practices by our old enemy, and yel fast bound in the desire of them bj his own freewill, is described as ' drawn and coming forth from his sheath,' since this thing, that he issues forth from the had thought to the worst enacting, belongs at once t" tiewieki dnesa of that spirit that prompted, and of him thai consented by an act of his own will.

32. The terribleness of whose power is further shewn.

where it is immediately added, Yea, lightening in hit bitter- Booi new. For when the lightning comes suddenly from above, when it shines with terrihleness before OUT eyes, it displays ahining brightness, and strikes the objects before it. Thus, thus is it with the wicked man, when he lias secured to himself the glory of the present life: by the same cause by which he is shewn to view bright by power in the present world, it is brought to pass that he is blasted at the last. For the wicked man's as it were ' lightening,1 is his shining in this life's honour; but whereas the splendour of that glorj is consigned to the eternal woes of hell, it is rightly said in tins place, ' Yea, lightening in his bitterness.1 For he that now seems as though he took delight in striking by terribleness and brightness, for this cause afterwards undergoes punishments for everlasting. And indeed it is written of a certain rich man that he ' fared splendidly1 every day. Now it is one thing to shew ' splendidly,' and another to ' lighten;' for sometimes there is splendour without striking, but splendour with striking is described by the title of ' lightning.' He then who being placed in power does injury to others, is not unaptly entitled ' lightening,' in that from the same means whereby he is himself exalted against the good, as it were by the light of glory, the life of the good is made to feel torture. It goes on;

Terrible ones shall come and go over him.

33. Who are here called ' terrible ones' except evil spirits, xxvii. who are to be feared and avoided by godly minds? And whereas those same evil spirits are to be believed to attach themselves severally to certain particular vices, when this wicked man seems to quit for a moment one set of faults, and begins to commit another, then surely ' the terrible ones come and go over him,1 in that the soul of the bad man though one set of bad habits abandons, yet another takes possession of it. For you may often see the bad man, who is set in earthly power, agitated with furious passion, and executing all that his rage suggests; and when his fury is gone, then directly lust ravages his soul; when lust is stopped for a time, self-exaltation as on the ground of continency is immediately made to take its place in his heart, and that he may be feared by others, he aims to shew himself as an object of terror. Rut when the

194 > Everlasting Fi asion requirei that be should saj any thing with double dealing, l.i\ ing aside in.1 certain Bort the terribleness of pride.

he ' Idress, and when be i Bhen himself proud, b< doea not dread to turn double-dealing.

bo it is rightlj "-.lid "i liiin. in whose mind one rict

Linually takes tin place of anothi. 1 with departing and taking each other's; his -.'inl isasil wen overrun bj aamanj evil spirits going and returnin tit is these things which he doea in act, thai i—u outwardly by parte and ] I r on his soul he has all things bad tied fast at (nice and together. I [ence u is added;

\ i r. 26. ill darkness is hid in his secret \>i"'

\\\iii. 84, Pot though the hypocrite exhibit! ctiona on the Burfa rtain ' darkness1 oi evil dei da appears in him; yet it less comes forth in act, than lies buried in hia

. i thought. For he who does not fulfil all things at once in execution, does in his heart in Bileuce hold all things that may do mischief. Thus ' all darkness' i> said t<> he ' hid in his Becret places,' in that though he docs 1 1 « » t exhibit to vien all things i \d in himself, yet he aims to bring down all upon his fellow-creatures. Non lei him add the retribution, which this soul bo reprobate shall he visited with. It go< b on. A fire ilmi is wit kindled shall consume him.

86. Most wonderfully in these few words i^ die lire of lull gel forth! for bodil) lire, in order to become fii'c'. stands in need of bodily fuel; ami when it is nee. ssary for it to be preserved, as we well know, it is nourished by wood heaped apon it. neither can it he. i \c. pt by being kindled, nor live, sa\e L\ being cherished, lhit contrarilj the ore of hell, whiKi it i- a bodily fire, and bodilj ohmihua the children i.l' perdition that are east into it, is mitlx r kindled by human effort, nor kepi alive by wood, bul being once made to be, it

' one and the same tim< it needs no kindling, and lacks m.t heat. And s,, \\ |g Uell said of this tic justice of the Almighty, for< »e< ing future, rents, did from tin! the world create the fire of hell, which should • /in in the punishment ol the wicked, bul nevi il even without fuel. Hut ii is necessan t know, thai.ill the children of perdition, as thej -inn,,! in Boom Bpiri! an.l flesh conjointly, are there tormented in spirit and xv',,rs>' alike. Hence it is said b\ the Psalmist, Thorn shall ivji.-j. make them at aJS* rg oven in the time of Thine anger. The lard shall confound them in Hit wrath, and the fire §hall,1, vour them. For an ' oven1 is heated within; bat he irho is ' devoured by fire' begins to be consumed from the outside. Thus that holy Scripture might shew that the lost burn both within and without, it testifies that they are at once < devoured by fire,' and ' made as a fiery Oven,' that by tire they should be tormented in the body, and by grief burn in spirit Bene in this place too, when it i- declared of the ungodly man that afire thai is not kindled shall consume hi///, it is forthwith added concerning his spirit;

Being left in his tabernacle, H shall go ill with hi///. 86. The 'tabernacle* of the wicked man is his flesh, in thatxxx. he inhabits it in joynuness, and, if it were possible, wishes he might never quit it. But the righteous, as they place their delight in the prosp ct of heavenly rewards, and have their conversation in heaven, while they are still in the flesh arc as if they were no longer in the flesh, in that they are not fed with any gratification of the flesh. And hence it is said

1 ' 8 persons; But ye are not in the flesh, but in theRom.8, spirit: not that they were not in the flesh, who by the9' epistles of their master receivi d charges of exhortation; but it is in a manner to be no longer ' in the flesh,' not to own aught connected with the love of fleshly objects. But on the other hand this wicked man, because he set all his delight in a fleshly life,' dwelt in the tabernacle' of the flesh. Which very flesh when he shall receive back in the resurrection, he shall bum along with it delivered over to the fires of hell. Then he Ion— to be brought out of it; then he seeks, if he might be able, to escape from his torment-; then he begins to wish he could get quit of that which lie loved: but because he preferred that flesh to ( Jod, it is brought to pass by the judgment of God, that by it he is more fully tormented in tin' fire. Here then he ha- no mind to leave it, and \ l l- -. vend from it, and there he ui-hes to leave it, and yet i- kept in it for punishments. And so for the increase of hi- torments, be i- at oner both removed out of

L96 Both good dud bad shall testify against the unjust.

Job so, the body here against his ^^ ill, and held fast in the bodi -r-^-' there when lie would noL Therefore because bis Bpirit in tormenl longs' to get rid of the flesh, which it set before itself in Loving amiss., and lias not the power, it is rightl) said lure, being left in his tabernacle it shall go ill with hi///. ()i w hose accusing it is din ctly said;

righteous, and what by ' the earth," hut sinners; And hence in the Lord's prayer we pray; Thy nil/ In- dun,.m earth, as il is in heaven, meaning this, that the will of our Creator, in the Bame wa\ as it is accomplished in all the righteous, may also he fulfilled in all sinners as well. Moreover of the

Ps.i9,i. righteous it is said, The heavens declare the glory of Qod.

And to man when he sinned the sentence is pronounced.

Earth thou art, and unto earth thou shall return. And so of this ungodly man, when dragged to that awful judgment:

• the heavens reveal his iniquity, ami the earth rises up again8l him." that that man, who here never spared either tin1 good or the had. should in that tremendous inquest ha\ e the life of the righteous and of sinners alike accusing him. \ud of the two indeed it is worse if a man injure the good rather Ez.24.7. than sinners; and hence it is said by the Prophet, For her blood is in t/"' midst of her: she poured it upon the smoothest rock*; she poured it n<>t upon the ground to cover it with Oust: by ' the ground' and ' the dust' indeed denoting sinners, but by the ' very smooth rock,1 the righteous man, who is not made rough by the hard glUZOS of sins; and so ' the blood is poured upon the very Bmooth rock,1 when the wickedness of a bloodthirsty mind rages in the afflicting of the righteous soul. While then it is worse unjustly to distress tin- righteous than the unrighteous, yet it is much worse to hurt the righteous and unrighteous together; and therefore when-as the wicked ha\e injured both the good and the had alike, in the accusing to damnation, ' the heavens shall ie\, al his iniquity, and the earth shall rise up against him,

I,, cause he at one and the same time set himself against those who savoured t!i<> things of heaven, and oppressed Boob those who savoured of things below. But it may be that hy 1 the earth1 we have denoted not the sinful and reprobate, but those that being busied in earthly courses, by the help of alms and of tears attain to eternal life. Concerning whom it is said by the Psalmist, when the Lord is proclaimed as coming to Judgment, //'- shall call to the heavens from Ps.50,4. above, <niil to the earth thai lb' may judge His people. For lb- ' calls the heavens from above,' when they, who, leaving all that they had, held on the tenour of the heavenly life, are called to sit with Him in judgment, and come with Him as judges; but ' the earth is called from above,1 when they who were tied down to earthly courses of action, yet sought therein for heavenly mine than for earthly profit and advantage, to which persons it is said, / was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and, ye clothed me. So ' the heaven reveals the wickedness' of the hypocrite, and ' the earth rises up against him,' in that both they who come in company with God as judges, and they who through the ordeal of the Judgment are set free, become the witnesses of his iniquity. Tims nought of the things he has committed is hidden from sight in the time of condemnation, and if indeed many of his deeds are now concealed from his fellow-creatures by doubledealing, yet in the day of condemnation, whatever there was that lay hidden within him, it is brought to light. Hence it is fitly added;

Ver. 28. The shoot of his house shall be disclosed, and he a/mil he taken away in the day of God's wrath.

88. 'The shoot of his house is disclosed,' when every xxxii. thing bad that sprung up in his consciousness is shewn to view. For now the ' shoot of the hypocrite's house' remains hidden from sight, in that though his practice appears good in the delineation, yet the intent lies hidden. Since it is one thing what he does, and another thing what he has in view. Hut when, at the coming of the.bulge, each man's conscience shall be brought forward for its testimony, (whence it is written, Their thoughts tin' nun it while accusing or e/seRom.2, excusing one another^ then the ' shoot of the hypocrite's house is herein disclosed,' because the evil design is laid bare in his heart. ' Ami he shall be taken away in the <la\ l!is Detection and catting away, tke portion oftfu wicked.

'■ of God's wrath, ' in thai when the indignation of the Judg< i- revealed, being given to avenging fires, he ia parted from

Hia right For li«' that, whilst he lived, would not take though! of the highest things, being forced down by the weight of his Bins, Bhall fall from the face of the Judge into the depths of punishment Hut now the Judge both set - and bean with the sinner in 1 » i — sin-, and because it is tin dav of forbearance ami nol a- \« t the day of fury, He waits tor each one for hi- conversion. Now in this dav of forbearance the hypocrite as it were remains unmoved, whilst he both commits many evil deeds, and is chastised DJ no.scourges; but ' in the day of fary he shall he taken away, in that being carried off to punishment in the season of vengeance he is cut off from the countenance <>1 the eternal Judge. It goes on;

Ver. 29. This is the portion <f a wicked man from God} mtd tin' heritage of his words from the Lord. xxxiii. 39, por if} while placed in this life, he had been mind d to act rightly, he would have had lor his k portion' with tin- Lord fellowship in the kingdom of heaven; hut because be chose to be subjected to bad desires, his ' portion from the Lord' he found in torment, because he did not. seek to obtain a share in the grace of that Lord. But it is well said, Ami the heritage of his words from the L<>r<t. for he that is immersed in punishment for enormous deeds of wickedness perchance it was thought would never be judged for the wordwhich he had Spoken amiss. But when the strict justice of Almighty God exacts punishment from lost sinners for their froward deeds, it renders evil things to them even to the recompensing of their words, that they who are debtors for great transgressions, being consigned to punishment, nun pay even the very last farthing. For tiny are spared the hast misdemeanours, who rigorously lamented the greater evils in themselves. And those whom great sins weigh down even the very least alike put to pain in hell. Now holy men desire not to receive a portion from the Lord, but to have the Lord Himself for their portion. Hem. tin- Prophet

1 pi j laying, God is my portion for ever: but the wicked

■un, because he sough! not to have the I. "id Himself for his ' portion,' found lire for his ' portion1 without the I lOfd, that being shut nut from I lis face, because he <H<1 not seek to h<»ok and joy in Him, he might lie tormented beneath Him.

These things Zophar brought forward in such a way, thai by what he spoke against the hypocrite, he might strike a blow against the lite of blessed.I<»1>, thinking that lie who was stricken by tin1 Lord, hail not done with a simple heart all the good things which he had done. For him, whom he saw beneath the rod, he Bupposed to have displeased God. But the friends of Messed Job likewise maintain a likeness of heretics in this particular, in that whilst tiny see, in Holy Church, some, that live aright, groaning beneath the rod, they reckon that they have not good merit in good deeds, and set them down as bad men, whom they see afflicted with the scourge of God; not knowing, that is to say, that Many ps. 34, are the afflictions of the righteous, and that He scourgeth 1!* every son Whom He receive! It. But blessed Job, after tin manner of the Holy and Universal Church, which bears with patience the darts of words at the hands of the froward, and, when she hears the sayings of the proud, never leaves the pathway of her humility, made answer with great humility of heart, saying,

40. For he that when he said Hear, added, I pray you, xxxiv. shews how humbly he speaks, whilst he entreats persons, swelling with pride against him, to bring back their thought to the teaching of saving truth. But whereas holy men, within the pale of the Universal Church, are not only ready to teach what is right, but also to undergo things that are done against them, they do not dread being laughed at. Hence it is added;

Suffer me that I may speak,• and after my words, if it shall seem so, laugh.

41. For when good men speak, there are two points, which \\w they regard in their discourse, viz. that they should be of use to themselves and their heavers, or to themselves alone, if they are unable to be of use to their heart rs. For when the good things they deliver are heard to good purpose, they benefit both themselves and their hearers; but when they an turned to ridicule b\ tie hearer, doubtless th y were of

Job 91, to themselves, whom they made quil ol the sin of silence.

And bo let blessed Job, that he might Berve 1 * « • 1 1 » himself and iii.

his hearers, speak the words; Hear I pray you my tpeech, and practise repentance, lim that he may discharge himself of the obligation which he owes, even if he is unable to avail bis hearers, he adds, Stopfer we thai I tpeak, and after mil words, if it shall seem so, laugh. I observe that whereas be added, and practise repentance, be first premised, Hear, but when lie added the words, <u<<l after my words, ij it si, nil sn in bo, taught Mr premised, Suffer me that I may tpeaki for ' hearing' is of one who seta of free will, but 1 bearing' of one who acts against liis own inclination. And mi if his friends desire to be taught, let them ' hear,' but it they are ready to mock, let them ' Buffer1 the things that arc said; seeing that to a proud mind, instruction in humiliu is B grievous and onerous weight It goes on;

Ver. 4. As for me, is my (lisjmti- against tmm, that I should not be Justly sad f sxxvi. 12. Whosoever in pleasing (mil displeases man, has no grounds tor sadness. Ibit he, who in pleasing man displeases God, or thinks that be displeases both God and man together, if Badness docs not come upon him, proves a stranger to the excellency of wisdom. Now blessed Job believed that he had displeased God in the midst of his

Btrokes, and therefore he called hack his mind to sadness, in that lb1 was not to he disregarded, Whom he was afraid that he ha<l displeased. Now, if he had been pleading against man concerning the merits of his life, he would have had no occasion to feel sadness, but seeing that by his present strokes he was made doubtful of his past life, he justly sought lor sadness under the BCOUTge. I h nee tOO it is added;

Ver. -">. Mark me, and be astonished. xxxvii. 4:i. i. e. Consider what I have done, and be astonished at the things that I undergo under this infliction ol the rod. \nd he vet further rightly introduces the words;

Ami In// your finger upon your mouth.

\- if he had Bald in plain speech; ' Knowing the good things that I have done and seeing the ills that 1 am subject- d to, youi own selves keep even from offence in words, and in m\ Strokes dread your own hurt'-.' Or indeed n'i iog ilia!

by our fingers we distinguish things severally, discretion is not Boo« unfitly represented by the fingers; and hence it is said by the Psalmist, Blessed be the Lard my God, Which teacheih wiyP". ">. hands to war, and my fingers to fight; i. e. by the ' hands' denoting practice, and by the ' fingers,' discretion. And so the finger is laid to the month, when the tongue is bridled by discretion, that by what it utters, it may not fall into the sin of foolishness. And therefore he says, Lay your finger upon your mouth; i. e. 'join the virtue of discretion to your speech, that in those things which ye say right against the hypocrite, ye may sec to what persons they are proper to he said.' It goes on;

Ver. *>. Even niton I remember I ant afraid, and trembling taheth hold ofmyfiesh.

14. That blessed Job was not forgetful of his deeds, thexxxviii. last utterance of his lips proves. Wherefore this which he now says to his friends, Even when I remember I ion afraid, and trembling taketh hold ofmyfiesh, must clearly be said in mockery. As if it were in plain words; ' If I remember that I have had any thing of the hypocrite in me, directly I tremble in tears of penitence.' And ' if he remembered, his flesh was shaken with trembling1 he declares, i. e. that the weakness of practice was disheartened by the dread of vengeance. But as Zophar said many things about the sudden condemnation of the wicked man, whereby he snapped at the powerful estate of blessed Job, the holy man subjoins in answer to his words, saying,