Exposition of the Whole Bible

terror. Some ‘ read the words, ‘¢ my glory is turned into terrors,”’ inftead of being in the honour and glory, profperity and happinefs, he had been in, he was now poffeffed of terrors and diftreffes of various kinds: others render the words, 4e is turned againft me, as terrors, or into terrors, or with them‘; God cannot be turned or changed in his nature, in his will, counfel, purpofes, and decrees, nor in his love and affection to fis pepple; but he may turn in the outward difpenfations of his providence according to his unchangeable will, as from evil to good, Fonab iii. g. fo from doing good to evil, J/ Ixiii. 10. this is complained of by the church, Lam. iii. 3. and deprecated by Feremy, ch, xvii. 17. or there is 4 turn, terrors are upon me; there was a very vifible turn in Yod’s affairs in many refpects, in his health, fubftance, and family, and particularly in this; whilft he was in his office as a civil magiftrate, and in all the glory of it, he was a terror to evil-doers; and young men, when he appeared, hid themfelves for fear of him; but now thofe impudently rife up againft him, and are terrors to him: or there is an overthrow“, an overturning of things, as of his civil and temporal affairs, fo of his fpiritual ones; inftead of that peace, ferenity, and tranquillity of mind he had enjoyed; now nothing but terror and diftrefs of mind on account of his afflictions and troubles: shey purfue my foul as the wind; terrors one after another; they purfued him clofely, with great fwiftnefs, and with a force irrefiftible, like the wind; they purfued his foul, his life, and threatened the taking away of it: the word for foul is not the ufual word for it; it fignifies my principal one, as in the margin, as the foul is the principal part of man, the immortal breath of God, the inhabitant in the tenement of the body, the jewel in the cabinet, immaterial and immortal, and of more worth than the whole world; or my princely one, being of a princely original, is from God the Father of {pirits, of a noble extraét: Mr. Broughton renders it my nobility, having princely rule and government in the body; that ufing the members of the body as its inftruments; and snip it may be faid to have faith of intereft in it, and a lively and well-grounded hope of its being his, ch. xiii. 15,16. and xix. 25. but his temporal falvation, health, and happinefs, were gone fuddenly, fwiftly, utterly, entirely, totally, asa cloud diffolved into rain, or diffipated by the rays of the fun, or driven away with the wind, fo as to be feen no more; nor had he any hope of its being reftored to him i fome underftand this, as Sephorno, of the falvation with which he had faved others; but it was no more in the power of his hands, and the remembrance of it_ was gone from thofe who fhared in it; fee Hof. vi. 4. and xiii. 3. J/ xliv. 22.

¥.16. And now my foul is poured out upon tes &c.] Either in prayer to God for help and deliverance 3 or rather he was diffolved as it were in floods of tears, becaufe of his diftrefs and anguith; or his fpirits were funk, his ftrength and courage failed, and his heart melted, and was poured out like water; yea, his foul was pouring out unto death, and he was, as he apprehended, gear unto it; his body was fo weakened and broken by difeafes, that ic was like a veffel full of holes; out of which the liquor runs away apace; fo his life and foul were going away from him, his vital {pirits were almoft exhaufted: the days of affliction have taken hold upon me; afflictions feize on good men as well as others, and on them more than others; and there are certain times and feafons for them, appointed and ordered by the Lord; and there is a limited time, they are not to continue always, only for fome days, for a time, and but a little time, and then they will have an end; but till that time comes, there can be no deliverance from them 3 bé- ing fent they come, coming they feized on od, they Jaid hold on him, they caught him, as Mr. Broughton renders it, and held him falt, and would not let him go; nor could he get clear of them, ’uill God delivered him, who only can and does deliver out of them in his own time and way.

¥.17. My bones are pierced in me in the night- Jeafon, &c.| Such was the force of his difeafe, that it pierced and penetrated even into his bones, and the marrow of them; and fuch the pain that he endured in the mulcles and tendons aboutthem, and efpecially in the joints of them, that it was as if all his bones were piercing and breaking to pieces; he was in a like condition the fick man is defcribed in ch, xxxiii. 19. and as David and Hezekiah were, Pf. vi, 2. Df, xxxviii. 13. and what aggravated his cafe was, that this was in the night-feafon, when he fhould have got fome fleep and reft, but could not the free Spirit of God, P/ li. 12. where this word is ufed; but now terrors purfuing him, a fpirit of bondage unto fear was brought upon him: fome* confider it as an apoftrophe to God, thou purfueft my foul,O God, &c. but rather the meaning is, a diftrefs or affliction purfued it, or every one aboye terrors: and my welfare paffeth away as a cloud; or my falvation®; not fpiritual and eternal falvation, that was firm and ftable, being fixed by the unalterable decree of God, fecued in the covenant of grace, and engaged for to be wrought out by his living Redeemer, and of which he had an application by the Spirit of God, and was poffefied of the bleffings of it; and though the joys and comforts of it, and views of intereftinit, may go off for a while, yet ob feems to have had a ftrong for his pain: fome render the words by fupplying them thus; God, or the difeafe, or the pain, pierced my bones in the night-feafon; or the might pierced my bones from me; fo Mr. Broughton, but rather they may be rendered, and the fenfe be, “* in of the |the night-feafon every one of my bones pierce the fiefo that is upon me:” his flefh was almoft wafted and confumed, through the boils and ulcers on him, and he was reduced to a mere fkeleton; and when he laid himfelf down on his bed, thefe pierced through his fkin, and ftuck out, and gave him exquifite pain: and my finews take no ret; being contraéted; or his nerves, as the word in the Arabic language fignifies, as is obferved by dben Ezra, archi, Done, and others; which were loofened and the animal fpirits were funk, andhe fo low and fuch rule, when graceas:implanted in it, as a ruling governing principle; and the Targum is, my principality or government: it may be rendered, my free”, liberal, ingenuous, and munificent one: Fob had fuch a generous and beneficent foul; but now all means of exercifing generofity, and liberality were cut off from him; and particularly, he had had a free ingenuous one, as he was actuated by

_ * So fome in Bar Tzemach in loc. y tminda by “DMM converfus eft contra mé, ficut terrores, Schmidt 3 difpirited, that he could get no reft: or the pulfa- _ tile veins and arteries, as Ben Gerfom and Elias Levita*, in which the pulfe beats, and which beats with lefs ftrength when perfons are afleep, than when awake; but fuch was the force of ¥od’s difeafe, that it beat even in the night, when on his bed, fo ftrongly, that he could take no reft for it; the pulfe beats, as phyficians fay®, fixty times in a minute, and double the number in a burning fever, and which might be od’s cafe. Some take the word in the fenfe of fleeing or gnawing‘, as it! is ufed y. 3. and interpret it either of his enemies,’ who purfued after him, and had no reft in their beds, but went out in the night to enquire and) hear what they could learn concerning him and his illnefs, whether it was become ereater*; or who. devoured him by their calumnies and detractions, and could not fleep unlefs they did mifchief to him;

fee Prov. iv. 16, 17. or of the worms with which his body was covered, and which were continually gnawing, never refted,nor fuffered him to take any reft; the Targum is, they that gnafh at me, reft not.

y. 18. By the great force of my difeafe is my garment changed, &c.] Either the colour of it, thro’ the purulent matter from his ulcers, running down upon it, or penetrating through it; or by reafon of it he was obliged to fhift himfelf, and to have change of raiment very frequently; or the fupplement of my difeafe may be lett out, and the fenfe be; with great force, through main ftrength, and with much difficulty, his garment was changed, was got off from him, fticking fo clofe to him, and another put on: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat; his difeafe encompafled him about on all fides as the collar or edge of his coat encompafied his neck, and cleaved as clofe, and was as tight unto him as that, and threatened him perhaps with a fuffocation or ftrangling; fee ch. vii. 15. the allufion is to garments ufed in the eaftern countries, which were ‘only open at top and bottom; at the top there was a hole to put the head. through when put on, and a binding about it, and a button to it, or fome fuch thing, which kept it tight about the neck; fee Exod. xxviii. 32.

y.19. He hath caft me into the mire, &c.] As Seremiah was literally; here it is to be underftood in a figurative fenfe; not of the mire of fin, into which God cafts none, men fall.into it of themfelves, but of the mire of affliction and calamity; fee Pf. xl. 2. and Ixix. 2. and which Yod here afcribes to God; and whereby he was in as mean, abject, and contemptible a condition, as if he had been thrown into a kennel, and rolled in it; and he fpeaks of it as an act of God, done with contempt of him, and indignation at him, as he apprehended it. Some Fewi/h writers ° interpret it, be taught me in the mire, or it taught mes his difeafe, his ulcers, taught him to fit down in the mire, or in the midft of afhes, ch. ii. 8. but though this reading might admit of a good fenfe, as that Fob was taught, as every good man is, many ufeful. leffons in and by afflictions; yet itfeems to be a fenfe foreign from the words: and Lam become like duft and afbes; a phrafe by which Abraham exprefies his vilenefs, meannefs, and unworthinefs in the fight of God, Gen. xviii, 27.: Fob through the force of his difeafe. looked like a corps, or one half dead, and was) crumbling and dropping into the duft of

Jarchi & Bar Tzemach in loc,

Ch. xxx. ¥.18—24, oe Tye death and the grave, and looked livid and = i loured; and even in a literal fenfe was coverd with duft and afhes, when he fat among them, ch, ii. 8. though here it chiefly refpects the miferable, — forlorn, and contemptible condition in whielt he was. y. 20. I cry unto thee, and thou doft not bear me, &c.] Which added ‘greatly to his affliétion, that though he cried to the Lord for help and deliverance, yet he turned a deaf ear to him; and tho’ he heard him, as undoubtedly he did, he did not anfwer him immediately; at leaft not in the'way in which he defired and expected he would erying is expreffive of prayer, and fuppofes diftrefs, and denotes vehemence of {pirit: J frand up in prayer, ftanding being a prayer-gefture, as many. obferve from er. xv. 1. fee the nore on Mash, vi. 5. or he perfifted in it, he continued praying, was inceffant in it, and yet could obtain no anfwer; or this fignifies filence, as fome ‘ interpret its he cried, and then ceafed, waiting for an anfwer; but whether he prayed, or whether he was filent, it-was the fame thing: and thou regardeft me not; the word not is not in this claufe, but is repeated from the preceding, as it is by Ben Gerjom and others; but fome read it without it, and give the fenfe either thus, thou confidereft me whether it is fit to receive my prayer or no, fo Sephorno 5 or to renew my ftrokes, to add new afflictions to me, as archi and Bar Tzemach; or thou lookeft upon me as one pleafed with the fight of me infucha miferable condition, fo far from helping me; wherefore it follows,’ i wee v.21. Thou art become cruel, to me, &e.} Or turned, or changed *, to be cruel tome. Fob fuggefts that God had been kind and gracious to him, both in a way of providence, and in fhewing {pecial love and favour to him, in a very diftinguifh» ing manner; but now he: intimates his affections were changed and altered, and thefe were alienated from him, and his love was turned into an hatred of him; thisis one of the unbecoming expreffions. whith dropped from his lips. concerning Ged;. for the love of God to his people is never changed; it. remains invariable and unalterable,’ in all difpenfations, in every ftate and cmon into which they come; there may be fome of God’s difpenfations towards them, which may have the appearance of feverity in them; and he/may make ufe of inftruments to chaftife them, which may ufethem cruelly; but even then his bowels yearn towards them, and being full of compaffion delivers out of their hands, and faves them, Yer. xxx..14) and xxxi. 20. LHof. xi. 8,9. with thy firong hand thou oppofeft thyfelf againft me; God has a {trong hand and arm and nonelike him, and fometimes he puts forth the. ftrength of it, and exerts his mighty power in afflicting his people, and his hand preffes them fore, and they can fcarcely.ftand up under it's and then it becomes them to humble themfelves under th mighty hand of God;:and patiently bearit; an fometimes they take him to be their adverfary. enemy unto them, and filled. with hatred of then indignation againft them, fetting himfelf with his might and main to ruin and deftroy them 3 and this is a fad cafe indeed, to have fuch apprehenfion of God, though unjuft ones; for, asvif God be us, who fhall be againftus? fo if againft us, it fignifies little whois for-us; for there isno. con. tending with him, ch. ix. 3, 4.;

¥.22. Thou liftef me up to the wind, &c.] Of pointed for all men living, fince all muft die; and affiction and adverfity, to be carried up with it, and tofled about by it, as chaff or ftubble, or a dry-leaf, being no more able to ftand up againft _ it, than fuch things are to oppofe the wind; though fome interpret this of God’s lifting him up in his ftate of profperity, in which he was very vifible and confpicuous to all, and enjoyed much light and comfort; but then he raifed him to fuch an eftate, with a view to caft him down, and that his fall and ruin might be the greater; and fo this is obferved as a proof of his being become cruel to him: thou cau/eft me to ride wpon it; feemingly in great pomp and ftate, but in great uncertainty and danger, being at beft in a flippery place, in very fickle circumftances, as the event fhewed; or rather the fenfe is, that he was fwiftly carried into deftruétion, as if he rode on the wings of the wind to it, and was hurried thither at once, as foon as he was taken up with the tempeft of adverfity: and diffolveft my fubftance; his outward fubftance, his all that die have a houfe or grave, though that is fometimes awatry, and not an earthy one; however the duft of every body has a receptacle provided for it, where it is referved until the time of the refurreétion, and then it is brought forth, Rev. xx. 13. and this is by divine appointment; the ward ufed fignifies both an appointed time and place, and is often ufed of the Fewifd folemnities, which were fixed with refpect to both; and alfo of the people or congregation that attended them; the grave is the general rendezvous of mankind, and both the time when and the place where the dead are gathered and brought unto it, are fixed by the determinate will and counfel of God.

¥.24. Howbeit he will not firetch out bis hand to the grave, 8c.) Or, verily*, truly he will not, &c. I am well affured he never will, meaning either he never would ftretch out his hand to fhut upthe grave; or rather keep it fhut, and prevent Job from going down into it; or to open it, and wealth and riches, his family, and the health of fetch him out of it when in it: God is indeed able his body, all which as it were melted away, or were carried away as with a flood; and fo as the metataphor of a tempeftuous wind is ufed in the former claufe, here that of an overflowing flood, which removed from him what feemed to be the moft folid and fubftantial: the word is fometimes ufed for wifdom, and even found wifdom, Prov. ii. 7. Mic. vi. g. wherefore fome have interpreted it of his being at his wit’s end, of lofing his reafon and underftanding, and which were at leaft difturbed and confounded by his afflictions; but his difcourfes and fpeeches fhew the contrary, and he himfelf denies that wifdom was driven from him, ch. vi.

ty: 23. For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, &c.} Quickly and by the prefent affliction upon him; he was affured, as he thought, that this was the view and defign of God in this providence, under which he was to bring him to death and the grave 5 thathe would never take off his hand till he had brought him to the duft of death, to that lifelefs duft from whence he had-his original; otherwife, that he would-be brought thither fooner or later, was no great mafter-piece of knowledge; every man knows this will be the cafe with him as with all; death is become neceffary by fin, which brought it into the world, and the fentence of it on all men in it, and by the decree and appointment of God, by which it is fixed and fettled, that all fhould die; and this is confirmed by all experience in all ages, a very few excepted, only two to do either of thefé, and has done it; fometimes when perfons are brought as it were to the gates of death and the grave, he fays to them return; yea, when they are brought to the duft of death, he prevents them going into the grave, by reftoring them to life before carried thither, as the Shunamite’s fon, Fairus’s daughter, and the widow’s fon of Naim, even when he was carrying to his grave; fome have been laid in the grave, and God has ftretched out his hand, and raifed them up again; as the man that was laid in Elj/ba’s grave, and Lazarus after he had lain in the grave fome days; but fuch things are not ulually done; in common when a man dies, and is laid in the grave, he rifes not again, till the heavens be no more; and this Fob was perfuaded would be his cafe: though they cry in bis deftruétion, that is, though the friends and relations of the fick perfon, or the poor that he has been kind and bountiful unto, fhould cry unto God, whilft he is deftroying him by the difeales upon him, and which threaten him with deftruéction, that he would fpare his ufeful and valuable life; yet he is inexorable, and will not hear, but go on with what he intends to do, and takes him off by death, and lays him in the grave, the pit of de- {truction, fo called becaufe it waftes and confumes bodies laid in it; and when once laid there, all cries for a reftoration to life again are vain and fruitlefs, Some take thefe words as expreffed in a way of folace, as if Fod comforted himfelf with this thought under his prefent afflictions, that when once he was perfons, Enoch and Elijah: fometimes the death of brought to death and the grave, there would be perfons is made known to them by divine revelation, asto Aaron and Mo/es; and fometimes it may be gathered to be nigh from the fymptoms of it on the body; from growing difeafes, and the infirmities of old age; but od concluded it from the manner of God’s dealing with him, as he thought in wrath and indignation, determining to make an an end of all his forrow; the hand of the Lord that was now ftretched out on him in a terrible way, would be no longer ftretched out on him; he would then ceafe to'affiict him, and he fhould be where the weary are at reft;.and fo the laft claufe is read with anintertogation, is there any cry, or do any cry, in his deftruétion*? no, when death has done its of- utter end of him: and to the houfe appointed for all fice, and the body’ is laid in the grave, there is no living; the grave, which is the houle for the body more pain nor forrow, nor crying; all tears are when dead to be brought unto and lodged in; as the wiped away, and there is no more fenfe of afflic-

houfe not made with hands, eternal in the heavens,

tions and fufferings; they are all atan end. Mr.

is forthe foul in its fepatate ftate, until the tion-morn; which houfe or grave is man’s long home, Zecl. xii. 5. and this is prepared and ap- 3 SN verum, Mercerus; profeéto, Drufius, refurrec-| Broughton renders thefe words as to the fenfe the fame, and as in connexion with the following ones, and prayed I not when plague was fent? when Bolducius; fane, Tigurine verfion.

aut clamant aliqui poft obitum fuum? Tigurine verfion; fi in contritione ejus eis clamor? Montanus, Bolducius.

Others *.. ¥.25. Did not I weep for him that was in trouble 2? &c.] In outward trouble, whether perfonal in his own body, or in his family, or in his worldly affairs, or from wicked men, the men of the world; or in inward trouble, in foul-trouble, on account of in-dwelling fin, the breakings forth of it, the lownefs of grace, as to exercife, the hidings of God’s face, and the temptations of Satan: or for him that is bard of day’; with whom times are hard, the days are evil, with refpect either to things temporal or fpiritual; now ‘fod had a fympathizing heart with fuch perfons; he wept with them that wept; his bowels yearned towards them; he felt their fufferings and their forrows, which is a Godlike frame of foul; for God, in all the afflictions of his people is afflicted; a difpofition of mind like that of the living Redeemer, who cannot but be touched. with the feeling of the infirmities of faints, having been in all points tempted as they; and is a fruit of the Spirit of God, and very becoming the relation the faints ftand in to one another, being members of the fame body, and of each other; and therefore, when one member {fuffers, all the reft fhould fympathize with it, and being brethren, fhould be loving, pitiful, and courteous toeach other; and fhould confider that they alfo are in the body, and liable to the fame diftreffes, whether outward or inward: was not my foul grieved for the poor? in general, and efpecially for the Lord’s poor, for fuch in all ages have been chofen and called by him; for thefe Yod was grieved at heart, when he faw their diftrefs through poverty; and he not only expreffed his concern for them by tears and words, but by diftributing liberally to their neceffities ch, xxxi. 17—20. and by which he fhewed his grief was real, hearty, and fincere, as here exprefied; his foul was grieved, and he was forry at his very heart for them: fome render the words, was not my foul like a pool of wazer™? not only his head and his eyes, as Feremiah’s on another account, but his foul melted, and flowed like water with grief for them; and others, as Mr. Broughton, did not my foul burn for the poor? with forrow for them, and an ardent defire to relieve them; fee 2 Cor. xi. 20. now this was the frame of ¥os’s mind in the time of his profperity, very different from that in Amos vi. 4, 5, 6. and was certain and well known; he could appeal to all that knew him for the truth of it, it being what none could deny that had any knowledge of him, yea, he could appeal to an omnifcient God, he was now {peaking to for the truth of it; nay, it is delivered in the form of an oath, if J did not weep, &c™. asin ch. xxxi. 16—22, y. 26. When I looked for good, &c.] As he thought he might reafonably expect it, fince he had fhewn fuch a fympathizing {pirit to perfons in trouble, and fuch pity and mercy to the poor: in the time of his profperity, he looked for a continuance of the good things he enjoyed, and expected to have had them for many years to come, and to have died in the poffeffion of them, ch. xxix. 18.

affairs, and he fhould again receive good rie hands; and he had been looking for it, as good me have reafon to expectit; fince God is good and does good, and efpecially to his own people, and has laid up goodnefs for them that fear him, and fuch an one 70d was; and has promifed good things unto them, both temporal and {fpiritaal; for godlinefs and godly men have the promife of this life, and of that which is to come; but ob was difappointed in his expectation; for, fays he, shen evil came unto me,the evil of affliction, one upon the back of another, even when in the height of his profperity; and fince repeated evil, new afflictions came upon him by the appointment, order, and direétion of God: and when I waited for light; for the light of outward profperity, fuch as he had formerly enjoyed; and for the light of God’s countenance, which he moft earneftly fought after, and longed for, and was in a waiting pofture for it, as good men have reafon to be; fince light is fown for them in the purpofes and decrees of God, in his counfel and covenant, in his gofpel, and the promifes of it; and therefore fhould wait for the {pringing of it up, as the hufbandman does for the {pringing up of the corn fown in the earth, and lying under the clods; and feeing that to the upright there arifes light in darknefs; and though God hides his face from them for a moment, he will have mercy on them, and therefore fhould wait his time to be gracious to them; but %ob had waited long, and, as he thought, to no purpofe: for there came darknefs; the darknefs of adverfity, ftill thicker and darker, and no appearance of {piritual light and favour, or any difcoveries of the love of God to him, or enjoyment of his prefence; fee Yer. viii. 15. Jf lix. 9.

y. 27. My bowels boiled, and refted not, &c.] All contained within him, his heart, lungs, and liver, in a literal fenfe, through a violent fever burning within him; or figuratively, being under great diftrefs and trouble, by reafon of his afflictions, outward and inward, fee Fer. iv. 19. Lam. i. 20. the days of affliction prevented me; came fooner upon him than he thought; he did not expect the evil days to come, and the years draw nigh in which he fhould have no pleafure, until he was more advanced in years, and the time of his diffolution was at hand; they came at once, and unawares upon him, when he looked not for them: fome render the word met me°, unexpectedly; or rather, they ru/bed upon me *, in an hoftile way; came in troops, and invaded and furrounded him, fee ch. ah ee ce.

¥..28. I went mourning without the fun, &c.} So overwhelmed with grief, that he refufed to have any comfort from, or any advantage by the fun 5 hence Mr. Broughton renders it, out of the fun; he did not chufe to walk in the fun-fhine, but’ out of it, to indulge his grief and forrow the more; or he went in black attire, and, wrapped and covered himfelf with it, that he might not fee the fun, or receive any relief by it: or J go black, but not by the fun*; his face and his fkin were black, but not 7 through the fun looking upon him and difcolouring and even in his adverfity, though he had received evil things at the hand of God, which he took patiently; yet at firft he did not think they would always continue, but that there would be a turn of him, as in Cazt. i. 6. but through the force of his difeafe, which had. changed his complexion, and made him as black as a Kedarene, or thofe that dwell in the tents of Kedar, Gant. i. anaes

Ch. xxxi. yr.: yea O° Ba he alfo walked without the fun of righteoufnef arifing on him, with healing in his wings, which was worft of all: I food up, and 1 cried in the congregation either in the congregation of the faints met together for religious worfhip, where he cried unto God forvhelp and deliverance, and for the light of his countenance, ver. 20. or fuch was the extreme anguifh of his foul, that when a multitude of people got about him to fee him in his diftreffed condition, he could not contain himfelf, but burft out before them in crying and tears, he knew it was unbecoming a man of his age and character; or he could not content himfelf to ftay within doors and foothe his grief, but muft go abroad and in public, and there expreffed with ftrong dones are burnt with beat, with the heat of a burning fever; which not only made his inwards boil, but reached to his bones, and dried up the marrow’. tho’jof them. Galen fays* that bones may become fo dry as to be crumbled into fand: the Syriac verfion is ‘* my bones are burnt as his who is in a hot wind;” fuch as were common in the eaftern countries, which killed men at once, and they became cries and tears, his miferable condition. as black as a coal’®.

y¥.29. I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.| Or oftriches, as the Targum, Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic verfions; either he was obliged to dwell with fuch perfons as were comparable to thefe creatures, for their vouring words, hiffing noife, and venemous fpeeches, or for want of compaffion, and for their cruelty, as David is faid to be among lions, P/ Ivii. 4. or alfo, he was like unto them, being folicary and alone, all his friends and acquaintance ftanding at a diftance from him, as thefe creatures love lonefome and defolate places; or becaufe of the wailing and howling noife they make, to which; his mournful notes bore fome refemblance, fee Mic. i, 8. and the note there; or becaufe when thefe creatures cry and howl, and make a noife, no mercy is fhewn them, none pities or regards them; and fo it was with him; though he ftood and cried in ever fo public a manner, none had any compafyt. 31.-My harp alfo is turned to mourning, &c.] Which he ufed, as David, either in religious worthip, exprefling praife to God thereby, or for his recreation in an innocent way; but now it was laid de-Jafide, and inftead of it, nothing was heard from him, or in his houfe, but the voice of mourning: and my organ into the voice of them that weep; another inftrument of mufic, which had its name from the pleafantnefs of its found, and was of early ufe, being firft invented by Zubal, Gen. iv. 21. but not that we now fo call, which is of late invention: thofe inftruments which od might have and ufe, both in a civil and in a religious way, were now, through afflictions, become ufelefs to him, and neglected by him; or thefe expreffions in general ’ may fignify, that inftead of mirth and joy he was wont to have, there were nothing now to be heard but lamentation and woe; fee Lam. v.15. Amos viii. ro.

¥.30. My fhin is black upon me, &c.|' Either through deep melancholy, as may be obferved in perfons of fuch a difpofition through grief and trouble; or rather through the force of his-difeafe, the burning ulcers, and black feabs with which he was covered, as the Yews were through famine, in their captivity, Lam. iv. 8. &v. 10. and my

N this chapter Hod gives an account of himfelf in private life, of the integrity and uprightnefs of his life, and his holy walk and converfation, with this view, that it might be thought, that the afflictions which were upon him, were not on account of a vicious courfe of life he had indulged unto, as was fuggefted; and he clears himfelf from various crimes which it might be infinuated he was guilty of, as from unchaftity;

¥. 33. and fear of men, y¥. 34. and then withes his caufe might be heard before God, ver. 35, 36, 37, and the chapter is clofed with an imprecation on his head if guilty of any injuftice, ver. 38, 39, 40. there have been inftances, both in bad meti and good men, Gen. xxxiv. 2. 2 Sam. xi. 2. fo the poet * reprefents the eye as the way through which the beauty of a woman pafies {wifter than an arrow jinto the hearts of men, and makes impreffions there; fee, 2 Pet, ii. r4. hence Zaleucus ordered adulterers to be punifhed, by plucking out the eyes of the adulterer"; wherefore ‘fob, to prevent this, and he obferves thejentered into.a folemn engagement with himfelf, laid himfelf under a {trong obligation, as 4f he.had bound himfelf by a covenant, made a refolution in the flrength of divine grace, not to employ his from illleyes in looking on objects that might infnare his heart, and lead him to the commiffion of fin; he made ufe of all ways and means, and took every precaution to guard againft it; and particularly to fhut or turn his eyes from beholding what might be alluring and enticing to him: itis faid * of Democritus, that he put out his eyes becaufe he could not look upon a woman without lufting after her: why then fhould I think upon a maid? of corrupting and defiling her, fince he had made a covenant with his eyes, and this would be a breach of that covenant: and therefore, befides the fin of lufting after her, or of corrupting her, he would be a method he took to prevent his falling into it, and the reafons that diffuaded him from it, ver. 1—4. from injuftice in his dealings with men, ver. 5—8. from the fin of adultery, ver. g—12.

ufage of his fervants, ver. 13, 14, 15. from unkindnefS.to the poor, which he enlarges upon, and gives many inftances of his charity to them, ver: 16—23. from covetoufnefs, and a vain confidencejthis, in wealth, ver. 24 25. from idolatry, the worfhip of the fun and moon, ver. 26, 27, 28. from a revengeful fpirit, ver. 29, 30, 31. and from inho- Apitality to ftrangers, y. 32. from covering his fin, covenant-breaker, and fo his fin would be an agera-

¥.1. I made a covenant with mine eyes, &c.] Not to look upon a woman, and wantonly gaze at her beauty, left his heart fhould be drawn thereby to luft after her; for the eyes are inlets to many fins, and particularly to uncleannefs, of which vated one: or he made a covenant with his eyes, to prevent any impure thoughts, defires, and inclinations in him, for the eye affects the heart, and |ftirs up luft in it, and excites unclean thoughts and unchafte defires: this fhews, that the thought

412 PO of fin is fin; that fornication was reckoned a fin before the law of Mo/es; and that fod better underftood the fpirituality of the law than the pharifees did in the time of Cdriff, and had the fame notion of luft in the heart being fornication and adultery ashe had; and-that good men are not without temptation to fin, both from within and from without; and therefore fhould carefully fhun all appearances of evil, and whatfoever leads unto it, and take every neceflary precaution to guard againft it.

¥.2. For what portion of God is there from aove? &cc.] What good portion, as the Targum parapbrafes it, can impure perfons expect from God? fuch who indulge themfelves, and live in the fin of uncleannefs, cannot hope to have any part in God, or a portion of good things from him;

he is above, and in the higheft heavens, and every good thing comes from thence, and from him there; and particularly the fpiritual bleflings, wherewith he bleffes his people, are in heavenly places in Chri, and from thence ‘come to them; and here a fpecial refpeét may be had to God himfelf, who is the portion of his people, both in life and at death, and to all eternity; but men that live a vicious courfe of life, cannot conclude they banifhment from the prefence of God and Chrift, and from the fociety of the faints to all eternity; fee Matt. xxv, 44. 2 Theff i. g. Luke xvi. 26,

¥. 4. Doth not be fee my ways, ayd count all my teps?] That is God, who is above, and the Almighty that dwells on high; he looks down from heaven, and beholds all the ways, and works, the fteps and motions of the children of men; there is no darknefs where the workers of iniquity can hide themfelves; the fornicator and adulterer chufe the night-feafon for the commiffion of their fin, fancying no eye fees them; but they cannot efcape the eye of God, who is omnifcient; he obferves the ways they walk in, the methods they take to compafs their defigns; he marks and counts every ftep taken by them, as he does indeed take notice of, and reckons up every action of men, good and bad; « and the confideration of this was another argument with ‘fod to avoid the fin of uncleannefs; for however privately he might commit it, fo as not to be feen by men, it could not be hidden from the allfeeing eye of God. Some take thefe words to be an obteftation, or appeal to God for the truth of what he had faid; that he made a covenant with his eyes, and took every precaution to prevent his falling into the fin of uncleannefs; and he whofe have any part in God and Céri/f, nor in the grace of God, and the bleffings of it, nor enjoy communion with him: and what in/eritance of the Almighty from on bigh 2 heaven is an inheritance which longs to the children of God, and he, as their venly Father, has bequeathed it unto them; this is from the Almighty God, God all-fufficient; has chofen this inheritance for them, and appointed them unto it; this is laid up by him, and referved in heaven for them; and he gives both a right unto it, and a meetnefs for it, and will put into the poffeffion of it: but then impure perfons, as fornicators and adulterers, have no inheritance in the kingdom of God and of Chrift, Eph. v. z. and this was a reafon with Fob, and what had an eyes were upon his ways, knew how holily and unblameably he had walked; or elfe, as if the fenfe was, that had he given into fuch an impure courfe be-jof life, he might expect the omnifeient God, that hea-jis above, and dwells on high, would bring upon him deftruction, and a ftrange punifhment, fince hejhe is theavenger of all fuch; others conneét the words with the following, doth he not fee my ways and fteps, whether I have walked with vanity, @e. or no? nist ed them) y. 5. If Ihave walked with vanity, &c.] Or | with vain men, as Bar Tzemach interprets it, keeping company, and having fellowfhip with them in their vain and finful practices; or in the vanity of his mind, indulging himfelf in impurity of heart influence on him, to be careful to avoid the fin of uncleannefs. Some underftand the words as a queftion concerning what would be the portion and heritage of a wicked man, a corrupter of virgins; the anfwer to which is given in the next verfe, deftrugtion and a ftrange punifhment; this is their portion from God, and the heritage appointed to them by him; fee ch. xx. 29.

y¥. 3. Is not deftruction to the wicked? &c.] It is even to fuch wicked men, who live in the fin of fornication, and make it their bufinefs to infnare and corrupt virgins; and which is another reafon why. Yo was careful to avoid that fin; wickednefs and life; or rather ufing deceitful methods to overreach and defraud others; for this feems to be another vice ‘fod clears himfelf of, acting unjuftly in his dealings with men, or dealing falfly with them: if my foot hath hafted to deceit, to cheat men in buy-

|ing and felling, being ready and fwift to do it, and in hafte to become rich, which puts men oftentimes on evil ways and methods to attain it; fee Prov, XXVI. 20.:

¥. 6. Let me be weighed in an even balance, &c.] Or in balances of righteoufnefs*, even in the balance of ftrict juftice, the juftice of God; he was fo confcious to himfelf that he had done no injuttice of every fort is. the caufe of deftruction, deftruction and mifery are in the ways of wicked men, and their wicked ways lead unto it, and iffue in it, even deftruétion of foul and body in hell, which is fwift and fudden, and will be everlafting: this is laid up for wicked men among the treafures of to any man in his dealings with them; that, if weight of righteoufnefs, which was to be, and iad the rule of his conduct.between man and man, was put into one fcale, and his actions into ancitiens the balance would be even, there would be nothing wanting, or however, that would require any fe-

God’s. wrath, and they are referved for- that, and there is no way of deliverance from it but by Chrif: and a firange punifhment to the, workers of iniquity; the iniquity of fornication and whoredom, Prov. xxx. 20. who make it their bufinefs to commit it, and live in a continued courfe of uncleannefs and other fins; a punifhment, -fomething ftrange, unufual, and uncommon, as the filthy venereal difeafe in this world, and everlafting burnings in another; or alienation’, a {tate of eftrangement and vere cenfure: that God may know mine integrity; God did know his integrity, and bore a teftimony to it, and to his retaining it, ch. ii. 3. but his meaning is, that fhould God ftri¢tly enquire into his life and conduct with refpect to his dealings with men; as it would appear that he had lived in all good confcience to that day, fo lie doubted not but he would find his integrity fuch, that he would own and acknowledge it, approve of it, and commend it, and make it known to his friends and others,

Ch. xxxi. ¥. 7—9; F whereby he would be cleared of all thofe calumnies that were caft upon him. Some connect thefe words with the following, reading them affirmatively, God knows mine integrity; he knows that my ftep has not turned out of the way of truth and righteoufnefs; that my heart has not walked after mine eye, in luftful thoughts and defires; and that there is no fpoil, nor rapine, nor violence in my hand, that I fhould deferve fuch a punifhment as to fow, and another eat: thus Sepborno.

¥. 7. If my ftep bath turned out of the way, &c.] The way of God, the way of his commandments, the good and right way, the way of truth and righteoufnefs, fo far as Fob had knowledge of it; for, befides the law and light of nature the Gentiles had in common, good men had fome revelation, and notions of the mind and will of God unto them, both before and after the flood, previous to the Mojaic difpenfation,; which in fome meafure directed them what way to walk in, with refpect to worfhip and duty; and from this way ob {werved not; not that he walked fo perfeétly in it as to be free from fin, and never commit any; or, that he never took a ftep out of the way, or ftepped awry; but he did not knowingly, wittingly, and purpolely turn out of the way; and when, through infirmity of the flefh, the temptations of Sataz, and {nares of the world, be was drawn afide, he did not obftinately and finally perfift therein; though this may have refpect not to fin in general, but to the particular fin he is clearing himfelf from, namely, dealing falfly and deceitfully with men, in whatfoever he had to do with them, in matters of meum and tuum; or with regard to the rules of juftice and equity between man and man, he was not confcious to himfelf he had departed from them; a like expreffion to thofe in P/ vii. 3, 4, 5. and xliv. 18.

where fome particular fin is referred unto: and mine heart walked after mine eyes; meaning not in the luft of uncleannefs, of which he had fpoken before, as fuch do whofe eyes are full of adultery; but in the fin of covetoufnefs, fo Achan’s heart walked after his eyes; and this is one of the three things the world is full of, and the men of it indulge themfelves in, the luft of the eyes, 1 Fobu ii. 16. the fenfe is, that when he faw the riches and wealth of others, he did not covet them, nor take any illicit methods to get them out of their hands; or, when he faw the goods they were poffeffed of, and had with them to difpofe of, he did not take the advantage of their ignorance, or ufe any evil ways and means to cheat and cozen them of them: it is pleafing to the flefh for the heart to walk after the eye, or to indulge to that which it is taken with; but it is very vain and foolifh, as well as very dangerous fo to do, Eccl. ii. 10. and xi. g. a good man chufes a better puide than his eyes; even to be a follower of God, to tread in the fteps of his living Redeemer, to walk not after the flefh, but after the fpirit, and according to the law and will of God: and if any blot cleaved to my hands, any {pot, ftain, or blemifh, as all fin is of a defiling nature, particularly the hands may be blotted by fhedding innocent blood, by taking bribes to pervert judgment; which the Septuagint verfion direéts to here; and by getting, holding, and retaining mammon of unright- Sumnel, or ill-gotten goods; which is what is chiefly if not folely intended here; for it may be rendered, if any thing bath cleaved, &c. fo Aben Ezra and Ben Gerfom; for the word fignifies both a d ot and any thing, atid the Targum takes in both fenfes; the meaning feems to be, that there was not any thing of another man’s in his hands, which he had taken from him by force and violence, or had obtained by any deceitful methods, and which he held faft, and it ftuck with him as pitch to the hands, and he did not care to part with it, of reftore it, whereby his hands were defiled; otherwife ob had no fuch opinion of the cleannefs of his hands and actions, as if he thought there was no fpot of fin ia them, or only fuch as he could wath out himfelf; he clearly {peaks the contrary; ch. ix. 30, 31. which is the fenfe of every good man, who, confcious of his fpots and blemifhes, wafhes his hands, his actions, his converfation-garments, and makes them white in the blood of the lamb; and fuch and fuch only have clean hands.:

y.8. Then let me fow, and another eat, &c.] If what he had before faid was not true; but he had turned out of the way of righteoufnefs, and walked after the fight of his eyes, and the mammon of unrighteoufnels cleaved to his hands; then he wifhes he might fow his fields and another enjoy the increafe of them, which is one of God’s judgments threatened unto the wicked and difobedient, Lev. xxvi. 16. Deut. xxviii. 33. let my offspring be rooted out, but Yod had no offspring or children at this time to be rooted out or deftroyed; they were all deftroyed already; fome think therefore that this imprecation was made by him in the time of his profperity, though here repeated as it was then, he made a covenant with his eyes; but then this might have been improved againft him and retorted on him, that fo it was according to his wifh; and therefore he muft have been guilty of the fin he would have purged himfelf from; others fuppofe that he refers to futurity, and to the offspring he hoped to have hereafter, and when he fhould have them, wifhes they may be rooted out, if he had done what he denies he had; but it does not appear that Yod had any hope at all of being reftored to his former ftate of profperity, and of being poffefled of a family and fubftance again, but the reverfe. Gufetius* will have it, that he means his grandchildren; thofe indeed are fometimes called a man’s children, and may with propriety be faid to be his offspring, they fpringing from him; and itis poffible, that, as his fons were fettled from him, they were married and had children; but this is not certain, or, if they had any, that thefe were not deftroyed with them; wherefore it is beft to take the word ° in its firft and literal fenfe, for what fprings out of the earth, herbs, plants, and trees, as in J/- xlii. 5. fo Ben Gerfom and Bar Tzemach, and which beft agrees with the phrafe of being rooted out, and with what goes before; that as he had wifhed, that which was fown in his fields might be eat up by another, fo what was planted and grew up in his gardens, orchards, vineyards, and olive-yards, and the like, might be quite rooted out and deftroyed; if he was not the man he declared himfelf to be, or had wronged any of their goods and property, then this would have been a juft retaliation of him.

¥. 9. If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, &c.| By another man’s wife, by wantonly looking at her beauty, and fo lufting after her; and fo, not through any blame or fault of her’s, or by any artful methods made ufe of by her, to allure and infhare; fuch as were practifed by the har- lot, Prov, vii. but by neither was the heart of Fob deceived, and drawn into the fin of uncleannefs; for he had made a covenant with his eyes, as not to look at a virgin, fo much lef$ at another man’s wife, to prevent his lufting after her; and whatever temptations and folicitations he might have been attend- éd with, through the grace of God, as Fo/eph was, he was enabled to withitand them; though as wile a man, and the wifeft of men, had his heart deceived and drawn afide thereby, Ecc/. vii. 26. or, if I have laid wait at my neighbour's door; to mect with his wife there, and carry on an intrigue with her; or to take the opportunity of going in when opened, in order to folicit her to his embraces, knowing her hufband to be from home; fee Prov. v. 8. and vii. 8. 19.

¥.10. Then /et my wife grind unto another, &c.] Which fome underftand literally, of her being put to the worft of drudgery and flavery, to work ata mill, and grind corn for the fervice of a ftranger, and be expofed to the company of the meaneft of perfons, and to their infults and abufes; as we find fuch as were taken captives and made prifoners by an enemy were put unto, as Sam/on, Fudg. xvi. 22. and it may be obferved, that to grind in a mill, was alfo the work of women, Exod. xi. 5. Matt. xxiv. 41. as it was in early times; Homer ° {peaks of it as in times before him; but others take the words in a figurative fenfe, as if he imprecated that fhe lie with another man, and be defiled by him, as the Targum, Aben Ezra, and others‘; fee /f xlvii. 1, 2. and in like manner the following claufe: and let others bow down upon her; both which phrafes are euphemifms, or clean and decent expreffions, fignifying what otherwife is not to be named; the fcriptures hereby directing, as to avoid unchafte thoughts, inclinations, and defires, and impure actions, fo obfcene words and filthy talking, as becometh faints: but there is fome ditficulty in ¥od’s imprecating or wifhing fuch a thing might befal his wife; it could not be lawful, if he had finned, to with his wife might fin alfo; or, if he was an adulterer, that fhe fhould be an adulterefs; the fenfe is not, that Yod really wifhed fuch a thing; but he ufes fuch a way of fpeaking, to fhow how remote he was from the fin of uncleannefs, there being nothing more difagreeable to a man than for his wife to defile his bed; it is the laft thing he would with for: and moreover, ‘fod fuggefts hereby, that had he been guilty of this fin, he mutt own and acknowledge that he would be righteoufly ferved, and it would be a juft retaliation upon him, fhould his wife ufe him, or fhe be ufed in fuch a manner; likewife, though aman may not with for, nor commit a fin for the punifhment pf another; yet God fometimes punifhes fin with fin, and even with the fame kind of fin, and with this; fo David’s fin with Bath/beba was punifhed with 4dfalom \ying with his wives and concubines before the fun, 2 Sam. xii. 11. fee Deut. xxviii. 30.

y. 11. For this is an beinous crime, &c.| Adultery; it is contrary to the light of nature, and is condemned by it as a great fin, Gen. xx. 9. and xxvi. 10. as well as contrary to the exprefs will and law of God, Exod. xx. 14. and, though all fin is a tranfgreffion of the law of God, and deferving of death; yet there are fome fins greater and more heinous than others, being attended with ageravating circumftances; and fuch is this fin, it is a breach of the marriage-contraét and covenant between man and wife; it is doing injury toa man’s property, and to that which is the neareft and deareft to him, and is what introduces confufion into — families, kingdoms, and ftates; and therefore it~

follows: yea, it is an iniquity to be punifhed by ©

the judges; who might take cognizance of it, examine into it, and pafs fentence for it, and execute it; and, if they neglect to do their duty, God; the judge of all the earth, will punifh for it in the world to come, unlefs repented of: for whoremongers and adulterers Géd will judge, Heb. xiii, 4. the punifhment of adultery was death by the law of God, and that by ftoning, as appears from Lev. xx. 10. Deut. xxii. 21. Fobn viii. 4, 5. and it is remarkable, that the heathens, who were ignorant of this law, enjoined the fame punifhment for it; fo Homer introduces Heéfor reproving Paris for this fin, and fuggefts to him, that if he had his deferved punifhment, he would have been clothed with a ffone coat, as he beautifully expreffes it; which Suidas * explains, by being overwhelmed with ftones, or ftoned; as Eujlathius ®. ' ¥.12. For it is a fire that confumeth to deftruetion, &c.] Referring eitherto the nature of the fin of uncleannefs; it is inflammatory, a burning luft, a fire burning in the breaft; fee 1 Cor. vii. g. or to the effect of it, either the rage of jealoufy in the injured perfon, which is exceeding fierce, furious, and cruel, lke devouring fire, not to be appeafed or mitigated, Prov. vi. 34, 35. Cant. viii. 6. or elfe it may refpect the punifhment of this fin in the times of od, and which we find was practifed among the Gentiles, as the Canaanites, Job’s neighbours, burning fuch delinguents with fire; fee Gen. xxxviii. 24. Fer. xxix. 22,23. OF rather, the wrath of God for it, which. is poured forth as fire, and burns to the loweft hell, and into which lake of fire all fuch impure perfons will be caft, unlefs the grace of God prevents; and which will be a fire that will confume and deftroy both foul and body, and fo be an utter and everlafting deftruction, Rev. xxi. 8. and would root out all my increafe; even in this world; adultery is a fin, that not only ruins a man’s character, fixes an indelible blot upon him, a reproach that fhall not be wiped off, and confumes a man’s body, and deftroys the health of it, but his fubftance alfo, the increafe of his fields, and of his fruits, and by means of it, a man is brought to a piece of bread, to beg it, and to be glad of it, Prov. vi, 26, 33. and vy. 10.; y.13. If I did defpife the caufe of my man-fervant, or of my maid-fervant, &c.] Whether it was a caufe that related to any controverfy or quarrel among themfelves when it was brought before him, he did not reject it, becaufe of the meannefs of the contending parties, and the ftate of fervitude they were in; but he received it and fearched into it, heard patiently what each had to fay, examined them thoroughly, entered into the merits of the caufe, and either reconciled them, or paffed a righteous. fentence, punifhed the clinguentaays protected the innocent; or, if it was a caufe relating to himfelf, any complaint of their work, or wages, or food, or clothing, as it feems to be fro what follows: when they contended with mesh any thing to complain of, or to object to him on the above account, or any other, where there was any fhew or colour of foundation for it; other- _ wife it cannot be thought he would indulge a faucy,: malapert, and contradicting behaviour in them wards him: matters in thofe times and countries had an unlimited, and exercifed a defpotic power ever their fervants, and ufed them with great rigour, and refufed to do them juftice upon complaints; but Fob behaved as if he had had thejina rules of the apoftle before him to aét by in his conduct towards his fervants, Eph. vi. 9. Col. iv. 1. and even condefcended to fubmit the caufe between him and his fervants to other judges or arbitrators; or rather took cognizance of it himfelf, heard patiently, and carefully what they had to alledge; and did them juttice...,.. |Qne God as we do:

¥.15. Did not he that made me in the womb make him? &c.| And her alfo, both his man-fervant and maid-fervant: thefe were made by the Lord as Yob was, and ina like place and manner as himfelf; though parents are the inftruments of begetting children, and of bringing them into the world, God is the maker of men, as at the beginning, and all are alike made by him, in whatfoever rank, condition, and circumftance of life, whether matters or fervants; and they are all fabricated in the fame fhop of nature, the womb of a woman: and did not one fafbion us in the womb? that is, he who is the One God, according to Ma/. ii. ro. God is one in nature and effence, though there are three perfons in the unity of the Godhead; and this One God, Father, Son, and Spirit, is the Creator of all men and things; hence we read of creators, Eccl. xii. 1. and, though one God makes the bodies and creates the fouls of men now as at the firft, and all are formed and fafhioned by him, high, low, rich and poor, bond and free; and they have all the fame rational powers and culties of foul, Pf xxxiil. 15. as well as the fame curious art and fkill are employed in forming and fafhioning their bodies and the members of them, inthe lower parts of the earth, in their mother’s womb; yea, they afe falhioned (in bné chomb5, ag the words will better bear to be rendered according to the pofition of them in the original and the accents; not indeed in the fame identical womb,. but like one: there are two words in the original here, both tranflated womb; the one fignifies the ovarium, in which the conception is made; the jother defigns the fecundine, in which the foetus is wrapped or covered; for fo it may be rendered; did be not cover us? &c *. though Farchi, Aben Lxjra; Ben Gerfom, and others, interpret it of the od’s reafoning is, that feeing he and his fervants were equally the workmanfhip of God, and both made in the womb by him, and curioufly fafhioned alike, and poffeffed of the fame rdtional powers, it would be unreafonable in him to ule them ill, who were his fellow-creatures + and fhould he, he might expect the Maker of them both would highly refent it, Macrobius', an heathen writer, gives a remarkable inftance of the care heaven; as he éxpreffes it; has of fervants; and how much the contempt of it is refented thereby; and reafons much in the fame manner con cerning them as ¥ob does here; that they are men, though fervants; are of the fame original, breathé jin the fame air, live and die as other men. |. y. 16. If I have withheld the poor from their des /re, &c.] Their reafonable defires, and which it was in his power to grant; as when they defired 4 piece of bread being hungry, or clothes to cover jthem being naked; but not unreafonable defires; feeking and afking great things for themfelves, or unlimited and unbounded ‘ones, furch as the two fons of Zebedee defired of Chiff, Mark x. 35. or bave canfed the eyes of the widow to fail, through long waiting for, and expecting help and fuccour from him, and at laft difappointed. ‘fod did not ufe the widow in fucha manner as to give her reafon to hope for relief or counfel from him the came for, and make her ‘wait long, and then fend her away empty, as he was charged, ch. xxii. g. but jhe foon difpatched her, by granting her what fhe fued to him for.

¥.14. What then fhall I do when God rifeth ap? &c.] That is, if he had defpifed and reje€ted the caufe of his fervants, or had neglected or refufed to do them juftice; he fignifies he fhould be at the utmoft lofs to know what to do, what excufe to make, or what to fay in his own defence, when God fhould rife up to defend the caufe of the injured; either in a way of providence in this life, or at the great day of judgment in the world to come, when every thing will be brought to account, and mafters and fervanis muft ftand alike before the judgment-feat of God, to receive for the things they have done, whether good or evil: and when be vifiteth, whai foall I anfwer him? when he makes a vifitation among men, either in this world, even in a fatherly way,vifits tranfgreffions,and reproves and corrects for them; had he been guilty of ill ufage of his fervants, he mutt have filently fubmitted to fuch vifitations and chaftifements, having nothing to fay for himfelf, why he fhould not be thus dealt with; or in the world to come, in the great day of vifitation, when God fhall make inquifition for fin, and feek it out, and call to an account for it; and fhould this be produced againft him, even contempt of the caufe of his fervants, he was fenfible he could not anfwer him for it, nor for any one fin of a thoufand, as no man will be able todo; but mutt be fpeechlefs, unlefs he has a better righteoufnefs than his own to anfwer for him in that time to come. This is od’s firft reafon which deterred him from ufing his fervants ill; another follows.

y. 17. Or have eaten my morfel my/elf aloné, &c.] Though he had kept no doubt a plentiful table in the time of his profperity fuitable to his circumhejftances, yet had been no luxurious perfon, and therefore calls provifions a morfel; however, be it whatit would, more or lefs, he did not eat it alone’ what he had for himfelf the poor had a fhare of it with him; and the fame he eat himfelf he gave to them: and the fatherlefs bath not ecten thereof; meaning the poor fatherlefs; for as to the rich fatherlefs, it was no charity to feed them: this verfe contradiéts the charge exhibited againft him, ch, xxii. 7..

y.18. For from my youth he was brought up with me as with a father, &cc.} ‘That is, the poor orthe fatherlefs, one or both; as foon as he was at years of difcretion, and was capable of obferving the di- {treffed circumftances, of others he had a tender and compaffionate regard to the poor.and fatherlefs, and aéted the part of a father to them; was as affectionately concerned for them as if he had been fa- jtheir father, and took fuch care of them as if they were his children, fee ch. xxix. 16. and I have guided her from my mother’s womb; the widow, by his counfel and advice; an hyperbolical expreffion, fignifying how early he was a fuccourer of fuch perfons, by giving his friendly advice, or affiftance; the Vulgate Latin verfion renders it, from my youth mercy grew up with me, &c. a merciful difpofition, a compaffionate regard to, the poor and fatherlefs; this was as it were connatural to _ him; forthough there is no good difpofition in man, without the grace of God, of which ¥od might early. partake, yet there is a fhew of it in fome perfons, in comparifon of others; fome have a natural tender difpofition to the poor, when others are naturally cruel and hard-hearted to them; and fo Mr. Broughton renders the words to this fenfe, ** for from my youth this grew with me as a father, needful) fift of wickednefs; or give a fignal to others, by lifting up the hand to {mite, as duanies gave orders to fmite the apoftle Paul; or thereby to give his vote againft the fatherlefs wrongly, fuffrages. being fometimes made by lifting up the hands 5 or really; hereby 70d fignifies, that he was fo far from doing the fatherlefs any real injury, that he had not fo much as lift up his hand, and even a finger againft him: whe I faw my help in the gate; inthe court of judicature held in the gate of the city, as was ufual; though he knew he had the bench of judges for him, or they would give fentence in his be- and from my mother did I tender it:” but the firft fenfe feems beft.

¥. 19. If Ihave fen any perifo for want of clotbing, &c.] Aman may be in fuch poor circumftances as to want proper clothing to cover his naked body with, and preferve it from the inclemencies of the weather, and for want of it be ready to perifh or die with cold. 0d denies he had feen any fuch; not that he had never feen perfons in fuch perifhing circumftances; but he had not feen them as to de/pife them, as the Vulgate Latin verfion, as to have them in contempt, or look at them with difdain becaufe of their poverty and rags, or fordid apparel; or fo as to overlook them, as the Septuagint verfion, to neglect them, and to take no notice of them, and make no provifion for their clothing, a warm and comfortable garment, as in the next verfe: or any poor without covering; without clothing fufficient to cover himfelf with, and keep him warm; 70d had feen fuch objects, but he did not leave them in fuch a condition; he half, and againft the fatherlefs, if he did but hold up his hand, or lift up a finger to them, fo ready would they be to take his part and be on his fide; yet he never made ufe of his power and intereft to their detriment, or took fuch an advantage againft y.22. Then let mine arm fall from my fooulderblade, &c.] With which the upper part of it is connected; let it be disjointed from it, or rot and drop off from it; a dreadful calamity this, to lofe an arm and the ufe of it, to have it fall of immediately, as a judgment from God, and in juft retaliation for lifting up an hand or arm againft the fatherlefs; as Feroboam’s arm withered when he put it forth from the altar, and ordered hands to be laid upon the prophet for crying againft the altar, 1 Kings xiii. 4, aud mine arm. be broken from the ‘bone; from the channel-bone, as the margin of our bibles, or rather from the elbow, the lower part of the arm; and fo may be rendered, or mine arm, &c. Llipbax had brought a charge againft od, that the arms of the fatherlefs had been broken, and faw them, and had compaffion on them, and|fuggefts that they had been broken by him, or by y¥. 20. If his loins have not bleffed me, &c.] Which were girded and covered: with garments he gave him; which, as often as he put onand girded his loins with, put him in mind’ of his generous benefactor, and this put him upon fending up an ejaculatory wifh to heaven, that all happinefs and ~ bleffednefs might attend him, who had fo comfortably clothed him; fee ch. xxix. 13. aud if be were not warmed with the fleece of my fheep; not with a fleece of wool as taken off the back of the fheep, or with a fheep’s-fkin having the wool on his orders, ch. xxii. 9. and Job here withes, that if that was the cafe, that his own arm was broken: fuch imprecations are not to be made in common, or frequently, and only when a man’s innocence cannot be vindicated but by an appeal to the omnifcient God; an inftance fomewhat like this, fee in Pf cxxxvii. 5, 6.

y. 23. For defruflion from God was a terror to me, &c.) Though he feared not men, they being at his beck and command, ready to do any thing for him he fhould order, yet he feared God; and the dread of his refentment, and of deftruétion from it, but with it, as made up into cloth; with a woollen garment, which was a kind of clothing him the lawgiver, who is able to fave and to deftroy, had fuch an influence on him as to deter that very early obtained, and is what is warm and comfortable, fee Deut. xxii. 11. Fob clothed the naked, not with gay apparel, which was not neceffary, but with decent and ufeful raiment, and not with the fleece of other men’s fheep, but with the fleece of his own fheep, or with cloth made of the wool of his own flock, giving what was his own and not others; which always fhould be obferved in acts of charity; fee 2 Sam.-xii. 4. Thus Chriff, the anti-type of od, feeds the poor and the fatherlefs whom he finds, though he does not leave them fo; it is at his own table, and with his own bread, with provifions of his own making; and clothes them with the robe of his righteoufnefs, and garments of falvation, which is a clothing and a covering to them, and fecures them from perifhing, and caufes joy and gladnefs in them, J/. Ixi. 10, and keep him from ali unkindnefs to the poor, and injuftice to the fatherlefs; he dreaded the deftruction of himfelf, his family, and fubftance in this world, and everlafting deftruétion of foul and body in the world to come; which of all things is to be feared, Matt. x. 28. and Old Teflament.faints were much under a fpirit of bondage to fear, and were actuated thereby; and, though ¥od might not be under any dread of eternal damnation, knowing his intereft in the living Redeemer; yet he might fear temporal deftruétion, as it is certain he did; which thing he feared came upon him, though nos for any crime or crimes he was guilty of, fee ch. xxx. 25. he might fear as a good man may, the chaftifements and correétions of his heavenly Father: aud by reafon of his bighnefs I could not endure; God is higher than the higheft angels, or men; he

¥. 21. If Lhave liftup my hand againft the fatherde/s, &c.] Either in a menacing way, threatening is above all gods, fo called; he is God over all, bleffed for ever; and fuch is his

_ what he would do to them;

of wealth and authority, a civil magiftrate, a judge, is very terrible to the poor and fatherlefs; to ftrike him, which would be to fmite with the which, from a man jand his majefty, that it is terrible, and the dhead of them makes men afraid; nor can any finner or in order|{tand before him, nor withftand him, nor hope to prevail againft him, nor flee from his prefence, nor

7+ O98: 4tF efcape out of his hand, nor bear his wrath and indignation, and the lighting down of his arm; for what hands can be ftrong, or heart endure, the Almighty God deals with them? or ‘ob’s fenfe may be, that fuch an awe of the divine Being was always upon him, that he could not do any unkind thing to the poor, or unjuft one to the for all comes of God, and is owing to his blefling; he did not pleafe himfelf when become rich, as whenjif his own hand had found him much fubftance, as Ephraim did, Hof. xii. 8.

y. 26. If 1 bebeld the fun when it fhined, &c.} Some take this to bea reafon why Yob did not make gold his hope and confidence, becaufe all fublu- fatherlefs. nary and earthly enjoyments muft be uncertain, y. 24. If I have made gold my hope, &c.] Fob here purges himfelf from idolatry in a figurative fenfe, as he afterwards does from it, taken in a literal fenfe; for covetoufnefs is idolatry, and a covetous man is an idolater; he worfhips his gold and filver, placing his affections on them, and putting his truft and confidence in them, Eph. v. Col. iii. 5. for to make gold the objec or ground of hope,,is to place it in the room of God, who is the hope of J/rael, and in whom every good man| tading, and perifh, fince the fun and moon are not without their deficiencies and changes, to which fenfe the Septuagi#t verfion inclines; others, as Nachmanides, that they are a denial that Fob afcribed his wealth and fubftance to the influence of the heavenly bodies; and many interpreters are of 5.Jopinion, that they are a continuation of the fame {ubject as before, Fob hereby declaring that neither his eye nor his heart were fet upon his outward properity, comparable to the light of the fun, and fhould truft, and whom he fhould make his hope, Fer. viii. 14. and xvil. 5. not gold on earth, but glory in heaven, is what the good man is hoping for; and not riches, but Cdri/f and his righteoufnefs are the foundation of fuch an hope; to make gold our hope, is to have hope in this life, and to make a thing prefent the object of it; whereas true hope is of things not feen and future, and if only in this life, good men have hope, they are of all moft miferable; but they have in heaven a better and a more enduring fubftance, and a better ground the brightnefs of the moon; that he did not fecretly pleafe himfelf with it; nor congratulate himfelf upon it, nor applaud his own wifdom and induftry; and of late Schultens and others interpret it of flatrering great perfonages, complimenting them and courting their favour, which we call worfhipping the rifing fun; but I rather think it is to be underftood, as itmore generally is, of worfhipping the fun and moon in a literal fenfe; which was the firft kind of idolatry men went into; thofe very ancient idolaters the Zadii worthipped the fun for hope of that fubftance, than worldly wealth and riches can give: or have faid to the fine gold, thou art my confidence; as bad men do, and men are prone unto, and therefore to be againftit, Pf xlix. 6. and lii, 7. 1 Zim. vi. 17. for this is not only to truft in uncertain riches, and in unfatisfying ones, but to put them in the ftead ofj God, who is or ought to be the confidence of the ends of the earth: not gold, but the living God, who gives all things richly to enjoy, is to be trufted in; when men covet riches, and truft in them as their fecurity from evil, and that they may live independent of the providence of God, it is tually to deny it, and carries in it fecret atheifm; as well as fuch aconfidence is deftruction of the worfhip of God, and fuch a temper makes a man an unprofitable hearer, plunges him into errors and hurtful lufts, and endangers his everlafting happinefs, Had. ii. 9. Matt, xiii. 22. 9, 10. Mar. x. 24. in after-times the Romans worfhipped the goddefs pecunia, or money, as as their greater God, as Maimonides* obferves; td whom he fays they offered feven bats, feven mice; goodjand feven other creeping things, with forme other cautionedjthings alfo; in after times horfes were offered to ity fee 2 Kings xxiii. 11. So the antient Egyptians worfhipped the fun and moon, calling the one Ofris, and the other J/s°; The word for fun is dight, and it is fo called becaufe it is a luminous body, and the fountain of light to others; it is called the greater light, Gea. i. 16. and from this Hebrew wotd Or; with the Egyptians, Apollo, who is the fun, is called Horus, as Macrobius“ relates; it is faid to /hine, as vir-Jit always does, even when below our horizon, or in an eclipfe, or under a cloud, though not feen by us. od has here refpect to its fhining clearly and vifibly, and perhaps at noon-day,; when it is in its fullftrength; unlefs regard is had to its bright and fhining appearance at its rifing, when the heathens 1 Tim, vi.jufed to pay their homage and adoration to it *: now when Job denies that he beheld it fhining, it Auftin*)cannot be underftood of the bare fight of it, which relates. he continually had; nor of beholding it with de-

¥. 25. If I rejoiced becaufe my wealth was great, &c.] As it was, fee ch. i. 2, 3. yet he did not fet his heart upon it, pleafe himfelf with it, acarnal joy on account of it, nor fuffer it to engrofs his affeétions, or alienate them from God his chief joy; not but that a man may lawfully rejoice the goodnefs of God unto him, in increafing his wealth, and praife him for it, who has placed him in fuch eafy circumftances, and fo comfortably provided for him and his family, and put him into capacity to do good to others; and he may rejoice in what God has given him, and chearfully partake of it, 1 Chron. xxix. 13, 14. Deut. xii. 7. Eccl. vy. 19, 20. and becaufe my hand bad gotten much; though he had much wealth, he did not afcribe it to his own induftry, and applaud his own wifdom and diligence, as men are apt todo, light and pleafure, which might be very lawfully done, Ecc/. xi..7. nor of confidering it as the work indulge tojof God, being a very glorious and ufeful creature, in which his glory is difplayed, and for which he is to be praifed, becaufe of its beneficial influence injon the earth; fee P/. viii. 3, 4. and xix, 1. and cxxxvi. 1, 7, Deut. xxxiii, 14. but of his beholding it with admiration, as if it was more than a creature, afcribing deity to it, and worfhipping ic ajas God; and the fame muft be underftood of the moonin the next claufe: or the moon walking in drightne/s; as at firft rifing, or rather when in the full, in the middle of the month, as ben Ezra; when it walks all night, in its brightnefs, illuminated bythe fun: thefe two luminaries, the one called theking, the other the queen of heaven, were very early worfhipped, if not the firft inftances of ido- latry. Diodorus Siculus* fays, that the firft men old, born in Egypt, beholding and admiring the beauty of the world, thought there were two gods| in the nature of the univerle, and that they were eternal; namely, the fun and moon, the one they called Ofris, and the other J/s; hence the J/raciites having dwelt long in Egypt were in danger of being drawn ‘into this idolatry, againft which they are cautioned, Deut, iv. 19. and where was a city called “Heliopolis, or the city of the fun, as in the Greek verfion of Jf xix. 18. where was a temple dedicated to the worfhip of it 5 and fo the Aradians, the neighbours of Yo, according to Herodotus‘, worfhipped the fun and moon; for he fays the Perfians were taught by them and the Afyrians to facrifice to the fun and moon; and {fo did the old Canaanites and the Phenicians; hence one of their cities is called Beth-/hemefb, the houfe or temple of the fun, Yo/>. xix.22. yea we aretold*that tothis day there are fome traces of this ancient idolatry in Arabia, the neighbourhood of Fob;

city in Arabia, upon the Euphrates, called Aana, where they worfhip the fun only; this being common in thofe parts in ¥b’s time, he purges ofjwhich burns with fire and brimftone, Exod. xx. 3, 4, 5. Rev. xxi. 8. the confideration of its being uch a heinous fin, and fo deferving of punifhment, — deterred ob from it; the Targum paraphrafes it, a moft amazing iniquity, it being, as follows, a denial of the true God: for I should have denied the God that is above; that is, had he worfhipped the be {un and moon fecretly or openly; for as the atheift denies him in words, the idolater denies him in facts, worfhipping the creature befides the creator, and giving his glory to another, and his praile to idols; which is a virtual denial of him, eyen of him who is above the fun and moon in place, being higher than the heavens; and in nature, excellency, and glory, being the creator of them, and they his creatures; and in power and authority, who commands the fun, and it rifes not, and has appointed the moon for feafons, ‘ob ix. 7. P/. civ. 19.

¥. 29. If I rejoiced at the deftrutlion of him that 4ated me, &c.] Fob though a good man had: his as in a large enemies, asall good men have, and that becaufe of their goodnefs, and who hated him with an implacable hatred, without a caufe, there being a rooted — himfelf) bitter enmity in the feed of the ferpent againft the from it. godly in all generations; on whom fooner or later, y. 27. And mine heart hath been fecretly enticed, &c.] Drawn away by beholding the magnitude of thefe bodies, the fwiftnefs of their motion, their at one time or another, deftruction comes, one calamity or another on their families, difeafes on their bodies, lofs of fubftance, death of themfelves glorious appearance, and great ufefulnefs to mankind, to entertain a thought of their being deities; and privately to worfhip them, in fecret acts of devotion, as by an honourable efteem of them as fuch, reverence and affection for them, truft and confidence in them; for as there is a fecret or relatives; now it is a common thing with wicked men to rejoice im the adverfity of their enemies, but good men fhould not do fo;° yet it is adifficult thing, and requires a large meafure of grace, and that in exercife, not to feel any pleafing emotion, afecret joy, and inward pleafure at the hearing of worfhipping of the true God, fo there is a fecret idolatry, idolatry in the heart, and fetting up. idols. there, as well as worfhipping them in dark places, in chambers of imagery, as the ‘ews did, Ezek. viii. 12. or my mouth hath kiffed my band; idols ufed to be kiffed by their votaries, in their veneration of them,. and as expreffive of their worfhip of them; fo Baal and Feroboam’s calves were kiffed by the worfhippers of them, 1 Kings xix. 18. Hof. xiii. 2. Kiffing is ufed to fignify the religious veneration, homage, and worfhip of a divine perfon, the Son of God, P/. ii. 12. any thing of this fort befalling an enemy; which is ofja new crime Fob purges himfelf from: or hift up my/elf when evil found him; either the evil of fin, which fooner or later finds out the finner, charges him with guilt, and requires punifhment, or the token ofjevil of punifhment for fin; which though it may feem to move flowly, purfues the finner, and will overtake him, and light upon him. Mr. Broughton renders the words, and beftirred me when he found o/s; lofs in his family, in his cattle, and in his fubftance; now when this was the cafe, Fob and)did not raife up himfelf in a haughty manner, and fuch deities efpecially that were out of the reach of their worfhippers, as the fun, moon, and ftars were, they ufed to put their hands to their mouths, and kifs them, in token of their worfhip; juft as perfons now at a diftance from each other, pay their civil refpeéts to one another: inftances of re- infult and triumph over him, or ftir up himfelf to joy and rejoicing, or to make joyful motions, as Aben Ezra and Ben Gerfom interpret it; and by his geftures fhew that he was elated with the evil that had befallen his enemy; indeed fo far as the fall and deftruétion of the wicked make for the public ligious adoration of idols performed in this manner, fee in the note on Ho/. xiii. 2.

good, for the intereft of religion, for the glory of

Fob denies that he|God, and the honour of his had been guilty of fuch idolatry, either fecretly or juftice, it is lawful for good men to rejoice thereat; but not from a pri- by the judge, &c.] As well as adultery, y. 11. by the civil magiftrates and judges of the earth, who are God’s vicegerents, and therefore it behoves them to take cognizance of fuch an iniquity, and to punifh for it, which affects in fo peculiar a manner the honour and worfhip of the true God; this by the law of Mofes was punifhed by ftoning to death, Deut. xiii. 9. however this will be taken notice of and punifhed by God the judge of all, whofe law is broken hereby, and who will vifit this iniquity more efpecially on thofe who. commit it, and their pofterity afterthem. Idolaters of every fort fhall have their part and portion in the lake damned, as wicked men with to vate affection, or from a private fpirit of revenge, and xix. 1, 2.) io sabe ¥. 30. Neither have I-fuffered my mouth te &c.] Which, as it is the intrarenal fpeec often the means of much fin, particula f curfi ¢ men, and expreffing much bitternefs againft enemies; but 70d laid an embargo upon it, kept it-as. with a bridle, reftrained it from uttering vil, or wifhing any to his worft adverfaries; which isdificult to do, when vocations are given, as.

follows: by wifbing a curfe to his foul; not to his being the fuper-ex- foulas diftinct from his body, cellent and immortal part; that it be everlaftingly and the fouls of others, but to his perfon, wifhing fome calamity might befal him, fome difeafe f{eize upon him, or that God would take him away by death: Fob would never fuffer himfelf to with any thing of this kind unto his enemy. ¥. 31. Lf the men of my tabernacle, &c.] Either his friends, that came to vifit him, and take a meal with him, and would fometimes tarry awhile with him in his houfe, being very freé and familiar with him; and who were, as it were, at home in his tabernacle; or rather his domeftic fervants, that were under his roof, and dwelt in his houfe, fee ch. xix. 15. if thele faid not, ob that we had of bis flefh, we cannot be fatisfied, of the fleth of Fod’s enemy; and the fenfe is, that-his fervants ufed to fay, we cannot bear to fee our mafter fo ill ufed and infulted by his enemy; we wifh he would only allow us to avenge him on him, we would eat him up alive; we would devour him, and deftroy him at once; nor can we be fatisfied unlefs we have leave to do it: and fo this is a further proof of ¥0b’s patience with his enemies, that though he had fetters-on in his family, his fervants folicited him to revenge, yet he abftained from it; which may be exemplified in the cafes “of David and of Cbrift, 1 Sam. xxvi. 8. 2 Sam. xvi. 9. Luke ix. 54. though fome think thefe words exprefs Job's patience towards his fervants, who were fo angry with him for the ftrict difcipline he obferved in his houfe, that they wifhed they had his flefh to eat, and could not be fatisfied without it; and yet, fo far was he from taking pleafure in the calamities of his enemies, and ‘wifhing ill to them, that he did not refent the illnatured fpeeches of his fervants, and avenge himfelf on them for their wicked infults upon him: but it can hardly be thought that 0d would keep fuch wicked fervants in his houfe; but perhaps od here enters upon, a new crime, which he clears himfelf of, and is opened more fully in the next verfe, namely, inhofpitality to ftrangers; fince the particle if commonly begins a new article in this chapter, and being taken in this fenfe, various interpretations are given; fome, as if 7od’s fervants were difpleafed with him for his hofpitality, that his houfe was always fo full of guefts, that they were continually employed in dreffing food for them, that they had not time, or that there was not enough left for them to eat of his flefh, his food, and be fatisfied ‘with it; or elfe, as pleafed with the plentiful table he kept, and therefore defired to continue always in his fervice, and-eat of his food; nor could they be fatisfied with the food of others, or live elfewhere; though perhaps it is beft of all to render the words, as by fome, who will give, or fhew the man that is not fatisfied of bis flelh*? point out the man ‘in’ all the neighbourhood that has not been liberally entertained at 0d’s table to his full fatisfaction and content; and his liberality did not extend only to his neighbours, but to ftrangers alfo; as follows.

¥. 32. The ftranger did not lodge in the freet, &c.

By a {tranger, is not meant an unconverted man, that is a ftranger to God and godlinefs, to Chrift, and the way of falvation by him, to the Spirit of God and jpiritual things; nor a good man, who is a ftranger and pilgrim on earth; but one that is out of his nation and country, and at a diftance from it, whether a good man or a bad man; thefe Fob would not fuffer to lie in the ftreets in the night-feafon, expofed to the air and the inclemen- cles of it; fee Fudg. xix. 15—21. but J opened my doors to the traveller; even all the doors of his houfe, to denote his great liberality, that as many as would might enter it; and this was done by him-, felf, or however, by his order;-and fome think that it fignifies that he was at his door, waiting and watching for travellers to invite them in, as Abraham and Lot, Gen. xviii. 1, 2. and xix. rout or his doors were opened to the way', as it may be rendered, to the road-fide; his houfe was buiit by the way-fide; or however, the doors which lay towards that fide were thrown open for travellers to come in at as they pleafed, and when they would; fo very hofpitable and kind to ftrangers and travellers was Fob, and fo welcome were they to his houfe and the entertainment of it, fee Hed. xiii. 2.

¥. 33. If I covered my tranferefions as Adam, &c.] Fob could not be underftood by-this account he had given of the holinefs of his life, that he thought himfelf quite free from fin; he had owned himfelf to be a finner in feveral places before, and difclaimed perfection; and here he acknowledges he was guilty of tranfgreffing the law of God, and that in many inftances; for he {peaks of his ¢ran greffions in the plural number; but then he did not feek to cover them from the fight of God or men, but frankly and ingenuoufly confeffed them to both; he did not cover them, palliate, excufe, and extenuate them as 4dam did his, by laying the blame to his wife; and as fhe by charging it on the ferpent; and thofe excufes they made are the inventions they found out, Eccl. vii. 29. or the meaning is, Fob did not do as mex* in common do; who, when they have finned, either through fear or fhame, endeavour to conceal it, and keep it out of the fight of others, unlefs they are very hardened and audacious finners, fuch as the men of Sodom were, fee Hof. vi. 7. by hiding mine iniquity in my bofom; meaning perhaps fome particular iniquity which his nature was moft inclined to; this he did not attempt to hide in fecret, as what is put into the bofom is; or that he did not fpare it and cherifh it, and from an affection to it, keep it as perfons and things beloved are, laid in the bofom; and fo Mr, Broughton reads the words, hiding my fin of a

Jelf-love; either having a felf-love to it, or hidin it of felf-love, that is, from a principle of felf-love, to preferve his honour, credit, and reputation among men. ¥. 34, Did I fear a great multitude? &c.] No, they did not deter him from confeffing his fin in the moft public manner, when fenfible, or convicted of it, and when fuch a public acknowledgment was neceflary: or did the contempt of families terrify me? no, the contempt he might fuppofe he fhould be had in by fome families that knew him, and he was well acquainted with, did not terrify him from making a free and ingenuous confeflion of his fins: that I kept filence; or did I keep filence, and went not out of the door? fo as not to open his mouth by confeffion in public, but kept within doors through fear and fhame; or elfe the fenfe is, that he was not intimidated from doing his duty as a civilmagiftrate, adminiftring juftice to the poor and opprefied; neither the dread of a clamorous mob, nor the contempt of families of note, or great perfonages, could deter him from the execution of his office with uprightnefs, fo as to caufe him to be filent, and keep at home; but without any regard aie ear

420 i abe, © a Ch, xxx. ¥. 35-+37. ther that contended for him, as Aben Ezra, that pleaded for him, was his advocate in court, whom he would have take a brief of him, and fo diftinétly plead his caufe; or rather that contended again{t him, a court-adverfary, by whom he means either his three friends, or fome one of them, whom he more efpecially took for his enemy; fee ch, xvi. g, 10, 14. and who he wifhes had brought a bill of indictment, and put down in a book, on a paper in-writing, the charge he had againft him; that fo it might be clearly known what could be alledged againft him; and that it might be particularly and diftinétly examined; when he doubted not but he fhould be able to give a full anfwer to every article in it; and that the very bill itfelf would carry in it a juftification of him: or it may be, rather he means God himfelf, who carried it towards him as an adverfary, at leaft in a providential way; he had before requefted that he would fhow him wherefore he contended with him, ch. x. 2. and now he defires he would give in writing his charge againit him, being fully confident, that if he had but the opportunity of anfwering to it before him, he fhould be able fufiiciently to vindicate himfelf; and that he fhould come off with honour, as follows.

¥. 36. Surely I would take it upon my fooulder, &c.

The bill of indictment, the charge in writing; this he would take up and carry on his fhoulder as a very light thing, having nothing weighty in it, no charge of fin and guilt to bear him down; nothing but what he could eafily ftand up under, only fome trifling matter, which could not be interpreted fin; for any thing of that kind would have been a burden too heavy for him to have borne: or elfe his fenfe is, that fhould he be convicted of any fin, he would openly confefs the charge, acknowledge the fin in the moft public manner, that being vifible which is-borne upon the fhoulder; and would alfe patiently bear the afflictions and chaftifements that were laid upon him for it: though rather the meaning is, that he fhould take up and carry fuch a bill, not as a burden, but as an honour, as one bears a {word of ftate, or carries a fcepter as an enfign of royalty on his fhoulder; to which the allufion may be, in J/ ix. 6. not at all doubting but it would turn out to his glory; which is confirmed by what follows: and bind it as a crown to me, OL crowns*, having various circles of gold hung with jewels; fignifying that he would not only take his bill or charge, and carry it on his fhoulder, but put it on his head, and wear it there, as a kino does his crown; which is an ornament and honour feope in this; this is what I aim at, what I defign and mean by wifhing for an hearer, that the Almighty himfelf would take the caufe in hand, and give mean anfwer: or debold my fgn*; the fign of my innocence, appealing to God, leaving my caufe to be heard, tried, and judged by him, who is my witnefs, and will anfwer for me; fee ch. xvi. 19. as well as defiring mine adverfary to put down in writing what he has againft me; or Lebold my fignature’, the plea I have given is figned by my own hand: now let the Almighty anfwer me, abold expreffion indeed, and a making too free with the Almighty, and was one of thofe {peeches Yo was to be blamed for, and for which he was after humbled and repented of: and that mine adverfary had written a book, or the man of my contention®; eito him, as he fhould reckon this bill, feeing it would give him an opportunity of clearing himfelf effectually. bi y. 37. I would declare to him the number of my feps, &c.] To his judge, or to him that contended with him, and drew up the bill againft him; he would forward it, affift in it, furnifh materials for it, give an account of all the tranfaétions of his life that he could remember; this he fays not as though he thought that God ftood in need of any fuch declaration, fince he better knows the actions of men than they themfelves, compaffes their paths, and is acquainted with all their ways; bur to fhew how confident he was of his innocence, and how little he feared the ftri¢teft and clofeft examination of his ways and works, knowing that he fear of the one, or the contempt of the other, he went out from his houfe through the ftreet to the court of judicature, took his place on the bench, and gave judgment in favour of thofe that were opprefied, though the multitude was againft them, and even perfons and families of note: of thus, though I could have put a great multitude to fear, yet the moft contemptible perfons in any family, fo Aben Ezra and Ben Gerfom interpret that phrafe, the meaneft perfon, or but a beggar, if his caufe was juft, terrified him; or fuch was the fear of God upon him, that he durft do no other than to do him juftice; fo that he could not open his mouth againft him, or ftir out of doors to do him the leaft injury; though perhaps it may be beft of all, with Schultens, to confider thefe words as an imprecation, that if what he had faid before from ver. 24. was not true; if he was not clear from idolatry figurative and literal, from a malicious and revengeful fpirit, from inhofpitality and unkindnefs to ftrangers, from palliating, excufing, and extenuating his fins; then as if he fhould fay, may I be frighted with a tumult, or a multitude of people, and terrified with the public contempt of families; may I be as filent as a mope in my own houfe, and never dare to ftir out of doors, or fhew my face, or fee the face of any man any more: and then, before he had quite finifhed his account of himfelf, breaks out in the following manner.

¥. 35. Ob, that one would hear me! &c.} Or who will give me a bearer’? Oh, that I had one, not a hearer of him as a teacher and inftructor of many, as he had been, ch, iv. 3. or only to hear what he had delivered in this chapter; but to hear his caufe, and hear him plead his own caufe in a judiciary way; he does not mean an ordinary hearer, one that comes out of curiofity into courts of judicature to hear caufes tried, what is faid on both fides, and how they will iffue; but as Bar Tzemach paraphrafes it, ‘* who fhall give me a judge that fhall hear me,” that would hear his caufe patiently, examine it thoroughly, and judge impartially, which is the bufinefs of judges to do, Deut. i. 16, 17. he did not care who it was, if he had bur fuch an one; though he feems to have refpect to God himfelf, from what he fays in the next claufe, and wifhes that he would but hear, try, and judge his caufe: bebold, my defire is that the dlmighty would anfwer me anfwer to what he had faid, or had further to fay in his own defence; this is a requeft he had made before, and now repeats it, fee ch. xiii, 22. and xxiii. 3,4, 5. Some render it, behold my mark, or {cope”; fo Mr. Broughton, behold my

CA.xxx. ¥. 38—40. F O. B. 421 had lived with all good confcience unto that day: and as a prince would I go near unto him; either| he fhould confider fuch an hearer, and judge of his caufe he defired, as a prince, and reverence and refpect him as fuch; he fhould be as dear unto him, though his adverfary that contended with him, as a prince; and he fhould be as ambitious of an acquaintance with him as with a prince: means that he himfelf as a. prince, in-a princely manner, and with a princely fpirit, fhould draw| nigh to his judge, to anfwer to the bill in writing again{t him; that he fhould not come upto the like a malefactor, that fhews guilt in his countenance, and by his trembling limbs, and fhrinking back, not caring to come nigh, but chufing rather to ftand at a diftance, or get off and efcape if could; but on the other hand, ed would go up| to his judge, and to the judgment-feat, with all the ftatelinefs of a prince, with an heroic, intrepid, and undaunted fpirit; like a bold prince,as Mr. Broughton renders the word; fee ch. xxiii. 3.

y. 38. If my land cry againft me, 8c.| Some think that this and the two following verfes out of their place, and fhould rather follow y¥. 34. and fonie place them after ¥. 25. after ¥. 8. but this is the order of them in all pies and verfions, as they ftand in our bibles; and oney, 8&c.] Or, the firength thereof without filver ®; ee Gen. iv. 12. filver being the money chiefly in ufe in thofe times. od’s meaning is, that he ate not any thing of the fruits and increafe of his own land, without having paid forthe fame, which he would have done, if he had got hisland out’ of the hands of the right owners of it, by deceit or vioor rather he jlence; or if he had not paid his workmen for plowing, fowing, reaping, &c. or if he had demanded the fruits of the earth of his tenants, to whom he had let out his farms, without giving barjthem a proper price for them: or have caujed the owners thereof to lofe their life; as Fexebel caufed Nadoth to lofe his, who was the original proprietor, that 4hadb might poflefs it; or it may fignify hejtenants, to whom od let out fields, but did not tarve them by letting them hard leafes, or lands on hard terms, fo that they could not live upon them; or it may defign the tillers of the land, as Farchi and Bar Tzemach; thofe that wrought in it, the fervants that were employed in plowing, &c. to whom wages were due, and who had not too hard Jabour ftand impofed upon them, to the endangering of their after lives; or he did not affié? and grieve‘ them, as andothers fome verfions; or make their lives bitter, through co- jhard bondage and fervice, as the Jraelites in Zgypt.

here, after Fob had-exprefied his defire to have a hearer and judge of his caufe and his charge exhi-

¥. 40. Let thiftles grow inftead of wheat, and cockle inftead of barley, &c.] This is an impreca- bited in writing, and his confidence of the iffue of tion of 0’s, in which he wifhes that if what he it, fhould it be granted; returns to his former fubject, to clear himfelf from any notorious vice, he was fufpected of, or charged with; and as he had gone through what might refpect him in private life, here he gives another inftance in public life, with which he concludes; namely, purging himfelf from tyranny and oppreffion, with which his friends had charged him without any proof; and he denies that the land he lived on, was poffeffed of, and of which he was the proprietor, cried again{t him, as being unjuftly gotten, either by fraud, or by force, from others; or as being ill ufed by him, either as being too much cultivated, having never any reft, or lying fallow; and fo much weakened and drained of its ftrength, or neglected and over-run with weeds, thorns, and thiftles; or on account of the dreffers and tillers of it, being badly dealt with, either over-worked, or not having fufficiency of food, or their wages detained from had faid was not true, or if he was guilty of the crimes he denied, that when and where he fowed wheat, thorns or thiftles might come up inftead of it, or tares, as fome Fewi/b writers ‘ interpret it 3 and that when and where he fhould fow barley, cockle, or darnel, or any /tinking or hurtful weed *, as the word fignifies, might fpring up in room of it; refpect feems to be had to the original curfe upon the é€arth, and by the judgment of God is fometimes the cafe, that afruitful land is turned into barrenefs for the wickednefs of them that dwell in it, Gen, iii. 18. Pf cvii. 34. the words of Fob are ended; which is either faid by himfelf, at the clofe of his fpeech; thus far, fays ¥od, and no far« ther, having faid enough in his own defence, and for the confutation of his antagonifts, and fo clofes in a way of triumph: or elie this was added by Mojes, {uppofed to have written this book; or by fome other hand, as Ezra, upon the revife of it, them; all which are crying fins, and by reafon of which the land by a figure may be faid to cry as the ftone out of the wall, and the beam out of and other books of the old teftament, when put in outjorder by him: and thefe were the laft words of 70) to his friends, and in vindication of himfelf;