732 lines
55 KiB
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732 lines
55 KiB
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<div2 id="Job.xxiii" n="xxiii" next="Job.xxiv" prev="Job.xxii" progress="11.29%" title="Chapter XXII">
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<h2 id="Job.xxiii-p0.1">J O B</h2>
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<h3 id="Job.xxiii-p0.2">CHAP. XXII.</h3>
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<p class="intro" id="Job.xxiii-p1">Eliphaz here leads on a third attack upon poor
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Job, in which Bildad followed him, but Zophar drew back, and
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quitted the field. It was one of the unhappinesses of Job, as it is
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of many an honest man, to be misunderstood by his friends. He had
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spoken of the prosperity of wicked men in this world as a mystery
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of Providence, but they took it for a reflection upon Providence,
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as countenancing their wickedness; and they reproached him
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accordingly. In this chapter, I. Eliphaz checks him for his
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complaints of God, and of his dealings with him, as if he thought
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God had done him wrong, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.2-Job.22.4" parsed="|Job|22|2|22|4" passage="Job 22:2-4">ver.
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2-4</scripRef>. II. He charges him with many high crimes and
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misdemeanours, for which he supposes God was now punishing him. 1.
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Oppression and injustice, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.5-Job.22.11" parsed="|Job|22|5|22|11" passage="Job 22:5-11">ver.
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5-11</scripRef>. 2. Atheism and infidelity, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.12-Job.22.14" parsed="|Job|22|12|22|14" passage="Job 22:12-14">ver. 12-14</scripRef>. III. He compares his case to
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that of the old world, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.15-Job.22.20" parsed="|Job|22|15|22|20" passage="Job 22:15-20">ver.
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15-20</scripRef>. IV. He gives him very good counsel, assuring him
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that, if he would take it, God would return in mercy to him and he
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should return to his former prosperity, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.21-Job.22.30" parsed="|Job|22|21|22|30" passage="Job 22:21-30">ver. 21-30</scripRef>.</p>
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<scripCom id="Job.xxiii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Job.22" parsed="|Job|22|0|0|0" passage="Job 22" type="Commentary"/>
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<scripCom id="Job.xxiii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.1-Job.22.4" parsed="|Job|22|1|22|4" passage="Job 22:1-4" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Job.22.1-Job.22.4">
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<h4 id="Job.xxiii-p1.8">Third Address of Eliphaz. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Job.xxiii-p1.9">b. c.</span> 1520.)</h4>
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<p class="passage" id="Job.xxiii-p2">1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
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2 Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may
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be profitable unto himself? 3 <i>Is it</i> any pleasure to
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the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or <i>is it</i> gain <i>to
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him,</i> that thou makest thy ways perfect? 4 Will he
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reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into
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judgment?</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p3">Eliphaz here insinuates that, because Job
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complained so much of his afflictions, he thought God was unjust in
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afflicting him; but it was a strained <i>innuendo.</i> Job was far
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from thinking so. What Eliphaz says here is therefore unjustly
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applied to Job, but in itself it is very true and good,</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p4">I. That when God does us good it is not
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because he is indebted to us; if he were, there might be some
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colour to say, when he afflicts us, "He does not deal fairly with
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us." But whoever pretends that he has by any meritorious action
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made God his debtor, let him prove this debt, and he shall be sure
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not to lose it, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.35" parsed="|Rom|11|35|0|0" passage="Ro 11:35">Rom. xi.
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35</scripRef>. <i>Who has given to him, and it shall be recompensed
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to him again?</i> But Eliphaz here shows that the righteousness and
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perfection of the best man in the world are no real benefit or
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advantage to God, and therefore cannot be thought to merit any
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thing from him. 1. Man's piety is no profit to God, no gain,
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<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.1-Job.22.2" parsed="|Job|22|1|22|2" passage="Job 22:1,2"><i>v.</i> 1, 2</scripRef>. If we
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could by any thing merit from God, it would be by our piety, our
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being righteous, and making our way perfect. If that will not
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merit, surely nothing else will. If a man cannot make God his
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debtor by his godliness, and honesty, and obedience to his laws,
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much less can he by his wit, and learning, and worldly policy. Now
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Eliphaz here asks whether any man can possibly be <i>profitable to
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God.</i> It is certain that he cannot. By no means. <i>He that is
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wise may be profitable to himself.</i> Note, Our wisdom and piety
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are that by which we ourselves are, and are likely to be, great
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gainers. <i>Wisdom is profitable to direct,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.10.10" parsed="|Eccl|10|10|0|0" passage="Ec 10:10">Eccl. x. 10</scripRef>. <i>Godliness is profitable to
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all things,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:1Tim.4.8" parsed="|1Tim|4|8|0|0" passage="1Ti 4:8">1 Tim. iv.
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8</scripRef>. <i>If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for
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thyself,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:Prov.9.12" parsed="|Prov|9|12|0|0" passage="Pr 9:12">Prov. ix. 12</scripRef>.
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The gains of religion are infinitely greater than the losses of it,
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and so it will appear when they are balanced. But can a man be thus
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profitable to God? No, for such is the perfection of God that he
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cannot receive any benefit or advantage by men; what can be added
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to that which is infinite? And such is the weakness and
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imperfection of man that he cannot offer any benefit or advantage
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to God. Can the light of a candle be profitable to the sun or the
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drop of the bucket to the ocean? He that is wise is profitable to
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himself, for his own direction and defence, his own credit and
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comfort; he can with his wisdom entertain himself and enrich
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himself; but can he so be profitable to God? No; God needs not us
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nor our services. We are undone, for ever undone, without him; but
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he is happy, for ever happy, without us. <i>Is it any gain to
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him,</i> any real addition to his glory or wealth, <i>if we make
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our way perfect?</i> Suppose it were absolutely perfect, yet what
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is God the better? Much less when it is so far short of being
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perfect. 2. It is no pleasure to him. God has indeed expressed
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himself in his word well pleased with the righteous; his
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countenance beholds them and his delight is in them and their
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prayers; but all that adds nothing to the infinite satisfaction and
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complacency which the Eternal Mind has in itself. God can enjoy
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himself without us, though we could have but little enjoyment of
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ourselves without our friends. This magnifies his condescension, in
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that, though our services be no real profit or pleasure to him, yet
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he invites, encourages, and accepts them.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p5">II. That when God restrains or rebukes us
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it is not because he is in danger from us or jealous of us
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(<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.4" parsed="|Job|22|4|0|0" passage="Job 22:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): "<i>Will he
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reprove thee for fear of thee,</i> and take thee down from thy
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prosperity lest thou shouldst grow too great for him, as princes
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sometimes have thought it a piece of policy to curb the growing
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greatness of a subject, lest he should become formidable?" Satan
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indeed suggested to our first parents that God forbade them the
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tree of knowledge for fear of them, lest they should be as gods,
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and so become rivals with him; but it was a base insinuation. God
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rebukes the good because he loves them, but he never rebukes the
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great because he fears them. He does not <i>enter into judgment</i>
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with men, that is, pick a quarrel with them and seek occasion
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against them, through fear lest they should eclipse his honour or
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endanger his interest. Magistrates punish offenders for fear of
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them. Pharaoh oppressed Israel because he feared them. It was for
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fear that Herod slew the children of Bethlehem and that the Jews
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persecuted Christ and his apostles. But God does not, as they did,
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pervert justice for fear of any. See <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.35.5-Job.35.8" parsed="|Job|35|5|35|8" passage="Job 35:5-8"><i>ch.</i> xxxv. 5-8</scripRef>.</p>
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</div><scripCom id="Job.xxiii-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.5-Job.22.14" parsed="|Job|22|5|22|14" passage="Job 22:5-14" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Job.22.5-Job.22.14">
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<h4 id="Job.xxiii-p5.4">Job Accused of Various
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Crimes. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Job.xxiii-p5.5">b. c.</span> 1520.)</h4>
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<p class="passage" id="Job.xxiii-p6">5 <i>Is</i> not thy wickedness great? and thine
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iniquities infinite? 6 For thou hast taken a pledge from thy
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brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing.
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7 Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou
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hast withholden bread from the hungry. 8 But <i>as for</i>
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the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in
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it. 9 Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the
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fatherless have been broken. 10 Therefore snares <i>are</i>
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round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee; 11 Or
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darkness, <i>that</i> thou canst not see; and abundance of waters
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cover thee. 12 <i>Is</i> not God in the height of heaven?
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and behold the height of the stars, how high they are! 13
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And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark
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cloud? 14 Thick clouds <i>are</i> a covering to him, that he
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seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p7">Eliphaz and his companions had condemned
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Job, in general, as a wicked man and a hypocrite; but none of them
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had descended to particulars, nor drawn up any articles of
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impeachment against him, until Eliphaz did so here, where he
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positively and expressly charges him with many high crimes and
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misdemeanours, which, if he had really been guilty of them, might
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well have justified them in their harsh censures of him. "Come,"
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says Eliphaz, "we have been too long beating about the bush, too
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tender of Job and afraid of grieving him, which has but confirmed
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him in his self-justification. It is high time to deal plainly with
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him. We have condemned him by parables, but that does not answer
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the end; he is not prevailed with to condemn himself. We must
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therefore plainly tell him, <i>Thou art the man,</i> the tyrant,
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the oppressor, the atheist, we have been speaking of all this
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while. <i>Is not thy wickedness great?</i> Certainly it is, or else
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thy troubles would not be so great. I appeal to thyself, and thy
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own conscience; are not <i>thy iniquities infinite,</i> both in
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number and heinousness?" Strictly taken, nothing is infinite but
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God; but he means this, that his sins were more than could be
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counted and more heinous than could be conceived. Sin, being
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committed against Infinite Majesty, has in it a kind of infinite
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malignity. But when Eliphaz charges Job thus highly, and ventures
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to descend to particulars too, laying to his charge that which he
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knew not, we may take occasion hence, 1. To be angry at those who
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unjustly censure and condemn their brethren. For aught I know,
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Eliphaz, in accusing Job falsely, as he does here, was guilty of as
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great a sin and as great a wrong to Job as the Sabeans and
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Chaldeans that robbed him; for a man's good name is more precious
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and valuable than his wealth. It is against all the laws of
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justice, charity, and friendship, either to raise or receive
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calumnies, jealousies, and evil surmises, concerning others; and it
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is the more base and disingenuous if we thus vex those that are in
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distress and add to their affliction. Eliphaz could produce no
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instances of Job's guilt in any of the particulars that follow
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here, but seems resolved to calumniate boldly, and throw all the
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reproach he could on Job, not doubting but that some would cleave
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to him. 2. To pity those who are thus censured and condemned.
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Innocency itself will be no security against a false and foul
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tongue. Job, whom God himself praised as the best man in the world,
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is here represented by one of his friends, and he a wise and good
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man too, as one of the greatest villains in nature. Let us not
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think it strange if at any time we be thus blackened, but learn how
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to pass by evil report as well as good, and commit our cause, as
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Job did his, to him that judgeth righteously.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p8">Let us see the particular articles of this
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charge.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p9">I. He charged him with oppression and
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injustice, that, when he was in prosperity, he not only did no good
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with his wealth and power, but did a great deal of hurt with them.
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This was utterly false, as appears by the account Job gives of
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himself (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.12-Job.29.17" parsed="|Job|29|12|29|17" passage="Job 29:12-17"><i>ch.</i> xxix.
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12</scripRef>, &c.) and the character God gave of him,
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<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.1.1-Job.1.3" parsed="|Job|1|1|1|3" passage="Job 1:1-3"><i>ch.</i> i.</scripRef> And yet,</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p10">1. Eliphaz branches out this charge into
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divers particulars, with as much assurance as if he could call
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witnesses to prove upon oath every article of it. He tells him,
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(1.) That he had been cruel and unmerciful to the poor. As a
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magistrate he ought to have protected them and seen them provided
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for; but Eliphaz suspects that he never did them any kindness, but
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all the mischief his power enabled him to do,—that, for an
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inconsiderable debt, he demanded, and carried away by violence, a
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pawn of great value, even from his brother, whose honesty and
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sufficiency he could not but know (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.6" parsed="|Job|22|6|0|0" passage="Job 22:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>), <i>Thou hast taken a pledge
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from thy brother for nought,</i> or, as the LXX. reads it, <i>Thou
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hast taken thy brethren for pledges,</i> and that for nought,
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imprisoned them, enslaved them, because they had nothing to
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pay,—that he had taken the very clothes of his insolvent tenants
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and debtors, so that he had <i>stripped them naked,</i> and left
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them so (the law of Moses forbade this, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.22.26 Bible:Deut.24.13" parsed="|Exod|22|26|0|0;|Deut|24|13|0|0" passage="Ex 22:26,De 24:13">Exod. xxii. 26, Deut. xxiv. 13</scripRef>),—
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he had not been charitable to the poor, no, not to poor travellers,
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and poor widows: "<i>Thou hast not given</i> so much as a cup of
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cold <i>water</i> (which would have cost thee nothing) <i>to the
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weary to drink,</i> when he begged for it (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.7" parsed="|Job|22|7|0|0" passage="Job 22:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>) and was ready to perish for want
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of it, nay, <i>thou hast withholden bread from the hungry</i> in
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their extremity, hast not only not given it, but hast forbidden the
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giving of it, which is <i>withholding good from those to whom it is
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really due,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.3.27" parsed="|Prov|3|27|0|0" passage="Pr 3:27">Prov. iii.
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27</scripRef>. Poor widows, who while their husbands were living
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troubled nobody, but now were forced to seek relief, thou hast sent
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away empty from thy doors with a sad heart, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p10.5" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.9" parsed="|Job|22|9|0|0" passage="Job 22:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. Those who came to thee for
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justice, thou didst send away unheard, unhelped; nay, though they
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came to thee full, thou didst squeeze them, and send them away
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empty; and, worst of all, <i>the arms of the fatherless have been
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broken;</i> those that could help themselves but little thou hast
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quite disabled to help themselves." This which is the blackest part
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of the charge, is but insinuated: <i>The arms of the fatherless
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have been broken.</i> He does not say, "Thou has broken them," but
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he would have it understood so, and if they be broken, and those
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who have power do not relieve them, they are chargeable with it.
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"They have been broken by those under thee, and thou hast connived
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at it, which brings thee under the guilt." (2.) That he had been
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partial to the rich and great (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p10.6" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.8" parsed="|Job|22|8|0|0" passage="Job 22:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>): "<i>As for the mighty man,</i>
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if he was guilty of any crime, he was never questioned for it:
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<i>he had the earth;</i> he <i>dwelt in it.</i> If he brought an
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action ever so unjustly, or if an action were ever so justly
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brought against him, yet he was sure to carry his cause in thy
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courts. The poor were not fed at thy door, while the rich were
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feasted at thy table." Contrary to this is Christ's rule for
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hospitality (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p10.7" osisRef="Bible:Luke.14.12-Luke.14.14" parsed="|Luke|14|12|14|14" passage="Lu 14:12-14">Luke xiv.
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12-14</scripRef>); and Solomon says, <i>He that gives to the rich
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shall come to poverty.</i></p>
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<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p11">2. He attributes all his present troubles
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to these supposed sins (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.10-Job.22.11" parsed="|Job|22|10|22|11" passage="Job 22:10,11"><i>v.</i>
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10, 11</scripRef>): "Those that are guilty of such practices as
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these commonly bring themselves into just such a condition as thou
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art now in; and therefore we conclude thou hast been thus guilty."
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(1.) "The providence of God usually crosses and embarrasses such;
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and <i>snares are,</i> accordingly, <i>round about thee,</i> so
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that, which way soever thou steppest or lookest, thou findest
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thyself in distress; and others are as hard upon thee as thou hast
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|
been upon the poor." (2.) "Their consciences may be expected to
|
|||
|
terrify and accuse them. No sin makes a louder cry there than
|
|||
|
unmercifulness; and, accordingly, <i>sudden fear troubles thee;</i>
|
|||
|
and, though thou wilt not own it, it is guilt of this kind that
|
|||
|
creates thee all this terror." Zophar had insinuated this,
|
|||
|
<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.20.19-Job.20.20" parsed="|Job|20|19|20|20" passage="Job 20:19,20"><i>ch.</i> xx. 19, 20</scripRef>.
|
|||
|
(3.) "They are brought to their wits' end, so amazed and bewildered
|
|||
|
that they know not what to do, and that also is thy case; for thou
|
|||
|
art <i>in darkness that thou canst not see</i> wherefore God
|
|||
|
contends with thee nor what is the best course for thee to take,
|
|||
|
<i>for abundance of waters cover thee,</i>" that is, "thou art in a
|
|||
|
mist, in the midst of dark waters, in the thick clouds of the sky."
|
|||
|
Note, Those that have not shown mercy may justly be denied the
|
|||
|
comfortable hope that they shall find mercy; and then what can they
|
|||
|
expect but snares, and darkness, and continual fear?</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p12">II. He charged him with atheism,
|
|||
|
infidelity, and gross impiety, and thought this was at the bottom
|
|||
|
of his injustice and oppressiveness: he that did not fear God did
|
|||
|
not regard man. He would have it thought that Job was an Epicurean,
|
|||
|
who did indeed own the being of God, but denied his providence, and
|
|||
|
fancied that he confined himself to the entertainments of the upper
|
|||
|
world and never concerned himself in the inhabitants and affairs of
|
|||
|
this.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p13">1. Eliphaz referred to an important truth,
|
|||
|
which he thought, if Job had duly considered it, would have
|
|||
|
prevented him from being so passionate in his complaints and bold
|
|||
|
in justifying himself (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.12" parsed="|Job|22|12|0|0" passage="Job 22:12"><i>v.</i>
|
|||
|
12</scripRef>): <i>Is not God in the height of heaven?</i> Yes, no
|
|||
|
doubt he is. No heaven so high but God is there; and in the highest
|
|||
|
heavens, the heavens of the blessed, the residence of his glory, he
|
|||
|
is present in a special manner. There he is pleased to manifest
|
|||
|
himself in a way peculiar to the upper world, and thence he is
|
|||
|
pleased to manifest himself in a way suited to this lower world.
|
|||
|
There is his throne; there is his court: he is called <i>the
|
|||
|
Heavens,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.26" parsed="|Dan|4|26|0|0" passage="Da 4:26">Dan. iv. 26</scripRef>.
|
|||
|
Thus Eliphaz proves that a man cannot be profitable to God
|
|||
|
(<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.2" parsed="|Job|22|2|0|0" passage="Job 22:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>), that he
|
|||
|
ought not to contend with God (it is his folly if he does), and
|
|||
|
that we ought always to address ourselves to God with very great
|
|||
|
reverence; for when we <i>behold the height of the stars, how high
|
|||
|
they are,</i> we should, at the same time, also consider the
|
|||
|
transcendent majesty of God, who is above the stars, and how high
|
|||
|
he is.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p14">2. He charged it upon Job that he made a
|
|||
|
bad use of this doctrine, which he might have made so good a use
|
|||
|
of, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.13" parsed="|Job|22|13|0|0" passage="Job 22:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. "This is
|
|||
|
<i>holding the truth in unrighteousness,</i> fighting against
|
|||
|
religion with its own weapons, and turning its own artillery upon
|
|||
|
itself: thou art willing to own that <i>God is in the height of
|
|||
|
heaven</i> but thence thou inferrest, <i>How doth God know?</i>"
|
|||
|
Bad men expel the fear of God out of their hearts by banishing the
|
|||
|
eye of God out of the world (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.8.12" parsed="|Ezek|8|12|0|0" passage="Eze 8:12">Ezek.
|
|||
|
viii. 12</scripRef>), and care not what they do if they can but
|
|||
|
persuade themselves that God does not know. Eliphaz suspected that
|
|||
|
Job had such a notion of God as this, that, because he is in the
|
|||
|
height of heaven, (1.) It is therefore impossible for him to see
|
|||
|
and hear what is done at so great a distance as this earth,
|
|||
|
especially since there is a <i>dark cloud</i> (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.13" parsed="|Job|22|13|0|0" passage="Job 22:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>), many <i>thick clouds</i>
|
|||
|
(<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.14" parsed="|Job|22|14|0|0" passage="Job 22:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>), that come
|
|||
|
between him and us, and <i>are a covering to him,</i> so that he
|
|||
|
cannot see, much less can he judge of, the affairs of this lower
|
|||
|
world; as if God had <i>eyes of flesh,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Job.10.4" parsed="|Job|10|4|0|0" passage="Job 10:4"><i>ch.</i> x. 4</scripRef>. The interposing firmament is
|
|||
|
to him as transparent crystal, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p14.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.1.22" parsed="|Ezek|1|22|0|0" passage="Eze 1:22">Ezek.
|
|||
|
i. 22</scripRef>. Distance of place creates no difficulty to him
|
|||
|
who fills immensity, any more than distance of time to him who is
|
|||
|
eternal. Or, (2.) That it is therefore below him, and a diminution
|
|||
|
to his glory, to take cognizance of this inferior part of the
|
|||
|
creation: <i>He walks in the circuit of heaven,</i> and has enough
|
|||
|
to do to enjoy himself and his own perfections and glory in that
|
|||
|
bright and quiet world; why should he trouble himself about us?
|
|||
|
This is gross absurdity, as well as gross impiety, which Eliphaz
|
|||
|
here fathers upon Job; for it supposes that the administration of
|
|||
|
government is a burden and disparagement to the supreme governor
|
|||
|
and that the acts of justice and mercy are a toil to a mind
|
|||
|
infinitely wise, holy, and good. If the sun, a creature, and
|
|||
|
inanimate, can with his light and influence reach this earth, and
|
|||
|
every part of it (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p14.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.19.6" parsed="|Ps|19|6|0|0" passage="Ps 19:6">Ps. xix.
|
|||
|
6</scripRef>), even from that vast height of the visible heavens in
|
|||
|
which he is, and in the circuit of which he walks, and that through
|
|||
|
many a thick and dark cloud, shall we question it concerning the
|
|||
|
Creator?</p>
|
|||
|
</div><scripCom id="Job.xxiii-p14.8" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.15-Job.22.20" parsed="|Job|22|15|22|20" passage="Job 22:15-20" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Job.22.15-Job.22.20">
|
|||
|
<h4 id="Job.xxiii-p14.9">Judgments Executed on the
|
|||
|
Wicked. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Job.xxiii-p14.10">b. c.</span> 1520.)</h4>
|
|||
|
<p class="passage" id="Job.xxiii-p15">15 Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men
|
|||
|
have trodden? 16 Which were cut down out of time, whose
|
|||
|
foundation was overflown with a flood: 17 Which said unto
|
|||
|
God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?
|
|||
|
18 Yet he filled their houses with good <i>things:</i> but the
|
|||
|
counsel of the wicked is far from me. 19 The righteous see
|
|||
|
<i>it,</i> and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.
|
|||
|
20 Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of
|
|||
|
them the fire consumeth.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p16">Eliphaz, having endeavoured to convict Job,
|
|||
|
by setting his sins (as he thought) in order before him, here
|
|||
|
endeavours to awaken him to a sight and sense of his misery and
|
|||
|
danger by reason of sin; and this he does by comparing his case
|
|||
|
with that of the sinners of the old world; as if he had said, "Thy
|
|||
|
condition is bad now, but, unless thou repent, it will be worse, as
|
|||
|
theirs was—theirs <i>who were overflown with a flood,</i> as the
|
|||
|
old world (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.16" parsed="|Job|22|16|0|0" passage="Job 22:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>),
|
|||
|
and theirs the <i>remnant of whom the fire consumed</i>" (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.20" parsed="|Job|22|20|0|0" passage="Job 22:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>), namely, the
|
|||
|
Sodomites, who, in comparison of the old world, were but a remnant.
|
|||
|
And these two instances of the wrath of God against sin and sinners
|
|||
|
are more than once put together, for warning to a careless world,
|
|||
|
as by our Saviour (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.17.26-Luke.17.30" parsed="|Luke|17|26|17|30" passage="Lu 17:26-30">Luke xvii.
|
|||
|
26</scripRef>, &c.) and the apostle, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:2Pet.2.5-2Pet.2.6" parsed="|2Pet|2|5|2|6" passage="2Pe 2:5,6">2 Pet. ii. 5, 6</scripRef>. Eliphaz would have Job to
|
|||
|
<i>mark the old way which wicked men have trodden</i> (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.5" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.15" parsed="|Job|22|15|0|0" passage="Job 22:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>) and see what came of
|
|||
|
it, what the end of their way was. Note, There is an old way which
|
|||
|
wicked men have trodden. Religion had but newly entered when sin
|
|||
|
immediately followed it. But though it is an old way, a broad way,
|
|||
|
a tracked way, it is a dangerous way and it leads to destruction;
|
|||
|
and it is good for us to mark it, that we may not dare to walk in
|
|||
|
it. Eliphaz here puts Job in mind of it, perhaps in opposition to
|
|||
|
what he had said of the prosperity of the wicked; as if he had
|
|||
|
said, "Thou canst find out here and there a single instance, it may
|
|||
|
be, of a wicked man ending his days in peace; but what is that to
|
|||
|
those two great instances of the final perdition of ungodly
|
|||
|
men—the drowning of the whole world and the burning of Sodom?"
|
|||
|
destructions by wholesale, in which he thinks Job may, as in a
|
|||
|
glass, see his own face. Observe, 1. The ruin of those sinners
|
|||
|
(<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.6" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.16" parsed="|Job|22|16|0|0" passage="Job 22:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>): <i>They
|
|||
|
were cut down out of time;</i> that is, they were cut off in the
|
|||
|
midst of their days, when, as man's time then went, many of them
|
|||
|
might, in the course of nature, have lived some hundreds of years
|
|||
|
longer, which made their immature extirpation the more grievous.
|
|||
|
They were <i>cut down out of time,</i> to be hurried into eternity.
|
|||
|
And their foundation, the earth on which they built themselves and
|
|||
|
all their hopes, was <i>overflown with a flood,</i> the flood which
|
|||
|
was <i>brought in upon the world of the ungodly,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.7" osisRef="Bible:2Pet.2.5" parsed="|2Pet|2|5|0|0" passage="2Pe 2:5">2 Pet. ii. 5</scripRef>. Note, Those who build
|
|||
|
upon the sand choose a foundation which will be <i>overflown</i>
|
|||
|
when <i>the rains descend and the floods come</i> (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.8" osisRef="Bible:Matt.7.27" parsed="|Matt|7|27|0|0" passage="Mt 7:27">Matt. vii. 27</scripRef>), and then their
|
|||
|
building must needs fall and they perish in the ruins of it, and
|
|||
|
repent of their folly when it is too late. 2. The sin of those
|
|||
|
sinners, which brought that ruin (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.9" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.17" parsed="|Job|22|17|0|0" passage="Job 22:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>): <i>They said unto God, Depart
|
|||
|
from us.</i> Job had spoken of some who said so and yet prospered,
|
|||
|
<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.10" osisRef="Bible:Job.21.14" parsed="|Job|21|14|0|0" passage="Job 21:14"><i>ch.</i> xxi. 14</scripRef>. "But
|
|||
|
these did not (says Eliphaz); they found to their cost what it was
|
|||
|
to set God at defiance. Those who were resolved to lay the reins on
|
|||
|
the neck of their appetites and passions began with this; they said
|
|||
|
unto God, <i>Depart;</i> they abandoned all religion, hated the
|
|||
|
thoughts of it, and desired to live <i>without God in the
|
|||
|
world;</i> they shunned his word, and silenced conscience, his
|
|||
|
deputy. <i>And what can the Almighty do for them?</i>" Some make
|
|||
|
this to denote the justness of their punishment. They said to God,
|
|||
|
<i>Depart from us;</i> and then <i>what could the Almighty do with
|
|||
|
them but cut them off?</i> Those who will not submit to God's
|
|||
|
golden sceptre must expect to be broken to pieces with his iron
|
|||
|
rod. Others make it to denote the injustice of their sin: But
|
|||
|
<i>what hath the Almighty done against them?</i> What iniquity have
|
|||
|
they found in him, or wherein has he wearied them? <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.11" osisRef="Bible:Mic.6.3 Bible:Jer.2.5" parsed="|Mic|6|3|0|0;|Jer|2|5|0|0" passage="Mic 6:3,Jer 2:5">Mic. vi. 3; Jer. ii. 5</scripRef>. Others
|
|||
|
make it to denote the reason of their sin: They say unto God,
|
|||
|
<i>Depart,</i> asking <i>what the Almighty can do to them.</i>
|
|||
|
"What has he done to oblige us? What can he do in a way of wrath to
|
|||
|
make us miserable, or in a way of favour to make us happy?" As they
|
|||
|
argue, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.12" osisRef="Bible:Zeph.1.12" parsed="|Zeph|1|12|0|0" passage="Zep 1:12">Zeph. i. 12</scripRef>. <i>The
|
|||
|
Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil.</i> Eliphaz shows
|
|||
|
the absurdity of this in one word, and that is, calling God <i>the
|
|||
|
Almighty;</i> for, if he be so, what cannot he do? But it is not
|
|||
|
strange if those cast off all religion who neither dread God's
|
|||
|
wrath nor desire his favour. 3. The aggravation of this sin: <i>Yet
|
|||
|
he had filled their houses with good things,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.13" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.18" parsed="|Job|22|18|0|0" passage="Job 22:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>. Both those of the old world
|
|||
|
and those of Sodom had great plenty of all the delights of sense;
|
|||
|
for <i>they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold,</i> &c.
|
|||
|
(<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.14" osisRef="Bible:Luke.17.27" parsed="|Luke|17|27|0|0" passage="Lu 17:27">Luke xvii. 27</scripRef>), so that
|
|||
|
they had no reason to ask <i>what the Almighty could do for
|
|||
|
them,</i> for they lived upon his bounty, no reason to bid him
|
|||
|
depart from them who had been so kind to them. Many have their
|
|||
|
houses full of goods but their hearts empty of grace, and thereby
|
|||
|
are marked for ruin. 4. The protestation which Eliphaz makes
|
|||
|
against the principles and practices of those wicked people: <i>But
|
|||
|
the counsel of the wicked is far from me.</i> Job had said so
|
|||
|
(<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.15" osisRef="Bible:Job.21.16" parsed="|Job|21|16|0|0" passage="Job 21:16"><i>ch.</i> xxi. 16</scripRef>) and
|
|||
|
Eliphaz will not be behind him. If they cannot agree in their own
|
|||
|
principles concerning God, yet they agree in renouncing the
|
|||
|
principles of those that live without God in the world. Note, Those
|
|||
|
that differ from each other in some matters of religion, and are
|
|||
|
engaged in disputes about them, yet ought unanimously and
|
|||
|
vigorously to appear against atheism and irreligion, and to take
|
|||
|
care that their disputes do not hinder either their vigour or
|
|||
|
unanimity in that common cause of God, that righteous cause. 5. The
|
|||
|
pleasure and satisfaction which the righteous shall have in this.
|
|||
|
(1.) In seeing the wicked destroyed, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.16" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.19" parsed="|Job|22|19|0|0" passage="Job 22:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>. They shall <i>see it,</i> that
|
|||
|
is, observe it, and take notice of it (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.17" osisRef="Bible:Hos.14.9" parsed="|Hos|14|9|0|0" passage="Ho 14:9">Hos. xiv. 9</scripRef>); and they shall be <i>glad,</i>
|
|||
|
not to see their fellow-creatures miserable, or any secular turn of
|
|||
|
their own served, or point gained, but to see God glorified, the
|
|||
|
word of God fulfilled, the power of oppressors broken, and thereby
|
|||
|
the oppressed relieved—to see sin shamed, atheists and infidels
|
|||
|
confounded, and fair warning given to all others to shun such
|
|||
|
wicked courses. Nay, they shall <i>laugh them to scorn,</i> that
|
|||
|
is, they justly might do it, they shall do it, as God does it, in a
|
|||
|
holy manner, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.18" osisRef="Bible:Ps.2.4 Bible:Prov.1.26" parsed="|Ps|2|4|0|0;|Prov|1|26|0|0" passage="Ps 2:4,Pr 1:26">Ps. ii. 4; Prov. i.
|
|||
|
26</scripRef>. They shall take occasion thence to expose the folly
|
|||
|
of sinners and show how ridiculous their principles are, though
|
|||
|
they call themselves wits. <i>Lo, this is the man that made not God
|
|||
|
his strength;</i> and see what comes of it, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.19" osisRef="Bible:Ps.52.7" parsed="|Ps|52|7|0|0" passage="Ps 52:7">Ps. lii. 7</scripRef>. Some understand this of righteous
|
|||
|
Noah and his family, who beheld the destruction of the old world
|
|||
|
and rejoiced in it, as he had grieved for their impiety. Lot, who
|
|||
|
saw the ruin of Sodom, had the same reason to rejoice, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.20" osisRef="Bible:2Pet.2.7-2Pet.2.8" parsed="|2Pet|2|7|2|8" passage="2Pe 2:7,8">2 Pet. ii. 7, 8</scripRef>. (2.) In seeing
|
|||
|
themselves distinguished (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p16.21" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.20" parsed="|Job|22|20|0|0" passage="Job 22:20"><i>v.</i>
|
|||
|
20</scripRef>): "<i>Whereas our substance is not cut down,</i> as
|
|||
|
theirs was, and as thine is; we continue to prosper, which is a
|
|||
|
sign that we are the favourites of Heaven, and in the right." The
|
|||
|
same rule that served him to condemn Job by served him to magnify
|
|||
|
himself and his companions by. <i>His</i> substance is cut down;
|
|||
|
therefore he is a wicked man; <i>ours</i> is not; therefore we are
|
|||
|
righteous. But it is a deceitful rule to judge by; for none knows
|
|||
|
love or hatred by all that is before him. If others be consumed,
|
|||
|
and we be not, instead of censuring them and lifting up ourselves,
|
|||
|
as Eliphaz does here, we ought to be thankful to God and take it
|
|||
|
for a warning to ourselves to prepare for similar calamities.</p>
|
|||
|
</div><scripCom id="Job.xxiii-p16.22" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.21-Job.22.30" parsed="|Job|22|21|22|30" passage="Job 22:21-30" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Job.22.21-Job.22.30">
|
|||
|
<h4 id="Job.xxiii-p16.23">The Good Counsel of Eliphaz; Encouragements
|
|||
|
to Return to God. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Job.xxiii-p16.24">b. c.</span> 1520.)</h4>
|
|||
|
<p class="passage" id="Job.xxiii-p17">21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at
|
|||
|
peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. 22 Receive, I pray
|
|||
|
thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.
|
|||
|
23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up,
|
|||
|
thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. 24
|
|||
|
Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the <i>gold</i> of Ophir
|
|||
|
as the stones of the brooks. 25 Yea, the Almighty shall be
|
|||
|
thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. 26 For
|
|||
|
then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up
|
|||
|
thy face unto God. 27 Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him,
|
|||
|
and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. 28 Thou
|
|||
|
shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee:
|
|||
|
and the light shall shine upon thy ways. 29 When <i>men</i>
|
|||
|
are cast down, then thou shalt say, <i>There is</i> lifting up; and
|
|||
|
he shall save the humble person. 30 He shall deliver the
|
|||
|
island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of
|
|||
|
thine hands.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p18">Methinks I can almost forgive Eliphaz his
|
|||
|
hard censures of Job, which we had in the beginning of the chapter,
|
|||
|
though they were very unjust and unkind, for this good counsel and
|
|||
|
encouragement which he gives him in these verses with which he
|
|||
|
closes his discourse, and than which nothing could be better said,
|
|||
|
nor more to the purpose. Though he thought him a bad man, yet he
|
|||
|
saw reason to have hopes concerning him, that, for all this, he
|
|||
|
would be both pious and prosperous. But it is strange that out of
|
|||
|
the same mouth, and almost in the same breath, both sweet waters
|
|||
|
and bitter should proceed. Good men, though they may perhaps be put
|
|||
|
into a heat, yet sometimes will talk themselves into a better
|
|||
|
temper, and, it may be, sooner than another could talk them into
|
|||
|
it. Eliphaz had laid before Job the miserable condition of a wicked
|
|||
|
man, that he might frighten him into repentance. Here, on the other
|
|||
|
hand, he shows him the happiness which those may be sure of that do
|
|||
|
repent, that he might allure and encourage him to it. Ministers
|
|||
|
must try both ways in dealing with people, must speak to them from
|
|||
|
Mount Sinai by the terrors of the law, and from Mount Sion by the
|
|||
|
comforts of the gospel, must set before them both life and death,
|
|||
|
good and evil, the blessing and the curse. Now here observe,</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p19">I. The good counsel which Eliphaz gives to
|
|||
|
Job; and good counsel it is to us all, though, as to Job, it was
|
|||
|
built upon a false supposition that he was a wicked man and now a
|
|||
|
stranger and enemy to God. 1. <i>Acquaint now thyself with God.
|
|||
|
Acquiesce in God;</i> so some. It is our duty at all times,
|
|||
|
especially when we are in affliction, to accommodate ourselves to,
|
|||
|
and quiet ourselves in, all the disposals of the divine Providence.
|
|||
|
<i>Join thyself to him</i> (so some); fall in with his interests,
|
|||
|
and act no longer in opposition to him. Our translators render it
|
|||
|
well, "<i>Acquaint thyself with him;</i> be not such a stranger to
|
|||
|
him as thou hast made thyself by casting off the fear of him and
|
|||
|
restraining prayer before him." It is the duty and interest of
|
|||
|
every one of us to acquaint himself with God. We must get the
|
|||
|
knowledge of him, fix our affections on him, join ourselves to him
|
|||
|
in a covenant of friendship, and then set up, and keep up, a
|
|||
|
constant correspondence with him in the ways he has appointed. It
|
|||
|
is our honour that we are made capable of this acquaintance, our
|
|||
|
misery that by sin we have lost it, our privilege that through
|
|||
|
Christ we are invited to return to it; and it will be our
|
|||
|
unspeakable happiness to contract and cultivate this acquaintance.
|
|||
|
2. "<i>Be at peace,</i> at peace with thyself, not fretful, uneasy,
|
|||
|
and in confusion; let not thy heart be troubled, but be quiet and
|
|||
|
calm, and well composed. Be at peace with thy God; be reconciled to
|
|||
|
him. Do not carry on this unholy war. Thou complainest that God is
|
|||
|
thy enemy; be thou his friend." It is the great concern of every
|
|||
|
one of us to make our peace with God, and it is necessary in order
|
|||
|
to our comfortable acquaintance with him; for <i>how can two walk
|
|||
|
together except they be agreed?</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Amos.3.3" parsed="|Amos|3|3|0|0" passage="Am 3:3">Amos
|
|||
|
iii. 3</scripRef>. This we must do quickly, now, before it be too
|
|||
|
late. <i>Agree with thy adversary while thou art in the way.</i>
|
|||
|
This we are earnestly urged to do. Some read it, "Acquaint thyself,
|
|||
|
<i>I pray thee,</i> with him, and be at peace." God himself
|
|||
|
beseeches us; ministers, in Christ's stead, pray us to be
|
|||
|
reconciled. Can we gainsay such entreaties? 3. <i>Receive the law
|
|||
|
from his mouth,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.22" parsed="|Job|22|22|0|0" passage="Job 22:22"><i>v.</i>
|
|||
|
22</scripRef>. "Having made thy peace with God, submit to his
|
|||
|
government, and resolve to be ruled by him, that thou mayest keep
|
|||
|
thyself in his love." We receive our being and maintenance from
|
|||
|
God. From him we hope to receive our bliss, and from him we must
|
|||
|
receive law. <i>Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:Acts.9.6" parsed="|Acts|9|6|0|0" passage="Ac 9:6">Acts ix. 6</scripRef>. Which way soever we receive
|
|||
|
the intimations of his will we must have our eye to him; whether he
|
|||
|
speaks by scripture, ministers, conscience, or Providence, we must
|
|||
|
take the word as from his mouth and bow our souls to it. Though, in
|
|||
|
Job's time, we do not know that there was any written word, yet
|
|||
|
there was a revelation of God's will to be received. Eliphaz looked
|
|||
|
upon Job as a wicked man, and was pressing him to repent and
|
|||
|
reform. Herein consists the conversion of a sinner—his receiving
|
|||
|
the law from God's mouth and no longer from the world and the
|
|||
|
flesh. Eliphaz, being now in contest with Job, appeals to the word
|
|||
|
of God for the ending of the controversy. "Receive that, and be
|
|||
|
determined by it." <i>To the law and to the testimony.</i> 4.
|
|||
|
<i>Lay up his word in thy heart.</i> It is not enough to receive
|
|||
|
it, but we must retain it, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p19.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.3.18" parsed="|Prov|3|18|0|0" passage="Pr 3:18">Prov. iii.
|
|||
|
18</scripRef>. We must lay it up as a thing of great value, that it
|
|||
|
may be safe; and we must lay it up in our hearts, as a thing of
|
|||
|
great use, that it may be ready to us when there is occasion and we
|
|||
|
may neither lose it wholly nor be at a loss for it in a time of
|
|||
|
need. 5. <i>Return to the Almighty,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p19.5" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.23" parsed="|Job|22|23|0|0" passage="Job 22:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>. "Do not only turn from sin,
|
|||
|
but turn to God and thy duty. Do not only turn towards the Almighty
|
|||
|
in some good inclinations and good beginnings, but <i>return to
|
|||
|
him;</i> return home to him, quite to him, so as to reach to the
|
|||
|
Almighty, by a universal reformation, an effectual thorough change
|
|||
|
of thy heart and life, and a firm resolution to cleave to him;" so
|
|||
|
Mr. Poole. 6. <i>Put away iniquity far from thy tabernacle.</i>
|
|||
|
This was the advice Zophar gave him, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p19.6" osisRef="Bible:Job.11.14" parsed="|Job|11|14|0|0" passage="Job 11:14"><i>ch.</i> xi. 14</scripRef>. "<i>Let not wickedness
|
|||
|
dwell in thy tabernacle.</i> Put iniquity far off, the further the
|
|||
|
better, not only from thy heart and hand, but from thy house. Thou
|
|||
|
must not only not be wicked thyself, but must reprove and restrain
|
|||
|
sin in those that are under thy charge." Note, Family reformation
|
|||
|
is needful reformation; we and our house must serve the Lord.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p20">II. The good encouragement which Eliphaz
|
|||
|
gives Job, that he shall be very happy, if he will but take this
|
|||
|
good counsel. In general, "<i>Thereby good shall come unto thee</i>
|
|||
|
(<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.21" parsed="|Job|22|21|0|0" passage="Job 22:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>); the good
|
|||
|
that has now departed from thee, all the good thy heart can desire,
|
|||
|
temporal, spiritual, eternal good, shall come to thee. God shall
|
|||
|
come to thee, into covenant and communion with thee; and he brings
|
|||
|
all good with him, all good in him. Thou art now ruined and brought
|
|||
|
down, but, if thou return to God, <i>thou shalt be built up</i>
|
|||
|
again, and thy present ruins shall be repaired. Thy family shall be
|
|||
|
built up in children, thy estate in wealth, and thy soul in
|
|||
|
holiness and comfort." The promises which Eliphaz here encourages
|
|||
|
Job with are reducible to three heads:—</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p21">1. That his estate should prosper, and
|
|||
|
temporal blessings should be bestowed abundantly on him; for
|
|||
|
godliness has the promise of the life that now is. It is
|
|||
|
promised,</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p22">(1.) That he shall be very rich (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.24" parsed="|Job|22|24|0|0" passage="Job 22:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>): "<i>Thou shalt lay up
|
|||
|
gold as dust,</i> in such great abundance, and <i>shalt have plenty
|
|||
|
of silver</i> (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p22.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.25" parsed="|Job|22|25|0|0" passage="Job 22:25"><i>v.</i>
|
|||
|
25</scripRef>), whereas now thou art poor and stripped of all." Job
|
|||
|
had been rich. Eliphaz suspected he got his riches by fraud and
|
|||
|
oppression, and therefore they were taken from him: but if he would
|
|||
|
return to God and his duty, [1.] He should have more wealth than
|
|||
|
ever he had, not only thousands of sheep and oxen, the wealth of
|
|||
|
farmers, but thousands of gold and silver, the wealth of princes,
|
|||
|
<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p22.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.3.15" parsed="|Job|3|15|0|0" passage="Job 3:15"><i>ch.</i> iii. 15</scripRef>.
|
|||
|
Abundantly more riches, true riches, are to be got by the service
|
|||
|
of God than by the service of the world. [2.] He should have it
|
|||
|
more sure to him: "<i>Thou shalt lay it up</i> in good hands, and
|
|||
|
hold that which is got by thy piety by a surer tenure than that
|
|||
|
which thou didst get by thy iniquity." <i>Thou shalt have silver of
|
|||
|
strength</i> (for so the word is), which, being honestly got, will
|
|||
|
wear well—silver like steel. [3.] He should, by the grace of God,
|
|||
|
be kept from setting his heart so much upon it as Eliphaz thought
|
|||
|
he had done; and then wealth is a blessing indeed when we are not
|
|||
|
ensnared with the love of it. Thou shalt <i>lay up gold;</i> but
|
|||
|
how? Not as thy treasure and portion, but <i>as dust,</i> and <i>as
|
|||
|
the stones of the brooks.</i> So little shalt thou value it or
|
|||
|
expect from it that thou shalt lay it at thy feet (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p22.4" osisRef="Bible:Acts.4.35" parsed="|Acts|4|35|0|0" passage="Ac 4:35">Acts iv. 35</scripRef>), not in thy bosom.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p23">(2.) That yet he shall be very safe.
|
|||
|
Whereas men's riches usually expose them to danger, and he had
|
|||
|
owned that in his prosperity he <i>was not in safety</i> (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.3.26" parsed="|Job|3|26|0|0" passage="Job 3:26"><i>ch.</i> iii. 26</scripRef>), now he might be
|
|||
|
secure; for <i>the Almighty shall be thy defender;</i> nay, he
|
|||
|
shall be <i>thy defence,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p23.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.25" parsed="|Job|22|25|0|0" passage="Job 22:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>. He <i>shall be thy gold;</i>
|
|||
|
so it is in the margin, and it is the same word that is used
|
|||
|
(<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p23.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.24" parsed="|Job|22|24|0|0" passage="Job 22:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>) for gold,
|
|||
|
but it signifies also a strong-hold, because <i>money is a
|
|||
|
defence,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p23.4" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.7.12" parsed="|Eccl|7|12|0|0" passage="Ec 7:12">Eccl. vii. 12</scripRef>.
|
|||
|
Worldlings make gold their god, saints make God their gold; and
|
|||
|
those that are enriched with his favour and grace may truly be said
|
|||
|
<i>to have abundance of the best gold,</i> and best laid up. We
|
|||
|
read it, "<i>He shall be thy defence</i> against the incursions of
|
|||
|
neighbouring spoilers: thy wealth shall not then lie exposed as it
|
|||
|
did to Sabeans and Chaldeans," which, some think, is the meaning of
|
|||
|
that, <i>Thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacle,</i>
|
|||
|
taking it as a promise. "The iniquity or wrong designed against
|
|||
|
thee shall be put off and shall not reach thee." Note, Those must
|
|||
|
needs be safe that have Omnipotence itself for their defence,
|
|||
|
<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p23.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.91.1-Ps.91.3" parsed="|Ps|91|1|91|3" passage="Ps 91:1-3">Ps. xci. 1-3</scripRef>.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p24">2. That his soul should prosper, and he
|
|||
|
should be enriched with spiritual blessings, which are the best
|
|||
|
blessings.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p25">(1.) That he should live a life of
|
|||
|
complacency in God (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.26" parsed="|Job|22|26|0|0" passage="Job 22:26"><i>v.</i>
|
|||
|
26</scripRef>): "<i>For then shalt thou have thy delight in the
|
|||
|
Almighty;</i> and <i>thus</i> the Almighty comes to be thy gold by
|
|||
|
thy delighting in him, as worldly people delight in their money. He
|
|||
|
shall be thy wealth, thy defence, thy dignity; for he shall be thy
|
|||
|
delight." The way to have our heart's desire is to make God our
|
|||
|
heart's delight, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.37.4" parsed="|Ps|37|4|0|0" passage="Ps 37:4">Ps. xxxvii.
|
|||
|
4</scripRef>. If God give us himself to be our joy, he will deny us
|
|||
|
nothing that is good for us. "Now, God is a terror to thee; he is
|
|||
|
so by thy own confession (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p25.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.6.4 Bible:Job.16.9 Bible:Job.19.11" parsed="|Job|6|4|0|0;|Job|16|9|0|0;|Job|19|11|0|0" passage="Job 6:4,16:9,19:11"><i>ch.</i> vi. 4; xvi. 9; xix. 11</scripRef>);
|
|||
|
but, if thou wilt return to him, then, and not till then, <i>he
|
|||
|
will be thy delight;</i> and it shall be as much a pleasure to thee
|
|||
|
to think of him as ever it was a pain." No delight is comparable to
|
|||
|
the delight which gracious souls have in the Almighty; and those
|
|||
|
that acquaint themselves with him, and submit themselves entirely
|
|||
|
to him, shall find his favour to be, not only their strength, but
|
|||
|
their song.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p26">(2.) That he should have a humble holy
|
|||
|
confidence towards God, such as those are said to have <i>whose
|
|||
|
hearts condemn them not,</i> 1 <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:John.3.21" parsed="|John|3|21|0|0" passage="Joh 3:21">John
|
|||
|
iii. 21</scripRef>. "Then <i>shalt</i> thou <i>lift up thy face to
|
|||
|
God</i> with boldness, and not be afraid, as thou now art, to draw
|
|||
|
near to him. Thy countenance is now fallen, and thou lookest
|
|||
|
dejected; but, when thou hast made thy peace with God, thou shalt
|
|||
|
blush no more, tremble no more, and hang thy head no more, as thou
|
|||
|
dost now, but shalt cheerfully, and with a gracious assurance, show
|
|||
|
thyself to him, pray before him, and expect blessings from
|
|||
|
him."</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p27">(3.) That he should maintain a constant
|
|||
|
communion with God, "The correspondence, once settled, shall be
|
|||
|
kept up to thy unspeakable satisfaction. Letters shall be both
|
|||
|
statedly and occasionally interchanged between thee and heaven,"
|
|||
|
<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.27" parsed="|Job|22|27|0|0" passage="Job 22:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>. [1.] "Thou
|
|||
|
shalt by prayer send letters to God: <i>Thou shalt make thy
|
|||
|
prayer</i>" (the word is, <i>Thou shalt multiply</i> thy prayers)
|
|||
|
"unto him, and he will not think thy letters troublesome, though
|
|||
|
many and long. The oftener we come to the throne of grace the more
|
|||
|
welcome. Under all thy burdens, in all thy wants, cares, and fears,
|
|||
|
thou shalt send to heaven for guidance and strength, wisdom, and
|
|||
|
comfort, and good success." [2.] "He shall, by his providence and
|
|||
|
grace, answer those letters, and give thee what thou askest of him,
|
|||
|
either in kind or kindness: <i>He shall hear thee,</i> and make it
|
|||
|
to appear he does so by what he does for thee and in thee." [3.]
|
|||
|
"Then thou shalt by thy praises reply to the gracious answers which
|
|||
|
he sent thee: <i>Thou shalt pay thy vows,</i> and that shall be
|
|||
|
acceptable to him and fetch in further mercy." Note, When God
|
|||
|
performs that which in our distress we prayed for we must make
|
|||
|
conscience of performing that which we then promised, else we do
|
|||
|
not deal honestly. If we promised nothing else we promised to be
|
|||
|
thankful, and that is enough, for it includes all, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p27.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.116.14" parsed="|Ps|116|14|0|0" passage="Ps 116:14">Ps. cxvi. 14</scripRef>.</p>
|
|||
|
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p28">(4.) That he should have inward
|
|||
|
satisfaction in the management of all his outward affairs
|
|||
|
(<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.28" parsed="|Job|22|28|0|0" passage="Job 22:28"><i>v.</i> 28</scripRef>): "<i>Thou
|
|||
|
shalt decree a thing and it shall be established unto thee,</i>"
|
|||
|
that is, "Thou shalt frame all thy projects and purposes with so
|
|||
|
much wisdom, and grace, and resignation to the will of God, that
|
|||
|
the issue of them shall be to thy heart's content, just as thou
|
|||
|
wouldst have it to be. Thou shalt <i>commit thy works unto the
|
|||
|
Lord</i> by faith and prayer, and then <i>thy thoughts shall be
|
|||
|
established;</i> thou shalt be easy and pleased, whatever occurs,
|
|||
|
<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p28.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.16.3" parsed="|Prov|16|3|0|0" passage="Pr 16:3">Prov. xvi. 3</scripRef>. This the grace
|
|||
|
of God shall work in thee; nay, sometimes the providence of God
|
|||
|
shall give thee the very thing thou didst desire and pray for, and
|
|||
|
give it thee in thy own way, and manner, and time. <i>Be it unto
|
|||
|
thee even as thou wilt.</i>" When at any time an affair succeeds
|
|||
|
just according to the scheme we laid, and our measures are in
|
|||
|
nothing broken, nor are we put upon new counsels, then we must own
|
|||
|
the performance of this promise, <i>Thou shalt decree a thing and
|
|||
|
it shall be established unto thee.</i> "Whereas now thou
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complainest of darkness round about thee, then <i>the light shall
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shine on thy ways;</i>" that is, "God shall guide and direct thee,
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and then it will follow, of course, that he shall prosper and
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succeed thee in all thy undertakings. God's wisdom shall be thy
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guide, his favour thy comfort, and thy ways shall be so under both
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those lights that thou shalt have a comfortable enjoyment of what
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is present and a comfortable prospect of what is future," <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p28.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.90.17" parsed="|Ps|90|17|0|0" passage="Ps 90:17">Ps. xc. 17</scripRef>.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p29">(5.) That even in times of common calamity
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and danger he should have abundance of joy and hope (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p29.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.29" parsed="|Job|22|29|0|0" passage="Job 22:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>): "<i>When men are cast
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down</i> round about thee, cast down in their affairs, cast down in
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their spirits, sinking, desponding, and ready to despair, <i>then
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shalt thou say, There is lifting up.</i> Thou shalt find that in
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thyself which will not only bear thee up under thy troubles, and
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keep thee from fainting, but lift thee up above thy troubles and
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enable thee to rejoice evermore." When men's <i>hearts fail them
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for fear,</i> then shall Christ's disciples <i>lift up their heads
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for joy,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p29.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.21.26-Luke.21.28" parsed="|Luke|21|26|21|28" passage="Lu 21:26-28">Luke xxi.
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26-28</scripRef>. Thus are they made to <i>ride upon the high
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places of the earth</i> (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p29.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.58.14" parsed="|Isa|58|14|0|0" passage="Isa 58:14">Isa. lviii.
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14</scripRef>), and that which will lift them up is the belief of
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this, that God will save the humble person. Those that humble
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themselves shall be exalted, not only in honour, but in
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comfort.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Job.xxiii-p30">3. That he should be a blessing to his
|
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country and an instrument of good to many (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p30.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.30" parsed="|Job|22|30|0|0" passage="Job 22:30"><i>v.</i> 30</scripRef>): <i>God shall,</i> in answer
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to thy prayers, <i>deliver the island of the innocent,</i> and have
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a regard therein to <i>the pureness of thy hands,</i> which is
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necessary to the acceptableness of our prayers, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p30.2" osisRef="Bible:1Tim.2.8" parsed="|1Tim|2|8|0|0" passage="1Ti 2:8">1 Tim. ii. 8</scripRef>. But, because we may suppose the
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|
innocent not to need deliverance (it was guilty Sodom that wanted
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|
the benefit of Abraham's intercession), I incline to the marginal
|
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|
reading, <i>The innocent shall deliver the island,</i> by their
|
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|
advice (<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p30.3" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.14-Eccl.9.15" parsed="|Eccl|9|14|9|15" passage="Ec 9:14,15">Eccl. ix. 14, 15</scripRef>)
|
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|
and by their prayers and their interest in heaven, <scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p30.4" osisRef="Bible:Acts.27.24" parsed="|Acts|27|24|0|0" passage="Ac 27:24">Acts xxvii. 24</scripRef>. Or, <i>He shall
|
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deliver those that are not innocent, and they are delivered by the
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pureness of thy hands;</i> as it may be read, and most probably.
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Note, A good man is a public good. Sinners fare the better for
|
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saints, whether they are aware of it or no. If Eliphaz intended
|
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hereby (as some think he did) to insinuate that Job's prayers were
|
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not prevailing, nor his hands pure (for then he would have relieved
|
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|
others, much more himself), he was afterwards made to see his
|
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error, when it appeared that Job had a better interest in heaven
|
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|
than he had; for he and his three friends, who in this matter were
|
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not innocent, were delivered by <i>the pureness of Job's hands,</i>
|
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|
<scripRef id="Job.xxiii-p30.5" osisRef="Bible:Job.42.8" parsed="|Job|42|8|0|0" passage="Job 42:8"><i>ch.</i> xlii. 8</scripRef>.</p>
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</div></div2>
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