mh_parser/vol_split/18 - Job/Chapter 5.xml

<div2 id="Job.vi" n="vi" next="Job.vii" prev="Job.v" progress="3.05%" title="Chapter V">
<h2 id="Job.vi-p0.1">J O B</h2>
<h3 id="Job.vi-p0.2">CHAP. V.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Job.vi-p1">Eliphaz, in the foregoing chapter, for the making
good of his charge against Job, had vouched a word from heaven,
sent him in a vision. In this chapter he appeals to those that bear
record on earth, to the saints, the faithful witnesses of God's
truth in all ages, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.1" parsed="|Job|5|1|0|0" passage="Job 5:1">ver. 1</scripRef>.
They will testify, I. That the sin of sinners is their ruin,
<scripRef id="Job.vi-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.2-Job.5.5" parsed="|Job|5|2|5|5" passage="Job 5:2-5">ver. 2-5</scripRef>. II. That yet
affliction is the common lot of mankind, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.6-Job.5.7" parsed="|Job|5|6|5|7" passage="Job 5:6,7">ver. 6, 7</scripRef>. III. That when we are in
affliction it is our wisdom and duty to apply to God, for he is
able and ready to help us, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.8-Job.5.16" parsed="|Job|5|8|5|16" passage="Job 5:8-16">ver.
8-16</scripRef>. IV. That the afflictions which are borne well will
end well; and Job particularly, if he would come to a better
temper, might assure himself that God had great mercy in store for
him, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.17-Job.5.27" parsed="|Job|5|17|5|27" passage="Job 5:17-27">ver. 17-27</scripRef>. So that
he concludes his discourse in somewhat a better humour than he
began it.</p>
<scripCom id="Job.vi-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Job.5" parsed="|Job|5|0|0|0" passage="Job 5" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Job.vi-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.1-Job.5.5" parsed="|Job|5|1|5|5" passage="Job 5:1-5" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Job.5.1-Job.5.5">
<h4 id="Job.vi-p1.8">The Address of Eliphaz. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Job.vi-p1.9">b. c.</span> 1520.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Job.vi-p2">1 Call now, if there be any that will answer
thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?   2 For wrath
killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.   3 I
have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his
habitation.   4 His children are far from safety, and they are
crushed in the gate, neither <i>is there</i> any to deliver
<i>them.</i>   5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and
taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up
their substance.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p3">A very warm dispute being begun between Job
and his friends, Eliphaz here makes a fair motion to put the matter
to a reference. In all debates perhaps the sooner this is done the
better if the contenders cannot end it between themselves. So well
assured is Eliphaz of the goodness of his own cause that he moves
Job himself to choose the arbitrators (<scripRef id="Job.vi-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.1" parsed="|Job|5|1|0|0" passage="Job 5:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>): <i>Call now, if there be any
that will answer thee;</i> that is, 1. "If there be any that suffer
as thou sufferest. Canst thou produce an instance of any one that
was really a saint that was reduced to such an extremity as thou
art now reduced to? God never dealt with any that love his name as
he deals with thee, and therefore surely thou art none of them." 2.
"If there be any that say as thou sayest. Did ever any good man
curse his day as thou dost? Or will any of the saints justify thee
in these heats or passions, or say that these are the spots of
God's children? Thou wilt find none of the saints that will be
either thy advocates or my antagonists. <i>To which of the saints
wilt thou turn?</i> Turn to which thou wilt, and thou wilt find
they are all of my mind. I have the <i>communis sensus
fidelium—the unanimous vote of the faithful</i> on my side; they
will all subscribe to what I am going to say." Observe, (1.) Good
people are called <i>saints</i> even in the Old Testament; and
therefore I know not why we should, in common speaking (unless
because we must <i>loqui cum vulgo—speak as our neighbours</i>),
appropriate the title to those of the New Testament, and not say
St. Abraham, St. Moses, and St. Isaiah, as well as St. Matthew and
St. Mark; and St. David the psalmist, as well as St. David the
British bishop. Aaron is expressly called <i>the saint of the
Lord.</i> (2.) All that are themselves saints will turn to those
that are so, will choose them for their friends and converse with
them, will choose them for their judges and consult them. See
<scripRef id="Job.vi-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.119.79" parsed="|Ps|119|79|0|0" passage="Ps 119:79">Ps. cxix. 79</scripRef>. The saints
shall <i>judge the world,</i> <scripRef id="Job.vi-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.6.1-1Cor.6.2" parsed="|1Cor|6|1|6|2" passage="1Co 6:1,2">1 Cor.
vi. 1, 2</scripRef>. <i>Walk in the way of good men</i> (<scripRef id="Job.vi-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.2.20" parsed="|Prov|2|20|0|0" passage="Pr 2:20">Prov. ii. 20</scripRef>), <i>the old way, the
footsteps of the flock.</i> Every one chooses some sort of people
or other to whom he studies to recommend himself, and whose
sentiments are to him the test of honour and dishonour. Now all
true saints endeavour to recommend themselves to those that are
such, and to stand right in their opinion. (3.) There are some
truths so plain, and so universally known and believed, that one
may venture to appeal to any of the saints concerning them. However
there are some things about which they unhappily differ, there are
many more, and more considerable, in which they are agreed; as the
evil of sin, the vanity of the world, the worth of the soul, the
necessity of a holy life, and the like. Though they do not all live
up, as they should, to their belief of these truths, yet they are
all ready to bear their testimony to them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p4">Now there are two things which Eliphaz here
maintains, and in which he doubts not but all the saints concur
with him:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p5">I. That the sin of sinners directly tends
to their own ruin (<scripRef id="Job.vi-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.2" parsed="|Job|5|2|0|0" passage="Job 5:2"><i>v.</i>
2</scripRef>): <i>Wrath kills the foolish man,</i> his own wrath,
and therefore he is foolish for indulging it; it is a fire in his
bones, in his blood, enough to put him into a fever. <i>Envy</i> is
the rottenness of the bones, and so <i>slays the silly one</i> that
frets himself with it. "So it is with thee," says Eliphaz, "while
thou quarrellest with God thou doest thyself the greatest mischief;
thy anger at thy own troubles, and thy envy at our prosperity, do
but add to thy pain and misery: turn to the saints, and thou wilt
find they understand their interest better." Job had told his wife
she spoke as the foolish women; now Eliphaz tells him he acted as
the foolish men, the silly ones. Or it may be meant thus: "If men
are ruined and undone, it is always their own folly that ruins and
undoes them. They kill themselves by some lust or other; therefore,
no doubt, Job, thou hast done some foolish thing, by which thou
hast brought thyself into this calamitous condition." Many
understand it of God's wrath and jealousy. Job needed not be uneasy
at the prosperity of the wicked, for the world's smiles can never
shelter them from God's frowns; they are foolish and silly if they
think they will. God's anger will be the death, the eternal death,
of those on whom it fastens. What is hell but God's anger without
mixture or period?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p6">II. That their prosperity is short and
their destruction certain, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.3-Job.5.5" parsed="|Job|5|3|5|5" passage="Job 5:3-5"><i>v.</i>
3-5</scripRef>. He seems here to parallel Job's case with that
which is commonly the case of wicked people. 1. Job had prospered
for a time, seemed confirmed, and was secure in his prosperity; and
it is common for foolish wicked men to do so: <i>I have seen them
taking root</i>—planted, and, in their own and others'
apprehension, fixed, and likely to continue. See <scripRef id="Job.vi-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.12.2 Bible:Ps.37.35-Ps.37.36" parsed="|Jer|12|2|0|0;|Ps|37|35|37|36" passage="Jer 12:2,Ps 37:35,36">Jer. xii. 2; Ps. xxxvii. 35, 36</scripRef>.
We see worldly men taking root in the earth; on earthly things they
fix the standing of their hopes, and from them they draw the sap of
their comforts. The outward estate may be flourishing, but the soul
cannot prosper that takes root in the earth. 2. Job's prosperity
was now at an end, and so has the prosperity of other wicked people
quickly been. (1.) Eliphaz foresaw their ruin with an eye of faith.
Those who looked only at present things blessed their habitation,
and thought them happy, blessed it long, and wished themselves in
their condition. But Eliphaz cursed it, suddenly cursed it, as soon
as he saw them begin to take root, that is, he plainly foresaw and
foretold their ruin; not that he prayed for it (<i>I have not
desired the woeful day</i>), but he prognosticated it. <i>He went
into the sanctuary,</i> and there <i>understood their end</i> and
heard their doom read (<scripRef id="Job.vi-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.73.17-Ps.73.18" parsed="|Ps|73|17|73|18" passage="Ps 73:17,18">Ps. lxxiii.
17, 18</scripRef>), that the <i>prosperity of fools will destroy
them,</i> <scripRef id="Job.vi-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.32" parsed="|Prov|1|32|0|0" passage="Pr 1:32">Prov. i. 32</scripRef>. Those
who believe the word of God can see a <i>curse in the house of the
wicked</i> (<scripRef id="Job.vi-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Prov.3.33" parsed="|Prov|3|33|0|0" passage="Pr 3:33">Prov. iii. 33</scripRef>),
though it be ever so finely and firmly built, and ever so full of
all good things; and they can foresee that the curse will, in time,
infallibly consume it with the timber thereof, and the stones
thereof, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p6.6" osisRef="Bible:Zech.5.4" parsed="|Zech|5|4|0|0" passage="Zec 5:4">Zech. v. 4</scripRef>. (2.) He
saw, at length, what he had foreseen. He was not disappointed in
his expectation concerning him; the event answered it; his family
was undone, and his estate ruined. In these particulars he plainly
and very invidiously reflects on Job's calamities. [1.] His
children were crushed, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p6.7" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.4" parsed="|Job|5|4|0|0" passage="Job 5:4"><i>v.</i>
4</scripRef>. They thought themselves safe in their eldest
brother's house, but were <i>far from safety,</i> for they were
<i>crushed in the gate.</i> Perhaps the door or gate of the house
was highest built, and fell heaviest upon them, <i>and there was
none to deliver them</i> from perishing in the ruins. This is
commonly understood of the destruction of the families of wicked
men, by the execution of justice upon them, to oblige them to
restore what they have ill-gotten. They leave it to their children;
but the descent shall not bar the entry of the rightful owners, who
will crush their children, and cast them by due course of law (and
there shall be none to help them), or perhaps by oppression,
<scripRef id="Job.vi-p6.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.109.9-Ps.109.10" parsed="|Ps|109|9|109|10" passage="Ps 109:9,10">Ps. cix. 9</scripRef>, &amp;c. [2.]
His estate was plundered, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p6.9" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.5" parsed="|Job|5|5|0|0" passage="Job 5:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>. Job's was so. The hungry robbers, the Sabeans and
Chaldeans, ran away with it, and swallowed it; and this, says he, I
have often observed in others. What has been got by spoil and
rapine has been lost in the same way. The careful owner hedged it
about with thorns, and then thought it safe; but the fence proved
insignificant against the greediness of the spoilers (if hunger
will break through the stone walls, much more through thorn
hedges), and against the divine curse, which will go through the
thorns and briers, and <i>burn them together,</i> <scripRef id="Job.vi-p6.10" osisRef="Bible:Isa.27.4" parsed="|Isa|27|4|0|0" passage="Isa 27:4">Isa. xxvii. 4</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Job.vi-p6.11" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.6-Job.5.16" parsed="|Job|5|6|5|16" passage="Job 5:6-16" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Job.5.6-Job.5.16">
<p class="passage" id="Job.vi-p7">6 Although affliction cometh not forth of the
dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;   7 Yet
man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.   8 I
would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:   9
Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things
without number:   10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, and
sendeth waters upon the fields:   11 To set up on high those
that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.
  12 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their
hands cannot perform <i>their</i> enterprise.   13 He taketh
the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is
carried headlong.   14 They meet with darkness in the daytime,
and grope in the noonday as in the night.   15 But he saveth
the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the
mighty.   16 So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her
mouth.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p8">Eliphaz, having touched Job in a very
tender part, in mentioning both the loss of his estate and the
death of his children as the just punishment of his sin, that he
might not drive him to despair, here begins to encourage him, and
puts him in a way to make himself easy. Now he very much changes
his voice (<scripRef id="Job.vi-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.20" parsed="|Gal|4|20|0|0" passage="Ga 4:20">Gal. iv. 20</scripRef>), and
speaks in the accents of kindness, as if he would atone for the
hard words he had given him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p9">I. He reminds him that no affliction comes
by chance, nor is to be attributed to second causes: It <i>doth not
come forth of the dust,</i> nor <i>spring out of the ground,</i> as
the grass doth, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.6" parsed="|Job|5|6|0|0" passage="Job 5:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>.
It doth not come of course, at certain seasons of the year, as
natural productions do, by a chain of second causes. The proportion
between prosperity and adversity is not so exactly observed by
Providence as that between day and night, summer and winter, but
according to the will and counsel of God, when and as he thinks
fit. Some read it, <i>Sin comes not forth out of the dust, nor
iniquity of the ground.</i> If men be bad, they must not lay the
blame upon the soil, the climate, or the stars, but on themselves.
<i>If thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.</i> We must not
attribute our afflictions to fortune, for they are from God, nor
our sins to fate, for they are from ourselves; so that, whatever
trouble we are in, we must own that God sends it upon us and we
procure it to ourselves: the former is a reason why we should be
very patient, the latter why we should be very penitent, when we
are afflicted.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p10">II. He reminds him that trouble and
affliction are what we have all reason to expect in this world:
<i>Man is brought to trouble</i> (<scripRef id="Job.vi-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.7" parsed="|Job|5|7|0|0" passage="Job 5:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>), not as man (had he kept his
innocency he would have been born to pleasure), but as sinful man,
as <i>born of a woman</i> (<scripRef id="Job.vi-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.14.1" parsed="|Job|14|1|0|0" passage="Job 14:1"><i>ch.</i>
xiv. 1</scripRef>), who was in the transgression. Man is born in
sin, and therefore born to trouble. Even those that are born to
honour and estate are yet born to trouble in the flesh. In our
fallen state it has become natural to us to sin, and the natural
consequence of that is affliction, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Rom.5.12" parsed="|Rom|5|12|0|0" passage="Ro 5:12">Rom.
v. 12</scripRef>. There is nothing in this world we are born to,
and can truly call our own, but sin and trouble; both are as the
sparks that fly upwards. Actual transgressions are the sparks that
fly out of the furnace of original corruption; and, being called
<i>transgressors from the womb,</i> no wonder that we <i>deal very
treacherously,</i> <scripRef id="Job.vi-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.48.8" parsed="|Isa|48|8|0|0" passage="Isa 48:8">Isa. xlviii.
8</scripRef>. Such too is the frailty of our bodies, and the vanity
of all our enjoyments, that our troubles also thence arise as
naturally <i>as the sparks fly upwards</i>—so many are they, so
thick and so fast does one follow another. Why then should we be
surprised at our afflictions as strange, or quarrel with them as
hard, when they are but what we are born to? Man is born to
<i>labour</i> (so it is in the margin), is sentenced to eat his
bread in the sweat of his face, which should inure him to hardness,
and make him bear his afflictions the better.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p11">III. He directs him how to behave himself
under his affliction (<scripRef id="Job.vi-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.8" parsed="|Job|5|8|0|0" passage="Job 5:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>): <i>I would seek unto God; surely I would:</i> so it
is in the original. Here is, 1. A tacit reproof to Job for not
seeking to God, but quarrelling with him: "Job, if I had been in
thy case, I would not have been so peevish and passionate as thou
art. I would have acquiesced in the will of God." It is easy to say
what we would do if we were in such a one's case; but when it comes
to the trial, perhaps it will be found not so easy to do as we say.
2. Very good and seasonable advice to him, which Eliphaz transfers
to himself in a figure: "For my part, the best way I should think I
could take, if I were in thy condition, would be to apply to God."
Note, We should give our friends no other counsel than what we
would take ourselves if we were in their case, that we may be easy
under our afflictions, may get good by them, and may see a good
issue of them. (1.) We must by prayer fetch in mercy and grace from
God, seek to him as a Father and friend, though he contend with us,
as one who is alone able to support and succour us. His favour we
must seek when we have lost all we have in the world; to him we
must address ourselves as the fountain and Father of all good, all
consolation. <i>Is any afflicted? let him pray.</i> It is
heart's-ease, a salve for every sore. (2.) We must by patience
refer ourselves and our cause to him: <i>To God would I commit my
cause;</i> having spread it before him, I would leave it with him;
having laid it at his feet, I would lodge it in his hand. "<i>Here
I am, let the Lord do with me as seemeth him good.</i>" If our
cause be indeed a good cause, we need not fear committing it to
God, for he is both just and kind. Those that would seek so as to
speed must refer themselves to God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p12">IV. He encourages him thus to seek to God,
and commit his cause to him. It will not be in vain to do so, for
he is one in whom we shall find effectual help.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p13">1. He recommends to his consideration God's
almighty power and sovereign dominion. In general, he <i>doeth
great things</i> (<scripRef id="Job.vi-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.9" parsed="|Job|5|9|0|0" passage="Job 5:9"><i>v.</i>
9</scripRef>), great indeed, for he can do any thing, he doth do
every thing, and all according to the counsel of his own
will—great indeed, for the operations of his power are, (1.)
<i>Unsearchable,</i> and such as can never be fathomed, can never
be found out <i>from the beginning to the end,</i> <scripRef id="Job.vi-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.3.11" parsed="|Eccl|3|11|0|0" passage="Ec 3:11">Eccl. iii. 11</scripRef>. The works of nature are
mysterious; the most curious searches come far short of full
discoveries and the wisest philosophers have owned themselves at a
loss. The designs of Providence are much more deep and
unaccountable, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.33" parsed="|Rom|11|33|0|0" passage="Ro 11:33">Rom. xi. 33</scripRef>.
(2.) <i>Numerous,</i> and such as can never be reckoned up. He
doeth great <i>things without number;</i> his power is never
exhausted, nor will all his purposes ever be fulfilled till the end
of time. (3.) They are <i>marvellous,</i> and such as never can be
sufficiently admired; eternity itself will be short enough to be
spent in the admiration of them. Now, by the consideration of this,
Eliphaz intends, [1.] To convince Job of his fault and folly in
quarrelling with God. We must not pretend to pass a judgment upon
his works, for they are unsearchable and above our enquiries; nor
must we strive with our Maker, for he will certainly be too hard
for us, and is able to crush us in a moment. [2.] To encourage Job
to seek unto God, and to refer his cause to him. What more
encouraging than to see that he is one to whom power belongs? He
can do great things and marvellous for our relief, when we are
brought ever so low.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p14">2. He gives some instances of God's
dominion and power.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p15">(1.) God doeth great things in the kingdom
of nature: <i>He gives rain upon the earth</i> (<scripRef id="Job.vi-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.10" parsed="|Job|5|10|0|0" passage="Job 5:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>), put here for all the gifts of
common providence, all the <i>fruitful seasons</i> by which he
<i>filleth our hearts with food and gladness,</i> <scripRef id="Job.vi-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Acts.14.17" parsed="|Acts|14|17|0|0" passage="Ac 14:17">Acts xiv. 17</scripRef>. Observe, When he would
show what great things God does he speaks of his giving rain,
which, because it is a common thing, we are apt to look upon as a
little thing, but, if we duly consider both how it is produced and
what is produced by it, we shall see it to be a great work both of
power and goodness.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p16">(2.) He doeth great things in the affairs
of the children of men, not only enriches the poor and comforts the
needy, by the rain he sends (<scripRef id="Job.vi-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.10" parsed="|Job|5|10|0|0" passage="Job 5:10"><i>v.</i>
10</scripRef>), but, in order to the advancing of those that are
low, he <i>disappoints the devices of the crafty;</i> for <scripRef id="Job.vi-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.11" parsed="|Job|5|11|0|0" passage="Job 5:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef> is to be joined to
<scripRef id="Job.vi-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.12" parsed="|Job|5|12|0|0" passage="Job 5:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. Compare with
<scripRef id="Job.vi-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:Luke.1.51-Luke.1.53" parsed="|Luke|1|51|1|53" passage="Lu 1:51-53">Luke i. 51-53</scripRef>. He hath
<i>scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,</i> and
so hath <i>exalted those of low degree,</i> and <i>filled the heart
with good things.</i> See,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p17">[1.] How he frustrates the counsels of the
proud and politic, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.12-Job.5.14" parsed="|Job|5|12|5|14" passage="Job 5:12-14"><i>v.</i>
12-14</scripRef>. There is a supreme power that manages and
overrules men who think themselves free and absolute, and fulfils
its own purposes in spite of their projects. Observe, <i>First,</i>
The froward, that walk contrary to God and the interests of his
kingdom, are often very crafty; for they are the seed of the old
serpent that was noted for his subtlety. They think themselves
wise, but, at the end, will be fools. <i>Secondly,</i> The Froward
enemies of God's kingdom have their devices, their enterprises, and
their counsels, against it, and against the loyal faithful subjects
of it. They are restless and unwearied in their designs, close in
their consultations, high in their hopes, deep in their politics,
and fast-linked in their confederacies, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.2.1-Ps.2.2" parsed="|Ps|2|1|2|2" passage="Ps 2:1,2">Ps. ii. 1, 2</scripRef>. <i>Thirdly,</i> God easily can,
and (as far as is for his glory) certainly will, blast and defeat
all the designs of his and his people's enemies. How were the plots
of Ahithophel, Sanballat, and Haman baffled! How were the
confederacies of Syria and Ephraim against Judah, of Gebal, and
Ammon, and Amalek, against God's Israel, the kings of the earth and
the princes against the Lord and against his anointed, broken! The
hands that have been stretched out against God and his church have
not performed their enterprise, nor have the weapons formed against
Sion prospered. <i>Fourthly,</i> That which enemies have designed
for the ruin of the church has often turned to their own ruin
(<scripRef id="Job.vi-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.13" parsed="|Job|5|13|0|0" passage="Job 5:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>): <i>He takes
the wise in their own craftiness,</i> and <i>snares them in the
work of their own hands,</i> <scripRef id="Job.vi-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.7.15-Ps.7.16 Bible:Ps.9.15-Ps.9.16" parsed="|Ps|7|15|7|16;|Ps|9|15|9|16" passage="Ps 7:15,16,9:15,16">Ps. vii. 15, 16; ix. 15, 16</scripRef>. This
is quoted by the apostle (<scripRef id="Job.vi-p17.5" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.3.19" parsed="|1Cor|3|19|0|0" passage="1Co 3:19">1 Cor. iii.
19</scripRef>) to show how the learned men of the heathen were
befooled by their own vain philosophy. <i>Fifthly,</i> When God
infatuates men they are perplexed, and at a loss, even in those
things that seem most plain and easy (<scripRef id="Job.vi-p17.6" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.14" parsed="|Job|5|14|0|0" passage="Job 5:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>): <i>They meet with darkness</i>
even <i>in the day-time:</i> nay (as in the margin), <i>They run
themselves into darkness</i> by the violence and precipitation of
their own counsels. See <scripRef id="Job.vi-p17.7" osisRef="Bible:Job.12.20 Bible:Job.12.24 Bible:Job.12.25" parsed="|Job|12|20|0|0;|Job|12|24|0|0;|Job|12|25|0|0" passage="Job 12:20,24,25"><i>ch.</i> xii. 20, 24, 25</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p18">[2.] How he favours the cause of the poor
and humble, and espouses that. <i>First,</i> He exalts the humble,
<scripRef id="Job.vi-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.11" parsed="|Job|5|11|0|0" passage="Job 5:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>. Those whom
proud men contrive to crush he raises from under their feet, and
sets them in safety, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.12.5" parsed="|Ps|12|5|0|0" passage="Ps 12:5">Ps. xii.
5</scripRef>. The lowly in heart, and those that mourn, he
advances, comforts, and makes to <i>dwell on high,</i> in the
<i>munitions of rocks,</i> <scripRef id="Job.vi-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.33.16" parsed="|Isa|33|16|0|0" passage="Isa 33:16">Isa.
xxxiii. 16</scripRef>. Sion's mourners are the sealed ones, marked
for safety, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p18.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.4" parsed="|Ezek|9|4|0|0" passage="Eze 9:4">Ezek. ix. 4</scripRef>.
<i>Secondly,</i> He delivers the oppressed, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p18.5" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.15" parsed="|Job|5|15|0|0" passage="Job 5:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. The designs of the crafty are
to ruin the poor. Tongue, and hand, and sword, and all, are at work
in order to this; but God takes under his special protection those
who, being poor and unable to help themselves, being his poor and
devoted to his praise, have committed themselves to him. He saves
them from the mouth that speaks hard things against them and the
hand that does hard things against them; for he can, when he
pleases, tie the tongue and wither the hand. The effect of this is
(<scripRef id="Job.vi-p18.6" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.16" parsed="|Job|5|16|0|0" passage="Job 5:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>), 1. That
weak and timorous saints are comforted: <i>So the poor,</i> who
began to despair, <i>has hope.</i> The experiences of some are
encouragement to others to hope the best in the worst of times; for
it is the glory of God to send help to the helpless and hope to the
hopeless. 2. That daring threatening sinners are confounded:
<i>Iniquity stops her mouth,</i> being surprised at the strangeness
of the deliverance, ashamed of its enmity against those who appear
to be the favourites of Heaven, mortified at the disappointment,
and compelled to acknowledge the justice of God's proceedings,
having nothing to object against them. Those that domineered over
God's poor, that frightened them, menaced them, and falsely accused
them, will not have a word to say against them when God appears for
them. See <scripRef id="Job.vi-p18.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.76.8-Ps.76.9 Bible:Isa.26.11 Bible:Mic.7.16" parsed="|Ps|76|8|76|9;|Isa|26|11|0|0;|Mic|7|16|0|0" passage="Ps 76:8,9,Isa 26:11,Mic 7:16">Ps.
lxxvi. 8, 9; Isa. xxvi. 11; Mic. vii. 16</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Job.vi-p18.8" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.17-Job.5.27" parsed="|Job|5|17|5|27" passage="Job 5:17-27" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Job.5.17-Job.5.27">
<p class="passage" id="Job.vi-p19">17 Behold, happy <i>is</i> the man whom God
correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the
Almighty:   18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he
woundeth, and his hands make whole.   19 He shall deliver thee
in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
  20 In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war
from the power of the sword.   21 Thou shalt be hid from the
scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction
when it cometh.   22 At destruction and famine thou shalt
laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
  23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field:
and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.   24
And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle <i>shall be</i> in peace;
and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.   25
Thou shalt know also that thy seed <i>shall be</i> great, and thine
offspring as the grass of the earth.   26 Thou shalt come to
<i>thy</i> grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in
in his season.   27 Lo this, we have searched it, so it
<i>is;</i> hear it, and know thou <i>it</i> for thy good.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p20">Eliphaz, in this concluding paragraph of
his discourse, gives Job (what he himself knew not how to take) a
comfortable prospect of the issue of his afflictions, if he did but
recover his temper and accommodate himself to them. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p21">I. The seasonable word of caution and
exhortation that he gives him (<scripRef id="Job.vi-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.17" parsed="|Job|5|17|0|0" passage="Job 5:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>): "<i>Despise not thou the
chastening of the Almighty.</i> Call it a chastening, which comes
from the father's love and is designed for the child's good. Call
it the chastening of the Almighty, with whom it is madness to
contend, to whom it is wisdom and duty to submit, and who will be a
God all-sufficient (for so the word signifies) to all those that
trust in him. Do not <i>despise</i> it;" it is a copious word in
the original. 1. "Be not averse to it. Let grace conquer the
antipathy which nature has to suffering, and reconcile thyself to
the will of God in it." We need the rod and we deserve it; and
therefore we ought not to think it either strange or hard if we
feel the smart of it. Let not the heart rise against a bitter pill
or potion, when it is prescribed for our good. 2. "Do not think ill
of it; do not put it from thee (as that which is either hurtful or
at least not useful, which there is not occasion for nor advantage
by) only because for the present it is not joyous, but grievous."
We must never scorn to stoop to God, nor think it a thing below us
to come under his discipline, but reckon, on the contrary, that God
really magnifies man when he thus <i>visits and tries him,</i>
<scripRef id="Job.vi-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.7.17-Job.7.18" parsed="|Job|7|17|7|18" passage="Job 7:17,18"><i>ch.</i> vii. 17, 18</scripRef>.
3. "Do not overlook and disregard it, as if it were only a chance,
and the production of second causes, but take great notice of it as
the voice of God and a messenger from heaven." More is implied than
is expressed: "<i>Reverence the chastening of the Lord;</i> have a
humble awful regard to this correcting hand, and tremble when the
lion roars, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Amos.3.8" parsed="|Amos|3|8|0|0" passage="Am 3:8">Amos iii. 8</scripRef>.
Submit to the chastening, and study to answer the call, to answer
the end of it, and then you reverence it." When God by an
affliction draws upon us for some of the effects he has entrusted
us with we must honour his bill by accepting it, and subscribing
it, resigning him his own when he calls for it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p22">II. The comfortable words of encouragement
which he gives him thus to accommodate himself to his condition,
and (as he himself had expressed it) to receive evil at the hand of
God, and not despise it as a gift not worth the accepting.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p23">1. If his affliction was thus borne, (1.)
The nature and property of it would be altered. Though it looked
like a man's misery, it would really be his bliss: <i>Happy is the
man whom God correcteth</i> if he make but a due improvement of the
correction. A good man is happy though he be afflicted, for,
whatever he has lost, he has not lost his enjoyment of God nor his
title to heaven. Nay, he is happy because he is afflicted;
correction is an evidence of his sonship and a means of his
sanctification; it mortifies his corruptions, weans his heart from
the world, draws him nearer to God, brings him to his Bible, brings
him to his knees, works him for, and so is working for him, a far
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. <i>Happy</i> therefore
<i>is the man whom God correcteth,</i> <scripRef id="Job.vi-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Jas.1.12" parsed="|Jas|1|12|0|0" passage="Jam 1:12">Jam. i. 12</scripRef>. (2.) The issue and consequence of
it would be very good, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p23.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.18" parsed="|Job|5|18|0|0" passage="Job 5:18"><i>v.</i>
18</scripRef>. [1.] Though <i>he makes sore</i> the body with sore
boils, the mind with sad thoughts, yet he <i>binds up</i> at the
same time, as the skilful tender surgeon binds up the wounds he had
occasion to make with his incision-knife. When God makes sores by
the rebukes of his providence he binds up by the consolations of
his Spirit, which oftentimes abound most as afflictions do abound,
and counterbalance them, to the unspeakable satisfaction of the
patient sufferers. [2.] Though <i>he wounds,</i> yet <i>his hands
make whole</i> in due time; as he supports his people, and makes
them easy under their afflictions, so in due time he delivers them,
and makes a way for them to escape. All is well again; and he
comforts them <i>according to the time wherein he afflicted
them.</i> God's usual method is first to wound and then to heal,
first to convince and then to comfort, first to humble and then to
exalt; and (as Mr. Caryl observes) he never makes a wound too
great, too deep, for his own cure. <i>Una eademque manus vulnus
opemque tulit—The hand that inflicts the wound applies the
cure.</i> God tears the wicked and goes away; let those heal that
will, if they can (<scripRef id="Job.vi-p23.3" osisRef="Bible:Hos.5.14" parsed="|Hos|5|14|0|0" passage="Ho 5:14">Hos. v.
14</scripRef>); but the humble and penitent may say, <i>He has torn
and he will heal us,</i> <scripRef id="Job.vi-p23.4" osisRef="Bible:Hos.6.1" parsed="|Hos|6|1|0|0" passage="Ho 6:1">Hos. vi.
1</scripRef>. This is general, but,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p24">2. In the <scripRef id="Job.vi-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.19-Job.5.27" parsed="|Job|5|19|5|27" passage="Job 5:19-27">following verses</scripRef> Eliphaz addresses himself
directly to Job, and gives him many precious promises of great and
kind things which God would do for him if he did but humble himself
under his hand. Though then they had no Bibles that we know of, yet
Eliphaz had sufficient warrant to give Job these assurances, from
the general discoveries God had made of his good will to his
people. And, though in every thing which Job's friends said they
were not directed by the Spirit of God (for they spoke both of God
and Job some things that were not right), yet the general doctrines
they laid down expressed the pious sense of the patriarchal age,
and as St. Paul quoted <scripRef id="Job.vi-p24.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.13 Bible:1Cor.1.19" parsed="|Job|5|13|0|0;|1Cor|1|19|0|0" passage="Job 5:13,1Co 1:19"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef> for canonical
scripture, and as the command <scripRef id="Job.vi-p24.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.17 Bible:Heb.12.5" parsed="|Job|5|17|0|0;|Heb|12|5|0|0" passage="Job 5:17,Heb 12:5"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef> is no doubt binding on
us, so these promises here may be, and must be, received and
applied as divine promises, and we may <i>through patience and
comfort of this</i> part of <i>scripture have hope.</i> Let us
therefore give diligence to make sure our interest in these
promises, and then view the particulars of them and take the
comfort of them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p25">(1.) It is here promised that as
afflictions and troubles recur supports and deliverances shall be
graciously repeated, be it ever so often: <i>In six troubles he
shall</i> be ready to <i>deliver thee; yea, and in seven,</i>
<scripRef id="Job.vi-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.19" parsed="|Job|5|19|0|0" passage="Job 5:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>. This
intimates that, as long as we are here in this world, we must expect
a succession of troubles, that the clouds will return after the
rain. After six troubles may come a seventh; after many, look for
more; but out of them all will God deliver those that are his,
<scripRef id="Job.vi-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:2Tim.3.11 Bible:Ps.34.19" parsed="|2Tim|3|11|0|0;|Ps|34|19|0|0" passage="2Ti 3:11,Ps 34:19">2 Tim. iii. 11; Ps. xxxiv.
19</scripRef>. Former deliverances are not, as among men, excuses
from further deliverances, but earnests of them, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p25.3" osisRef="Bible:Prov.19.19" parsed="|Prov|19|19|0|0" passage="Pr 19:19">Prov. xix. 19</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p26">(2.) That, whatever troubles good men may
be in, <i>there shall no evil touch them;</i> they shall do them no
real harm; the malignity of them, the sting, shall be taken out;
they may hiss, but they cannot hurt, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.91.10" parsed="|Ps|91|10|0|0" passage="Ps 91:10">Ps. xci. 10</scripRef>. The <i>evil one toucheth not</i>
God's children, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p26.2" osisRef="Bible:1John.5.18" parsed="|1John|5|18|0|0" passage="1Jo 5:18">1 John v.
18</scripRef>. Being kept from sin, they are kept from the evil of
every trouble.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p27">(3.) That, when desolating judgments are
abroad, they shall be taken under special protection, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.20" parsed="|Job|5|20|0|0" passage="Job 5:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>. Do many perish about
them for want of the necessary supports of life? They shall be
supplied. "<i>In famine he shall redeem thee from death;</i>
whatever becomes of others, thou shalt be <i>kept alive,</i>
<scripRef id="Job.vi-p27.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.33.19" parsed="|Ps|33|19|0|0" passage="Ps 33:19">Ps. xxxiii. 19</scripRef>. <i>Verily,
thou shalt be fed,</i> nay, even <i>in the days of famine thou
shalt be satisfied,</i> <scripRef id="Job.vi-p27.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.37.3 Bible:Ps.37.19" parsed="|Ps|37|3|0|0;|Ps|37|19|0|0" passage="Ps 37:3,19">Ps. xxxvii.
3, 19</scripRef>. <i>In</i> time of <i>war,</i> when thousands fall
on the right and left hand, he shall redeem thee <i>from the power
of the sword.</i> If God please, it shall not touch thee; or if it
wound thee, if it kill thee, it shall not hurt thee; it can but
kill the body, nor has it power to do that unless it be given from
above."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p28">(4.) That, whatever is maliciously said
against them, it shall not affect them to do them any hurt,
<scripRef id="Job.vi-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.21" parsed="|Job|5|21|0|0" passage="Job 5:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>. "<i>Thou
shalt</i> not only be protected from the killing sword of war, but
shalt <i>be hidden from the scourge of the</i> tongue, which, like
a scourge, is vexing and painful, though not mortal." The best men,
and the most inoffensive, cannot, even in their innocency, secure
themselves from calumny, reproach, and false accusation. From these
a man cannot hide himself, but God can hide him, so that the most
malicious slanders shall be so little heeded by him as not to
disturb his peace, and so little heeded by others as not to blemish
his reputation: and the remainder of wrath God can and does
restrain, for it is owing to the hold he has of the consciences of
bad men that the scourge of the tongue is not the ruin of all the
comforts of good men in this world.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p29">(5.) That they shall have a holy security
and serenity of mind, arising from their hope and confidence in
God, even in the worst of times. When dangers are most threatening
they shall be easy, believing themselves safe; and they <i>shall
not be afraid of destruction,</i> no, not when they see it coming
(<scripRef id="Job.vi-p29.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.21" parsed="|Job|5|21|0|0" passage="Job 5:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>), nor <i>of
the beasts of the field</i> when they set upon them, nor of men as
cruel as beasts; nay, <i>at destruction and famine thou shalt
laugh</i> (<scripRef id="Job.vi-p29.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.22" parsed="|Job|5|22|0|0" passage="Job 5:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>),
not so as to despise any of God's chastenings or make a jest of his
judgments, but so as to triumph in God, in his power and goodness,
and therein to triumph over the world and all its grievances, to be
not only easy, but cheerful and joyful, in tribulation. Blessed
Paul laughed at destruction when he said, <i>O death! where is thy
sting?</i> when, in the name of all the saints, he defied all the
calamities of this present time to <i>separate us from the love of
God,</i> concluding that <i>in all these things we are more than
conquerors,</i> <scripRef id="Job.vi-p29.3" osisRef="Bible:Rom.8.35-Rom.8.39" parsed="|Rom|8|35|8|39" passage="Ro 8:35-39">Rom. viii.
35</scripRef>, &amp;c. See <scripRef id="Job.vi-p29.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.22" parsed="|Isa|37|22|0|0" passage="Isa 37:22">Isa.
xxxvii. 22</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p30">(6.) That, being at peace with God, there
shall be a covenant of friendship between them and the whole
creation, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p30.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.23" parsed="|Job|5|23|0|0" passage="Job 5:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>.
"When thou walkest over thy grounds thou shalt not need to fear
stumbling, for <i>thou shalt be at league with the stones of the
field,</i> not to dash thy foot against any of them, nor shalt thou
be in danger from <i>the beasts of the field,</i> for they shall
all be at peace with thee;" compare <scripRef id="Job.vi-p30.2" osisRef="Bible:Hos.2.18" parsed="|Hos|2|18|0|0" passage="Ho 2:18">Hos. ii. 18</scripRef>, <i>I will make a covenant for
them with the beasts of the field.</i> This implies that while man
is at enmity with his Maker the inferior creatures are at war with
him; but <i>tranquillus Deus tranquillat omnia—a reconciled God
reconciles all things.</i> Our covenant with God is a covenant with
all the creatures that they shall do us no hurt but be ready to
serve us and do us good.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p31">(7.) That their houses and families shall
be comfortable to them, <scripRef id="Job.vi-p31.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.24" parsed="|Job|5|24|0|0" passage="Job 5:24"><i>v.</i>
24</scripRef>. Peace and piety in the family will make it so.
"<i>Thou shalt know</i> and be assured <i>that thy tabernacle</i>
is and <i>shall be in peace;</i> thou mayest be confident both of
its present and its future prosperity." <i>That peace is thy
tabernacle</i> (so the word is); peace is the house in which those
dwell who dwell in God, and are at home in him. "<i>Thou shalt
visit</i>" (that is, enquire into the affairs of) "<i>thy
habitation,</i> and take a review of them, <i>and shalt not
sin.</i>" [1.] God will provide a settlement for his people, mean
perhaps and movable, a cottage, a tabernacle, but a fixed and quiet
habitation. "Thou shalt not sin," or <i>wander;</i> that is, as
some understand it, "thou shalt not be a fugitive and a vagabond"
(Cain's curse), "but shalt dwell in the land, and verily, not
uncertainly as vagrants, shalt thou be fed." [2.] Their families
shall be taken under the special protection of the divine
Providence, and shall prosper as far as is for their good. [3.]
They shall be assured of peace, and of the continuance and entail
of it. "Thou shalt know, to thy unspeakable satisfaction, that
peace is sure to thee and thine, having the word of God for it."
Providence may change, but the promise cannot. [4.] They shall have
wisdom to govern their families aright, to order their affairs with
discretion, and to look well to the ways of their household, which
is here called <i>visiting their habitation.</i> Masters of
families must not be strangers at home, but must have a watchful
eye over what they have and what their servants do. [5.] They shall
have grace to manage the concerns of their families after a godly
sort, and not to sin in the management of them. They shall call
their servants to account without passion, pride, covetousness,
worldliness, or the like; they shall look into their affairs
without discontent at what is or distrust of what shall be. Family
piety crowns family peace and prosperity. The greatest blessing,
both in our employments and in our enjoyments, is to be kept from
sin in them. When we are abroad it is comfortable to hear that our
tabernacle is in peace; and when we return home it is comfortable
to visit our habitation with satisfaction in our success, that we
have not failed in our business, and with a good conscience, that
we have not offended God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p32">(8.) That their posterity shall be numerous
and prosperous. Job had lost all his children; "but," says Eliphaz,
"if thou return to God, he will again build up thy family, and thy
seed shall be many and as great as ever, and thy offspring
increasing and flourishing <i>as the grass of the earth</i>
(<scripRef id="Job.vi-p32.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.25" parsed="|Job|5|25|0|0" passage="Job 5:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>), and thou
shalt know it." God has blessings in store for the seed of the
faithful, which they shall have if they do not stand in their own
light and forfeit them by their folly. It is a comfort to parents
to see the prosperity, especially the spiritual prosperity, of
their children; if they are truly good, they are truly great, how
small a figure soever they may make in the world.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p33">(9.) That their death shall be seasonable,
and they shall finish their course, at length, with joy and honour,
<scripRef id="Job.vi-p33.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.26" parsed="|Job|5|26|0|0" passage="Job 5:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>. It is a great
mercy, [1.] To live to a full age, and not to have the number of
our months cut off in the midst. If the providence of God do not
give us long life, yet, if the grace of God give us to be satisfied
with the time allotted us, we may be said to come to a full age.
That man lives long enough that has done his work and is fit for
another world. [2.] To be willing to die, to come cheerfully to the
grave, and not to be forced thither, as he whose soul was required
of him. [3.] To die seasonably, as the corn is cut and housed when
it is fully ripe; not till then, but then not suffered to stand a
day longer, lest it shed. Our times are in God's hand; it is well
they are so, for he will take care that those who are his shall die
in the best time: however their death may seem to us untimely, it
will be found not unseasonable.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.vi-p34">3. In the <scripRef id="Job.vi-p34.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.27" parsed="|Job|5|27|0|0" passage="Job 5:27">last
verse</scripRef> he recommends these promises to Job, (1.) As
faithful sayings, which he might be confident of the truth of:
"<i>Lo, this we have searched, and so it is.</i> We have indeed
received these things by tradition from our fathers, but we have
not taken them upon trust; we have carefully searched them, have
compared spiritual things with spiritual, have diligently studied
them, and been confirmed in our belief of them from our own
observation and experience; and we are all of a mind that so it
is." Truth is a treasure that is well worth digging for, diving
for; and then we shall know both how to value it ourselves and how
to communicate it to others when we have taken pains in searching
for it. (2.) As well worthy of all acceptation, which he might
improve to his great advantage: <i>Hear it, and know thou it for
thy good.</i> It is not enough to hear and know the truth, but we
must improve it, and be made wiser and better by it, receive the
impressions of it, and submit to the commanding power of it.
<i>Know it for thyself</i> (so the word is), with application to
thyself, and thy own case; not only "This is true," but "this is
true concerning me." That which we thus hear and know for ourselves
we hear and know for our good, as we are nourished by the meat
which we digest. That is indeed a good sermon to us which does us
good.</p>
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