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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>J O B</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. X.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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Job owns here that he was full of confusion
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:15">ver. 15</A>),
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and as he was so was his discourse: he knew not what to say, and
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perhaps sometimes scarcely knew what he said. In this chapter,
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I. He complains of the hardships he was under
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:1-7">ver. 1-7</A>),
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and then comforts himself with this, that he was in the hand of the God
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that made him, and pleads that,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:8-13">ver. 8-13</A>.
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II. He complains again of the severity of God's dealings with him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:14-17">ver. 14-17</A>),
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and then comforts himself with this, that death would put an end to his
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troubles,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:18-22">ver. 18-22</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Job10_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job10_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job10_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job10_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job10_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job10_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job10_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Job's Reply to Bildad.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1520.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon
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myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
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2 I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; show me wherefore
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thou contendest with me.
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3 <I>Is it</I> good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou
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shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the
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counsel of the wicked?
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4 Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth?
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5 <I>Are</I> thy days as the days of man? <I>are</I> thy years as man's
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days,
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6 That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after
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my sin?
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7 Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and <I>there is</I> none that
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can deliver out of thine hand.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is, I. A passionate resolution to persist in his complaint,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Being daunted with the dread of God's majesty, so that he could not
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plead his cause with him, he resolves to give himself some ease by
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giving vent to his resentments. He begins with vehement language:
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"<I>My soul is weary of my life,</I> weary of this body, and impatient
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to get clear of it, fallen out with life, and displeased at it, sick of
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it, and longing for death." Through the weakness of grace he went
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contrary to the dictates even of nature itself. We should act more like
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men did we act more like saints. Faith and patience would keep us from
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being weary of our lives (and <I>cruel to them,</I> as some read it),
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even when Providence has made them most wearisome to us; for that is to
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be weary of God's correction. Job, being weary of his life and having
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ease no other way, resolves to complain, resolves to speak. He will not
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give vent to his soul by violent hands, but he will give vent to the
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bitterness of his soul by violent words. Losers think they may have
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leave to speak; and unbridled passions, as well as unbridled appetites,
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are apt to think it an excuse for their excursions that they cannot
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help them: but what have we wisdom and grace for, but to keep the mouth
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as with a bridle? Job's corruption speaks here, yet grace puts in a
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word.
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1. He will complain, but he will <I>leave his complaint upon
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himself.</I> He would not impeach God, nor charge him with
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unrighteousness or unkindness; but, though he knew not particularly the
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ground of God's controversy with him and the cause of action, yet, in
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the general, he would suppose it to be in himself and willingly bear
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all the blame.
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2. He will speak, but it shall be the <I>bitterness of his soul</I>
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that he will express, not his settled judgment. If I speak amiss, it is
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<I>not I, but sin that dwells in me,</I> not my soul, but its
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bitterness.</P>
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<P>
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II. A humble petition to God. He will speak, but the first word shall
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be a prayer, and, as I am willing to understand it, it is a good
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prayer,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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1. That he might be delivered from the sting of his afflictions, which
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is sin: "<I>Do not condemn me;</I> do not separate me for ever from
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thee. Though I lie under the cross, let me not lie under the curse;
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though I smart by the rod of a Father, let me not be cut off by the
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sword of a Judge. Thou dost correct me; I will bear that as well as I
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can; but O do not condemn me!" It is the comfort of those who are in
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Christ Jesus that, though they are in affliction, there is <I>no
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condemnation to them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+8:1">Rom. viii. 1</A>.
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Nay, they are <I>chastened of the Lord that they may not be condemned
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with the world,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+11:32">1 Cor. xi. 32</A>.
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This therefore we should deprecate above any thing else, when we are in
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affliction. "However thou art pleased to deal with me, Lord, do not
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condemn me; my friends condemn me, but do not thou."
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2. That he might be made acquainted with the true cause of his
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afflictions, and that is sin too: Lord, <I>show me wherefore thou
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contendest with me.</I> When God afflicts us he contends with us, and
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when he contends with us there is always a reason. He is never angry
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without a cause, though we are; and it is desirable to know what the
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reason is, that we may repent of, mortify, and forsake the sin for
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which God has a controversy with us. In enquiring it out, let
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conscience have leave to do its office and to deal faithfully with us,
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as
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:21">Gen. xlii. 21</A>.</P>
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<P>
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III. A peevish expostulation with God concerning his dealings with him.
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Now he speaks in the bitterness of his soul indeed, not without some
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ill-natured reflections upon the righteousness of his God.</P>
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<P>
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1. He thinks it unbecoming the goodness of God, and the mercifulness of
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his nature, to deal so hardly with his creature as to lay upon him more
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than he can bear
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>Is it good unto thee that thou shouldst oppress?</I> No, certainly
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it is not; what he approves no in men
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=La+3:34-36">Lam. iii. 34-36</A>)
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he will not do himself. "Lord, in dealing with me, thou seemest to
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oppress thy subject, to despise thy workmanship, and to countenance thy
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enemies. Now, Lord, what is the meaning of this? Such is thy nature
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that this cannot be a pleasure to thee; and such is thy name that it
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cannot be an honour to thee. Why then dealest thou thus with me?
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<I>What profit is there in my blood?</I>" Far be it from Job to think
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that God did him wrong, but he is quite at a loss how to reconcile his
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providences with his justice, as good men have often been, and must
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wait until the day shall declare it. Let us therefore now harbour no
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hard thoughts of God, because we shall then see there was no cause for
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them.</P>
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<P>
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2. He thinks it unbecoming the infinite knowledge of God to put his
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prisoner thus upon the rack, as it were, by torture, to extort a
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confession from him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:4-6"><I>v.</I> 4-6</A>.
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(1.) He is sure that God does not discover things, nor judge of them,
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as men do: He has not <I>eyes of flesh</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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for he is a Spirit. Eyes of flesh cannot see in the dark, but darkness
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hides not from God. Eyes of flesh are but in one place at a time, and
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can see but a little way; but the <I>eyes of the Lord are in every
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place,</I> and <I>run to and fro through the whole earth.</I> Many
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things are hidden from eyes of flesh, the most curious and piercing;
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<I>there is a path which even the vulture's eye has not seen:</I> but
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nothing is, or can be, hidden from the eye of God, to which all things
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are naked and open. Eyes of flesh see the outward appearance only, and
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may be imposed upon by a <I>deceptio visus--an illusion of the
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senses;</I> but God sees every thing truly. His sight cannot be
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deceived, for he tries the heart, and is a witness to the thoughts and
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intents of that. Eyes of flesh discover things gradually, and, when we
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gain the sight of one thing, we lose the sight of another; but God sees
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every thing at one view. Eyes of flesh are soon tired, must be closed
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every night but the keeper of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps, nor
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does his sight ever decay. <I>God sees not as man sees,</I> that is,
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he does not judge as man judges, at the best <I>secundum allegata et
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probata--according to what is alleged and proved,</I> as the thing
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appears rather than as it is, and too often according to the bias of
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the affections, passions, prejudices, and interest; <I>but we are sure
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that the judgment of God is according to truth,</I> and that he knows
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truth, not by information, but by his own inspection. Men discover
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secret things by search, and examination of witnesses, comparing
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evidence and giving conjectures upon it, wheedling or forcing the
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parties concerned to confess; but God needs not any of these ways of
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discovery: <I>he sees not as man sees.</I>
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(2.) He is sure that as God is not short-sighted, like man, so he is
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not short-lived
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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"<I>Are thy days as the days of man,</I> few and evil? Do they roll on
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in succession, or are they subject to change, like the days of man? No,
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by no means." Men grow wiser by experience and more knowing by daily
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observation; with them truth is the daughter of time, and therefore
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they must take time for their searches, and, if one experiment fail,
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must try another. But it is not so with God; to him nothing is past,
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nothing future, but every thing present. The days of time, by which the
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life of man is measured, are nothing to the years of eternity, in which
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the life of God is wrapped up.
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(3.) He therefore thinks it strange that God should thus prolong his
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torture, and continue him under the confinement of this affliction, and
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neither bring him to a trial nor grant him a release, as if he must
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take time to <I>enquire after his iniquity</I> and use means to
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<I>search after his sin,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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Not as if Job thought that God did thus torment him that he might find
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occasion against him; but his dealings with him had such an aspect,
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which was dishonourable to God, and would tempt men to think him a hard
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master. "Now, Lord, if thou wilt not consult my comfort, consult thy
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own honour; do something <I>for thy great name,</I> and <I>do not
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disgrace the throne of thy glory,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+14:21">Jer. xiv. 21</A>.</P>
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<P>
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3. He thinks it looked like an abuse of his omnipotence to keep a poor
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prisoner in custody, whom he knew to be innocent, only because there
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was none that could deliver him out of his hand
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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<I>Thou knowest that I am not wicked.</I> He had already owned himself
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a sinner, and guilty before God; but he here stands to it that he was
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not wicked, not devoted to sin, not an enemy to God, not a dissembler
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in his religion, that <I>he had not wickedly departed from his God,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+18:21">Ps. xviii. 21</A>.
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"<I>But there is none that can deliver out of thy hand,</I> and
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therefore there is no remedy; I must be content to lie there, waiting
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thy time, and throwing myself on thy mercy, in submission to thy
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sovereign will." Here see,
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(1.) What ought to quiet us under our troubles--that it is to no
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purpose to contend with Omnipotence.
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(2.) What will abundantly comfort us--if we are able to appeal to God,
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as Job here, "Lord, <I>thou knowest that I am not wicked.</I> I cannot
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say that l am not wanting, or I am not weak; but, through grace, I can
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say, <I>I am not wicked:</I> thou knowest I am not, for <I>thou knowest
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I love thee.</I>"</P>
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<A NAME="Job10_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job10_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job10_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job10_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job10_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job10_13"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>8 Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round
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about; yet thou dost destroy me.
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9 Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay;
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and wilt thou bring me into dust again?
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10 Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like
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cheese?
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11 Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me
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with bones and sinews.
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12 Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation
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hath preserved my spirit.
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13 And these <I>things</I> hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that
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this <I>is</I> with thee.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In these verses we may observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. How Job eyes God as his Creator and preserver, and describes his
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dependence upon him as the author and upholder of his being. This is
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one of the first things we are all concerned to know and consider.</P>
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<P>
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1. That God made us, he, and not our parents, who were only the
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instruments of his power and providence in our production. <I>He made
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us, and not we ourselves. His hands have made and fashioned</I> these
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bodies of ours and every part of them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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and they are <I>fearfully and wonderfully made.</I> The soul also,
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which animates the body, is his gift. Job takes notice of both here.
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(1.) The body is <I>made as the clay</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
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cast into shape, into this shape, as the clay is formed into a vessel,
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according to the skill and will of the potter. We are earthen vessels,
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mean in our original, and soon broken in pieces, made <I>as the clay.
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Let not</I> therefore <I>the thing formed say unto him that formed it,
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Why hast thou made me thus?</I> We must not be proud of our bodies,
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because the matter is from the earth, yet not dishonour our bodies,
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because the mould and shape are from the divine wisdom. The formation
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of human bodies in the womb is described by an elegant similitude
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>,
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<I>Thou hast poured me out like milk, which is coagulated into
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cheese</I>), and by an induction of some particulars,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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Though we come into the world naked, yet the body is itself both
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clothed and armed. The skin and flesh are its clothing; the bones and
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sinews are its armour, not offensive, but defensive. The vital parts,
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the heart and lungs, are thus clothed, not to be seen--thus fenced, not
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to be hurt. The admirable structure of human bodies is an illustrious
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instance of the wisdom, power, and goodness of the Creator. What a
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pity is it that these bodies should be instruments of unrighteousness
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which are capable of being temples of the Holy Ghost!
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(2.) The soul is the life, the soul is the man, and this is the gift of
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God: <I>Thou hast granted me life,</I> breathed into me the breath of
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life, without which the body would be but a worthless carcase. God is
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the Father of spirits: he made us living souls, and endued us with the
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power of reason; he gave us <I>life and favour,</I> and life is a
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favour--a great favour, more than meat, more than raiment--a
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distinguishing favour, a favour that puts us into a capacity of
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receiving other favours. Now Job was in a better mind than he was when
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he quarrelled with life as a burden, and asked, <I>Why died I not from
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the womb?</I> Or by life and favour may be meant life and all the
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comforts of life, referring to his former prosperity. Time was when he
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walked in the light of the divine favour, and thought, as David, that
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through that favour his mountain stood strong.</P>
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|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. That God maintains us. Having lighted the lamp of life, he does not
|
|
leave it to burn upon its own stock, but continually supplies it with
|
|
fresh oil: "<I>Thy visitation has preserved my spirit,</I> kept me
|
|
alive, protected me from the adversaries of life, the death we are in
|
|
the midst of and the dangers we are continually exposed to, and blessed
|
|
me with all the necessary supports of life and the daily supplies it
|
|
needs and craves."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. How he pleads this with God, and what use he makes of it. He
|
|
reminds God of it
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me.</I> What then?
|
|
Why,
|
|
|
|
1. "Thou hast made me, and therefore thou hast a perfect knowledge
|
|
of me
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+139:1-13">Ps. cxxxix. 1-13</A>),
|
|
|
|
and needest not to examine me by scourging, nor to put me upon the rack
|
|
for the discovery of what is within me."
|
|
|
|
2. "Thou hast made me, as the clay, by an act of sovereignty; and wilt
|
|
thou by a like act of sovereignty unmake me again? If so, I must
|
|
submit."
|
|
|
|
3. "Wilt thou destroy the work of thy own hands?" It is a plea the
|
|
saints have often used in prayer, <I>We are the clay and thou our
|
|
potter,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+64:8">Isa. lxiv. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Thy hands have made me and fashioned me,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:73">Ps. cxix. 73</A>.
|
|
|
|
So here, <I>Thou madest me;</I> and wilt thou destroy me
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>wilt thou bring me into dust again?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
"Wilt thou not pity me? Wilt thou not spare and help me, and stand by
|
|
<I>the work of thy own hands?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+138:8">Ps. cxxxviii. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
Thou madest me, and knowest my strength; wilt thou then suffer me to be
|
|
pressed above measure? Was I made to be made miserable? Was I preserved
|
|
only to be reserved for these calamities?" If we plead this with
|
|
ourselves as an inducement to duty, "God made me and maintains me, and
|
|
therefore I will serve him and submit to him," we may plead it with God
|
|
as an argument for mercy: <I>Thou hast made me,</I> new--make me; <I>I
|
|
am thine, save me.</I> Job knew not how to reconcile God's former
|
|
favours and his present frowns, but concludes
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
"<I>These things hast thou hidden in thy heart.</I> Both are according
|
|
to the counsel of thy own will, and therefore undoubtedly consistent,
|
|
however they seem." When God thus strangely changes his way, though we
|
|
cannot account for it, we are bound to believe there are good reasons
|
|
for it hidden in his heart, which will be manifested shortly. It is not
|
|
with us, or in our reach, to assign the cause, but I <I>know that this
|
|
is with thee.</I> Known unto God are all his works.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Job10_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Job10_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Job10_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Job10_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Job10_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Job10_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Job10_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Job10_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Job10_22"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>14 If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me
|
|
from mine iniquity.
|
|
15 If I be wicked, woe unto me; and <I>if</I> I be righteous, <I>yet</I>
|
|
will I not lift up my head. <I>I am</I> full of confusion; therefore
|
|
see thou mine affliction;
|
|
16 For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and
|
|
again thou showest thyself marvellous upon me.
|
|
17 Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine
|
|
indignation upon me; changes and war <I>are</I> against me.
|
|
18 Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb?
|
|
Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me!
|
|
19 I should have been as though I had not been; I should have
|
|
been carried from the womb to the grave.
|
|
20 <I>Are</I> not my days few? cease <I>then, and</I> let me alone, that
|
|
I may take comfort a little,
|
|
21 Before I go <I>whence</I> I shall not return, <I>even</I> to the land
|
|
of darkness and the shadow of death;
|
|
22 A land of darkness, as darkness <I>itself; and</I> of the shadow
|
|
of death, without any order, and <I>where</I> the light <I>is</I> as
|
|
darkness.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here we have,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Job's passionate complaints. On this harsh and unpleasant string he
|
|
harps much, in which, though he cannot be justified, he may be excused.
|
|
He complained not for nothing, as the murmuring Israelites, but had
|
|
cause to complain. If we think it looks ill in him, let it be a warning
|
|
to us to keep our temper better.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. He complains of the strictness of God's judgment and the rigour of
|
|
his proceedings against him, and is ready to call it <I>summum
|
|
jus--justice bordering on severity.</I> That he took all advantages
|
|
against him: "<I>If I sin, then thou markest me,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
(1.) If I do but take one false step, misplace a word, or cast a look
|
|
awry, I shall be sure to hear of it. Conscience, thy deputy, will be
|
|
sure to upbraid me with it, and to tell me that this gripe, this twitch
|
|
of pain, is to punish me for that." If God should thus mark iniquities,
|
|
we should be undone; but we must acknowledge the contrary, that, though
|
|
we sin, God does not deal in extremity with us.
|
|
|
|
(2.) That he prosecuted those advantages to the utmost: <I>Thou wilt
|
|
not acquit me from my iniquity.</I> While his troubles he could not
|
|
take the comfort of his pardon, nor hear that voice of joy and
|
|
gladness; so hard is it to see love in God's heart when we see frowns
|
|
in his face and a rod in his hand.
|
|
|
|
(3.) That, whatever was his character, his case at present was very
|
|
uncomfortable,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
[1.] If he be wicked, he is certainly undone in the other world: <I>If
|
|
I be wicked, woe to me.</I> Note, A sinful state is a woeful state.
|
|
This we should each of us believe, as Job here, with application to
|
|
ourselves: "<I>If I be wicked,</I> though prosperous and living in
|
|
pleasure, yet woe to me." Some especially have reason to dread double
|
|
woes if they be wicked. "I that have knowledge, that have made a great
|
|
profession of religion, that have been so often under strong
|
|
convictions, and have made so many fair promises--I that was born of
|
|
such good parents, blessed with a good education, that have lived in
|
|
good families, and long enjoyed the means of grace--<I>if I be wicked,
|
|
woe,</I> and a thousand woes, <I>to me.</I>"
|
|
|
|
[2.] If he be <I>righteous,</I> yet he dares not <I>lift up his
|
|
head,</I> dares not answer as before,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+9:15"><I>ch.</I> ix. 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
He is so oppressed and overwhelmed with his troubles that he cannot
|
|
look up with any comfort or confidence. Without were fightings, within
|
|
were fears; so that, between both, he was full of confusion, not only
|
|
confusion of face for the disgrace he was brought down to and the
|
|
censures of his friends, but confusion of spirit; his mind was in a
|
|
constant hurry, and he was almost distracted,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+88:15">Ps. lxxxviii. 15</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. He complains of the severity of the execution. God (he thought) did
|
|
not only punish him for every failure, but punish him in a high degree,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:16,17"><I>v.</I> 16, 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
His affliction was,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Grievous, very grievous, marvellous, exceedingly marvellous. God
|
|
<I>hunted him</I> as a lion, <I>as a fierce lion</I> hunts and runs
|
|
down his prey. God was not only strange to him, but <I>showed himself
|
|
marvellous upon him,</I> by bringing him into uncommon troubles and so
|
|
making him prodigy, a wonder unto many. All wondered that God would
|
|
inflict and that Job could bear so much. That which made his
|
|
afflictions most grievous was that he felt God's <I>indignation</I> in
|
|
them; it was this that made them taste so bitter and lie so heavy. They
|
|
were God's <I>witnesses</I> against him, tokens of his displeasure;
|
|
this made the sores of his body wounds in his spirit.
|
|
|
|
(2.) It was growing, still growing worse and worse. This he insists
|
|
much upon; when he hoped the tide would turn, and begin to ebb, still
|
|
it flowed higher and higher. His affliction increased, and God's
|
|
indignation in the affliction. He found himself no better, no way
|
|
better. These witnesses were renewed against him, that, if one did not
|
|
reach to convict him, another might. <I>Changes and war</I> were
|
|
against him. If there was any change with him, it was not for the
|
|
better; still he was kept in a state of war. As long as we are here in
|
|
this world we must expect that the clouds will return after the rain,
|
|
and perhaps the sorest and sharpest trials may be reserved for the
|
|
last. God was at war with him, and it was a great change. He did not
|
|
use to be so, which aggravated the trouble and made it truly
|
|
marvellous. God usually shows himself kind to his people; if at any
|
|
time he shows himself otherwise, it is <I>his strange work, his strange
|
|
act,</I> and he does in it show himself marvellous.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. He complains of his life, and that ever he was born to all this
|
|
trouble and misery
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:18,19"><I>v.</I> 18, 19</A>):
|
|
|
|
"If this was designed for my lot, <I>why was I brought out of the
|
|
womb,</I> and not smothered there, or stifled in the birth?" This was
|
|
the language of his passion, and it was a relapse into the same sin he
|
|
fell into before. He had just now called life a <I>favour</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
yet now he calls it a <I>burden,</I> and quarrels with God for giving
|
|
it, or rather laying it upon him. Mr. Caryl gives this a good turn in
|
|
favour of Job. "We may charitably suppose," says he, "that what
|
|
troubled Job was that he was in a condition of life which (as he
|
|
conceived) hindered the main end of his life, which was the glorifying
|
|
of God. His harp was hung on the willow-trees, and he was quite out of
|
|
tune for praising God. Nay, he feared lest his troubles should reflect
|
|
dishonour upon God and give occasion to his enemies to blaspheme; and
|
|
therefore he wishes, <I>O that I had given up the ghost!</I> A godly
|
|
man reckons that he lives to no purpose if he do not live to the praise
|
|
and glory of God." If that was his meaning, it was grounded on a
|
|
mistake; for we may <I>glorify the Lord in the fires.</I> But this use
|
|
we may make of it, not to be over-fond of life, since the case has been
|
|
such sometimes, even with wise and good men, that they have complained
|
|
of it. Why should we dread giving up the ghost, or covet to be seen of
|
|
men, since the time may come when we may be ready to wish we had given
|
|
up the ghost and no eye had seen us? Why should we inordinately lament
|
|
the death of our children in their infancy, that <I>are as if they had
|
|
not been,</I> and are <I>carried from the womb to the grave,</I> when
|
|
perhaps we ourselves may sometimes wish it had been our own lot?</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Job's humble requests. He prays,
|
|
|
|
1. That God would <I>see his affliction</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
take cognizance of his case, and take it into his compassionate
|
|
consideration. Thus David prays
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+25:18">Ps. xxv. 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Look upon my affliction and my pain.</I> Thus we should, in our
|
|
troubles, refer ourselves to God, and may comfort ourselves with this,
|
|
that he knows our souls in adversity.
|
|
|
|
2. That God would grant him some ease. If he could not prevail for the
|
|
removal of his trouble, yet might he not have some intermission? "Lord,
|
|
let me not be always upon the rack, always in extremity: <I>O let me
|
|
alone, that I may take comfort a little!</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
Grant me some respite, some breathing-time, some little enjoyment of
|
|
myself." This he would reckon a great favour. Those that are not duly
|
|
thankful for constant ease should think how welcome one hour's ease
|
|
would be if they were in constant pain. Two things he pleads:--
|
|
|
|
(1.) That life and its light were very short: "<I>Are not my days
|
|
few?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
Yes, certainly they are, very few. Lord, let them not be all miserable,
|
|
all in the extremity of misery. I have but a little time to live; let
|
|
me have some comfort of life while it does last." This plea fastens on
|
|
the goodness of God's nature, the consideration of which is very
|
|
comfortable to an afflicted spirit. And, if we would use this as a plea
|
|
with God for mercy ("<I>Are not my days few?</I> Lord, pity me"), we
|
|
should use it as a plea with ourselves, to quicken us to duty: "<I>Are
|
|
not my days few?</I> Then it concerns me to redeem time, to improve
|
|
opportunities, what my hand finds to do to do it with all my might,
|
|
that I may be ready for the days of eternity, which shall be many."
|
|
|
|
(2.) That death and its darkness were very near and would be very long
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+10:21,22"><I>v.</I> 21, 22</A>):
|
|
|
|
"Lord, give me some ease before I die," that is, "lest I die of my
|
|
pain." Thus David pleads
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+13:3">Ps. xiii. 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
"<I>Lest I sleep the sleep of death,</I> and then it will be too late
|
|
to expect relief; for <I>wilt thou show wonders to the dead?</I>"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+88:10">Ps. lxxxviii. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
"Let me have a little comfort before I die, that I may take leave of
|
|
this world calmly, and not in such confusion as I am now in." Thus
|
|
earnest should we be for grace, and thus we should plead, "Lord, renew
|
|
me in the inward man; Lord, sanctify me before I die, for otherwise it
|
|
will never be done." See how he speaks here of the state of the dead.
|
|
|
|
[1.] It is a fixed state, whence we shall not return ever again to live
|
|
such a life as we now live,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+7:10"><I>ch.</I> vii. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
At death we must bid a final farewell to this world. The body must then
|
|
be laid where it will lie long, and the soul adjudged to that state in
|
|
which it must be for ever. That had need be well done which is to be
|
|
done but once, and done for eternity.
|
|
|
|
[2.] It is a very melancholy state; so it appears to us. Holy souls, at
|
|
death, remove to a land of light, where there is no death; but their
|
|
bodies they leave to a <I>land of darkness and the shadow of death.</I>
|
|
He heaps up expressions here of the same import to show that he has as
|
|
dreadful apprehensions of death and the grave as other men naturally
|
|
have, so that it was only the extreme misery he was in that made him
|
|
wish for it. Come and let us look a little into the grave, and we shall
|
|
find, <I>First,</I> That there is no order there: it is <I>without any
|
|
order,</I> perpetual night, and no succession of day. All there lie on
|
|
the same level, and there is no distinction between prince and peasant,
|
|
but <I>the servant is</I> there <I>free from his master,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+3:19"><I>ch.</I> iii. 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
No order is observed in bringing people to the grave, not the eldest
|
|
first, not the richest, not the poorest, and yet every one in his own
|
|
order, the order appointed by the God of life. <I>Secondly,</I> That
|
|
there is no light there. In the grave there is thick darkness, darkness
|
|
that cannot be felt indeed, yet cannot but be feared by those that
|
|
enjoy the light of life. In the grave there is no knowledge, no
|
|
comfort, no joy, no praising God, no working out our salvation, and
|
|
therefore no light. Job was so much ashamed that others should see his
|
|
sores, and so much afraid to see them himself, that the darkness of the
|
|
grave, which would hide them and huddle them up, would upon that
|
|
account be welcome to him. Darkness comes upon us; and therefore let us
|
|
walk and work while we have the light with us. The grave being a land
|
|
of darkness, it is well we are carried thither with our eyes closed,
|
|
and then it is all one. The grave is a land of darkness to man; our
|
|
friends that have gone thither we reckon removed into darkness,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+88:18">Ps. lxxxviii. 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
But that it is not so to God will appear by this, that the dust of the
|
|
bodies of the saints, though scattered, though mingled with other dust,
|
|
will none of it be lost, for God's eye is upon every grain of it and it
|
|
shall be forth-coming in the great day.</P>
|
|
|
|
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