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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. XXXIX.</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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God proceeds here to show Job what little reason he had to charge him
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with unkindness who was so compassionate to the inferior creatures and
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took such a tender care of them, or to boast of himself, and his own
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good deeds before God, which were nothing to the divine mercies. He
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shows him also what great reason he had to be humble who knew so little
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of the nature of the creatures about him and had so little influence
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upon them, and to submit to that God on whom they all depend. He
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discourses particularly,
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I. Concerning the wild goats and hinds,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:1-4">ver. 1-4</A>.
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II. Concerning the wild ass,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:5-8">ver. 5-8</A>.
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III. Concerning the unicorn,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:9-12">ver. 9-12</A>.
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IV. Concerning the peacock,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:13">ver. 13</A>.
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V. Concerning the ostrich,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:13-18">ver. 13-18</A>.
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VI. Concerning the horse,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:19-25">ver. 19-25</A>.
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VII. Concerning the hawk and the eagle,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:26-30">ver. 26-30</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Job39_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job39_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job39_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job39_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job39_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job39_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job39_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job39_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job39_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job39_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job39_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job39_12"> </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>Man's Ignorance of the Animal Creation; Description of the Wild Goat, Hind, Wild Ass, and Unicorn.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><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 Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring
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forth? <I>or</I> canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?
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2 Canst thou number the months <I>that</I> they fulfil? or knowest
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thou the time when they bring forth?
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3 They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they
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cast out their sorrows.
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4 Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with corn;
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they go forth, and return not unto them.
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5 Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the
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bands of the wild ass?
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6 Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land
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his dwellings.
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7 He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he
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the crying of the driver.
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8 The range of the mountains <I>is</I> his pasture, and he searcheth
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after every green thing.
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9 Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy
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crib?
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10 Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or
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will he harrow the valleys after thee?
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11 Wilt thou trust him, because his strength <I>is</I> great? or
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wilt thou leave thy labour to him?
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12 Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and
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gather <I>it into</I> thy barn?
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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God here shows Job what little acquaintance he had with the untamed
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creatures that run wild in the deserts and live at large, but are the
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care of the divine Providence. As,</P>
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<P>
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I. The <I>wild goats</I> and the <I>hinds.</I> That which is taken
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notice of concerning them is the bringing forth and bringing up of
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their young ones. For, as every individual is fed, so every species of
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animals is preserved, by the care of the divine Providence, and, for
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aught we know, none extinct to this day. Observe here,
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1. Concerning the production of their young,
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(1.) Man is wholly ignorant of the time when they bring forth,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>.
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Shall we pretend to tell what is in the womb of Providence, or what a
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day will bring forth, who know not the time of the pregnancy of a hind
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or a wild goat?
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(2.) Though they bring forth their young with a great deal of
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difficulty and sorrow, and have no assistance from man, yet, by the
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good providence of God, their young ones are safely produced, and their
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sorrows cast out and forgotten,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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Some think it is intimated
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+29:9">Ps. xxix. 9</A>)
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that God by thunder helps the hinds in calving. Let it be observed, for
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the comfort of women in labour, that God helps even the hinds to bring
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forth their young; and shall he not much more succour them, and save
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them in child-bearing, who are his children in covenant with him?
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2. Concerning the growth of their young,
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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<I>They are in good liking;</I> though they are brought forth in
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sorrow, after their dams have suckled them awhile they shift for
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themselves in the corn-fields, and are no more burdensome to them,
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which is an example to children, when they have grown up, not to be
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always hanging upon their parents and craving from them, but to put
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forth themselves to get their own livelihood and to requite their
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parents.</P>
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<P>
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II. The <I>wild ass,</I> a creature we frequently read of in Scripture,
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some say untameable. Man is said to be born as the wild ass's colt, so
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hard to be governed. Two things Providence has allotted to the wild
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ass:--
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1. An unbounded liberty
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>Who</I> but God <I>has sent out the wild ass free?</I> He has given
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a disposition to it, and therefore a dispensation for it. The tame ass
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is bound to labour; the wild ass has no bonds on him. Note, Freedom
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from service, and liberty to range at pleasure, are but the privileges
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of a wild ass. It is a pity that any of the children of men should
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covet such a liberty, or value themselves on it. It is better to labour
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and be good for something than ramble and be good for nothing. But if,
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among men, Providence sets some at liberty and suffers them to live at
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ease, while others are doomed to servitude, we must not marvel at the
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matter: it is so among the brute-creatures.
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2. An unenclosed lodging
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>Whose house I have made the wilderness,</I> where he has room enough
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to traverse his ways, and snuff up the wind at his pleasure, as the
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wild ass is said to do
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+2:24">Jer. ii. 24</A>),
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as if he had to live upon the air, for it is <I>the barren land</I>
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that is <I>his dwelling.</I> Observe, The tame ass, that labours, and
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is serviceable to man, has his master's crib to go to both for shelter
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and food, and lives in a fruitful land: but the wild ass, that will
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have his liberty, must have it in a barren land. He that will not
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labour, let him not eat. He that will shall eat the labour of his
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hands, and have also to give to him that needs. Jacob, the shepherd,
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has good red pottage to spare, when Esau, a sportsman, is ready to
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perish for hunger. A further description of the liberty and livelihood
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of the wild ass we have,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>.
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(1.) He has no owner, nor will he be in subjection: <I>He scorns the
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multitude of the city.</I> If they attempt to take him, and in order to
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that surround him with a multitude, he will soon get clear of them, and
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<I>the crying of the driver</I> is nothing to him. He laughs at those
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that live in the tumult and bustle of cities (so bishop Patrick),
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thinking himself happier in the wilderness; and opinion is the rate of
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things.
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(2.) Having no owner, he has no feeder, nor is any provision made for
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him, but he must shift for himself: <I>The range of the mountains is
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his pasture,</I> and a bare pasture it is; there he <I>searches after
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here and there a green thing,</I> as he can find it and pick it up;
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whereas the labouring asses have green things in plenty, without their
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searching for them. From the untameableness of this and other creatures
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we may infer how unfit we are to give law to Providence, who cannot
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give law even to a wild ass's colt.</P>
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<P>
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III. The unicorn--<I>rhem,</I> a strong creature
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+23:22">Num. xxiii. 22</A>),
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a stately proud creature,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+112:10">Ps. cxii. 10</A>.
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He is able to serve, but not willing; and God here challenges Job to
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force him to it. Job expected every thing should be just as he would
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have it. "Since thou dost pretend" (says God) "to bring every thing
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beneath thy sway, begin with the unicorn, and try thy skill upon him.
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Now that thy oxen and asses are all gone, try whether he will be
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willing to serve thee in their stead
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>)
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and whether he will be content with the provision thou usedst to make
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for them: <I>Will he abide by thy crib?</I> No;"
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1. "Thou canst not tame him, nor <I>bind him with his band,</I> nor set
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him to <I>draw the harrow,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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There are creatures that are willing to serve man, that seem to take a
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pleasure in serving him, and to have a love for their masters; but
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there are such as will never be brought to serve him, which is the
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effect of sin. Man has revolted from his subjection to his Maker, and
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is therefore justly punished with the revolt of the inferior creatures
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from their subjection to him; and yet, as an instance of God's
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good-will to man, there are some that are still serviceable to him.
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Though the wild bull (which some think is meant here by the unicorn)
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will not serve him, nor submit to his hand in the furrows, yet there
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are tame bullocks that will, and other animals that are not <I>feræ
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naturæ--of a wild nature,</I> in whom man may have a property,
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for whom he provides, and to whose service he is entitled. <I>Lord,
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what is man, that thou art thus mindful of him?</I>
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2. "Thou darest not trust him; though <I>his strength is great,</I> yet
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thou wilt not <I>leave thy labour to him,</I> as thou dost with thy
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asses or oxen, which a little child may lead or drive, leaving to them
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all the pains. Thou wilt never depend upon the wild bull, as likely to
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come to thy harvest-work, much less to go through it, to <I>bring home
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thy seed and gather it into thy barn,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:11,12"><I>v.</I> 11, 12</A>.
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And, because he will not serve about the corn, he is not so well fed as
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the tame ox, whose mouth was not to be muzzled in treading out the
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corn; but <I>therefore</I> he will not draw the plough, because he that
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made him never designed him for it. A disposition to labour is as much
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the gift of God as an ability for it; and it is a great mercy if, where
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God gives strength for service, he gives a heart; it is what we should
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pray for, and reason ourselves into, which the brutes cannot do; for,
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as among beasts, so among men, those may justly be reckoned wild and
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abandoned to the deserts who have no mind either to take pains or to do
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good.</P>
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<A NAME="Job39_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job39_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job39_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job39_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job39_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job39_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Description of the Peacock and Ostrich.</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>13 <I>Gavest thou</I> the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings
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and feathers unto the ostrich?
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14 Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in
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dust,
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15 And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the
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wild beast may break them.
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16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though <I>they
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were</I> not hers: her labour is in vain without fear;
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17 Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he
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imparted to her understanding.
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18 What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the
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horse and his rider.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The ostrich is a wonderful animal, a very large bird, but it never
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flies. Some have called it <I>a winged camel.</I> God here gives an
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account of it, and observes,</P>
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<P>
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I. Something that it has in common with the peacock, that is, beautiful
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feathers
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:13">(<I>v.</I> 13</A>):
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<I>Gavest thou proud wings unto the peacocks?</I> so some read it. Fine
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feathers make proud birds. The peacock is an emblem of pride; when he
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struts, and shows his fine feathers, Solomon in all his glory is not
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arrayed like him. The ostrich too has goodly feathers, and yet is a
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foolish bird; for wisdom does not always go along with beauty and
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gaiety. Other birds do not envy the peacock or the ostrich their gaudy
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colours, nor complain for want of them; why then should we repine if we
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see others wear better clothes than we can afford to wear? God gives
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his gifts variously, and those gifts are not always the most valuable
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that make the finest show. Who would not rather have the voice of the
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nightingale than the tail of the peacock, the eye of the eagle and her
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soaring wing, and the natural affection of the stork, than the
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beautiful wings and feathers of the ostrich, which can never rise above
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the earth, and is without natural affection?</P>
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<P>
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II. Something that is peculiar to itself,</P>
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<P>
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1. Carelessness of her young. It is well that this is peculiar to
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herself, for it is a very bad character. Observe,
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(1.) How she exposes her eggs; she does not retire to some private
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place, and make a nest there, as the sparrows and swallows do
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:3">Ps. lxxxiv. 3</A>),
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and there lay eggs and hatch her young. Most birds, as well as other
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animals, are strangely guided by natural instinct in providing for the
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preservation of their young. But the ostrich is a monster in nature,
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for she drops her eggs any where upon the ground and takes no care to
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hatch them. If the sand and the sun will hatch them, well and good;
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they may for her, for she will not warm them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
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Nay, she takes no care to preserve them: <I>The foot</I> of the
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traveller <I>may crush them,</I> and <I>the wild beast break them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
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But how then are any young ones brought forth, and whence is it that
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the species has not perished? We must suppose either that God, by a
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special providence, with the heat of the sun and the sand (so some
|
|
think), hatches the neglected eggs of the ostrich, as he feeds the
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neglected young ones of the raven, or that, though the ostrich
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<I>often</I> leaves her eggs thus, yet not <I>always.</I>
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(2.) The reason why she does thus expose her eggs. It is,
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[1.] For want of natural affection
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
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<I>She is hardened against her young ones.</I> To be hardened against
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|
any is unamiable, even in a brute-creature, much more in a rational
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|
creature that boasts of humanity, especially to be hardened against
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young ones, that cannot help themselves and therefore merit compassion,
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|
that give no provocation and therefore merit no hard usage: but it is
|
|
worst of all for her to be hardened against her own young ones, as
|
|
though they were not hers, whereas really they are parts of herself.
|
|
Her labour in laying her eggs is in vain and all lost, because she has
|
|
not that fear and tender concern for them that she should have. Those
|
|
are most likely to lose their labour that are least in fear of losing
|
|
it.
|
|
|
|
[2.] For want of wisdom
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>God has deprived her of wisdom.</I> This intimates that the art
|
|
which other animals have to nourish and preserve their young is God's
|
|
gift, and that, where it exists not, God denies it, that by the folly
|
|
of the ostrich, as well as by the wisdom of the ant, we may learn to be
|
|
wise; for, <I>First,</I> As careless as the ostrich is of her eggs so
|
|
careless many people are of their own souls; they make no provision for
|
|
them, no proper nest in which they may be safe, leave them exposed to
|
|
Satan and his temptations, which is a certain evidence that they are
|
|
deprived of wisdom. <I>Secondly,</I> So careless are many parents of
|
|
their children; some of their bodies, not providing for their own
|
|
house, their own bowels, and therefore worse than infidels, and as bad
|
|
as the ostrich; but many more are thus careless of their children's
|
|
souls, take no care of their education, send them abroad into the world
|
|
untaught, unarmed, forgetting what corruption there is in the world
|
|
through lust, which will certainly crush them. Thus their labour in
|
|
rearing them comes to be in vain; it were better for their country that
|
|
they had never been born. <I>Thirdly,</I> So careless are too many
|
|
ministers of their people, with whom they should reside; but they leave
|
|
them in the earth, and forget how busy Satan is to sow tares while men
|
|
sleep. They overlook those whom they should oversee, and are really
|
|
hardened against them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Care of herself. She leaves her eggs in danger, but, if she herself
|
|
be in danger, no creature shall strive more to get out of the way of it
|
|
than the ostrich,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
Then she lifts up her wings on high (the strength of which then stands
|
|
her in better stead than their beauty), and, with the help of them,
|
|
runs so fast that a horseman at full speed cannot overtake her: <I>She
|
|
scorneth the horse and his rider.</I> Those that are least under the
|
|
law of natural affection often contend most for the law of
|
|
self-preservation. Let not the rider be proud of the swiftness of his
|
|
horse when such an animal as the ostrich shall out-run him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Job39_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Job39_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Job39_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Job39_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Job39_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Job39_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Job39_25"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Description of the War-Horse.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1520.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>19 Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his
|
|
neck with thunder?
|
|
20 Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of
|
|
his nostrils <I>is</I> terrible.
|
|
21 He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in <I>his</I> strength: he
|
|
goeth on to meet the armed men.
|
|
22 He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth
|
|
he back from the sword.
|
|
23 The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and
|
|
the shield.
|
|
24 He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither
|
|
believeth he that <I>it is</I> the sound of the trumpet.
|
|
25 He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the
|
|
battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
God, having displayed his own power in those creatures that are strong
|
|
and despise man, here shows it in one scarcely inferior to any of them
|
|
in strength, and yet very tame and serviceable to man, and that is the
|
|
horse, especially <I>the horse that is prepared against the day of
|
|
battle</I> and is serviceable to man at a time when he has more than
|
|
ordinary occasion for his service. It seems, there was, in Job's
|
|
country, a noble generous breed of horses. Job, it is probable, kept
|
|
many, though they are not mentioned among his possessions, cattle for
|
|
use in husbandry being there valued more than those for state and war,
|
|
which alone horses were then reserved for, and they were not then put
|
|
to such mean services as with us they are commonly put to. Concerning
|
|
the great horse, that stately beast, it is here observed,
|
|
|
|
1. That he has a great deal of strength and spirit
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Hast thou given the horse strength?</I> He uses his strength for
|
|
man, but has it not from him: God gave it to him, who is the fountain
|
|
of all the powers of nature, and yet he himself <I>delights not in the
|
|
strength of the horse</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:10">Ps. cxlvii. 10</A>),
|
|
|
|
but has told us that <I>a horse is a vain thing for safety,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+33:17">Ps. xxxiii. 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
For running, drawing, and carrying, no creature that is ordinarily in
|
|
the service of man has so much strength as the horse has, nor is of so
|
|
stout and bold a spirit, not to be made afraid as a grasshopper, but
|
|
daring and forward to face danger. It is a mercy to man to have such a
|
|
servant, which, though very strong, submits to the management of a
|
|
child, and rebels not against his owner. But let not the strength of a
|
|
horse be trusted to,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+14:3,Ps+20:7,Isa+31:1,3">Hos. xiv. 3;
|
|
Ps. xx. 7; Isa. xxxi. 1, 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. That his neck and nostrils look great. His neck is <I>clothed with
|
|
thunder,</I> with a large and flowing mane, which makes him formidable
|
|
and is an ornament to him. <I>The glory of his nostrils,</I> when he
|
|
snorts, flings up his head, and throws foam about, <I>is terrible,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
Perhaps there might be at that time, and in that country, a more
|
|
stately breed of horses than any we have now.
|
|
|
|
3. That he is very fierce and furious in battle, and charges with an
|
|
undaunted courage, though he pushes on in imminent danger of his life.
|
|
|
|
(1.) See how frolicsome he is
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>He paws in the valley,</I> scarcely knowing what ground he stands
|
|
upon. He is proud of his strength, and he has much more reason to be so
|
|
as using his strength in the service of man, and under his direction,
|
|
than the wild ass that uses it in contempt of man, and in a revolt from
|
|
him
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) See how forward he is to engage: <I>He goes on to meet the armed
|
|
men,</I> animated, not by the goodness of the cause, or the prospect of
|
|
honour, but only by <I>the sound of the trumpet, the thunder of the
|
|
captains, and the shouting</I> of the soldiers, which are as bellows to
|
|
the fire of his innate courage, and make him spring forward with the
|
|
utmost eagerness, as if he cried, <I>Ha! ha!</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
How wonderfully are the brute-creatures fitted for and inclined to the
|
|
services for which they were designed.
|
|
|
|
(3.) See how fearless he is, how he despises death and the most
|
|
threatening dangers,
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>He mocks at fear,</I> and makes a jest of it; slash at him with a
|
|
sword, rattle the quiver, brandish the spear, to drive him back, he
|
|
will not retreat, but press forward, and even inspires courage into his
|
|
rider.
|
|
|
|
(4.) See how furious he is. He curvets and prances, and runs on with so
|
|
much violence and heat against the enemy that one would think he even
|
|
<I>swallowed the ground with fierceness and rage,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
High mettle is the praise of a horse rather than of a man, whom
|
|
fierceness and rage ill become. This description of the war-horse will
|
|
help to explain that character which is given of presumptuous sinners,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+8:6">Jer. viii. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Every one turneth to his course, as the horse rusheth into the
|
|
battle.</I> When a man's heart is fully set in him to do evil, and he
|
|
is carried on in a wicked way by the violence of inordinate appetites
|
|
and passions, there is no making him afraid of the wrath of God and the
|
|
fatal consequences of sin. Let his own conscience set before him the
|
|
curse of the law, the death that is the wages of sin, and all the
|
|
terrors of the Almighty in battle-array; he mocks at this fear, and is
|
|
not affrighted, neither turns he back from the flaming sword of the
|
|
cherubim. Let ministers lift up their voice like a trumpet, to proclaim
|
|
the wrath of God against him, <I>he believes not that it is the sound
|
|
of the trumpet,</I> nor that God and his heralds are in earnest with
|
|
him; but what will be in the end hereof it is easy to foresee.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Job39_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Job39_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Job39_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Job39_29"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Job39_30"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Description of the Hawk and Eagle.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1520.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>26 Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, <I>and</I> stretch her wings
|
|
toward the south?
|
|
27 Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on
|
|
high?
|
|
28 She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the
|
|
rock, and the strong place.
|
|
29 From thence she seeketh the prey, <I>and</I> her eyes behold afar
|
|
off.
|
|
30 Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain
|
|
<I>are,</I> there <I>is</I> she.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The birds of the air are proofs of the wonderful power and providences
|
|
of God, as well as the beasts of the earth; God here refers
|
|
particularly to two stately ones:--
|
|
|
|
1. The <I>hawk,</I> a noble bird of great strength and sagacity, and
|
|
yet a bird of prey,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
This bird is here taken notice of for her flight, which is swift and
|
|
strong, and especially for the course she steers <I>towards the
|
|
south,</I> whither she follows the sun in winter, out of the colder
|
|
countries in the north, especially when she is to cast her plumes and
|
|
renew them. This is her wisdom, and it was God that gave her this
|
|
wisdom, not man. Perhaps the extraordinary wisdom of the hawk's flight
|
|
after her prey was not used then for men's diversion and recreation, as
|
|
it has been since. It is a pity that the reclaimed hawk, which is
|
|
taught to fly at man's command and to make him sport, should at any
|
|
time be abused to the dishonour of God, since it is from God that she
|
|
receives that wisdom which makes her flight entertaining and
|
|
serviceable.
|
|
|
|
2. The <I>eagle,</I> a royal bird, and yet a bird of prey too, the
|
|
permission of which, nay, the giving of power to which, may help to
|
|
reconcile us to the prosperity of oppressors among men. The eagle is
|
|
here taken notice of,
|
|
|
|
(1.) For the height of her flight. No bird soars so high, has so strong
|
|
a wind, nor can so well bear the light of the sun. Now, "<I>Doth she
|
|
mount at thy command?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
Is it by any strength she has from thee? or dost thou direct her
|
|
flight? No; it is by the natural power and instinct God has given her
|
|
that she will soar out of thy sight, much more out of thy call."
|
|
|
|
(2.) For the strength of her nest. Her house is her castle and
|
|
strong-hold; she makes it <I>on high</I> and <I>on the rock, the crag
|
|
of the rock</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>),
|
|
|
|
which sets her and her young out of the reach of danger. Secure sinners
|
|
think themselves as safe in their sins as the eagle in her nest on
|
|
high, in the <I>clefts of the rock; but I will bring thee down thence,
|
|
saith the Lord,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+49:16">Jer. xlix. 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
The higher bad men sit above the resentments of the earth the nearer
|
|
they ought to think themselves to the vengeance of Heaven.
|
|
|
|
(3.) For her quicksightedness
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:29"><I>v.</I> 29</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Her eyes behold afar off,</I> not upwards, but downwards, in quest
|
|
of her prey. In this she is an emblem of a hypocrite, who, while, in
|
|
the profession of religion, he seems to rise towards heaven, keeps his
|
|
eye and heart upon the prey on earth, some temporal advantage, some
|
|
widow's house or other that he hopes to devour, under pretence of
|
|
devotion.
|
|
|
|
(4.) For the way she has of maintaining herself and her young. She
|
|
preys upon living animals, which she seizes and tears to pieces, and
|
|
thence carries to her young ones, which are taught to <I>suck up
|
|
blood;</I> they do it by instinct, and know no better; but for men that
|
|
have reason and conscience to thirst after blood is what could scarcely
|
|
be believed if there had not been in every age wretched instances of
|
|
it. She also preys upon the dead bodies of men: <I>Where the slain are,
|
|
there is she,</I> These birds of prey (in another sense than the horse,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>)
|
|
|
|
<I>smell the battle afar off.</I> Therefore, when a great slaughter is
|
|
to be made among the enemies of the church, the fowls are invited to
|
|
<I>the supper of the great God, to eat the flesh of kings and
|
|
captains,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+19:17,18">Rev. xix. 17, 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
Our Saviour refers to this instinct of the eagle,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+24:28">Matt. xxiv. 28</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered
|
|
together.</I> Every creature will make towards that which is its proper
|
|
food; for he that provides the creatures their food has implanted in
|
|
them that inclination. These and many such instances of natural power
|
|
and sagacity in the inferior creatures, which we cannot account for,
|
|
oblige us to confess our own weakness and ignorance and to give glory
|
|
to God as the fountain of all being, power, wisdom, and perfection.</P>
|
|
|
|
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