mh_parser/vol_split/18 - Job/Chapter 29.xml

<div2 id="Job.xxx" n="xxx" next="Job.xxxi" prev="Job.xxix" progress="14.13%" title="Chapter XXIX">
<h2 id="Job.xxx-p0.1">J O B</h2>
<h3 id="Job.xxx-p0.2">CHAP. XXIX.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Job.xxx-p1">After that excellent discourse concerning wisdom
in the foregoing chapter Job sat down and paused awhile, not
because he had talked himself out of breath, but because he would
not, without the leave of the company, engross the talk to himself,
but would give room for his friends, if they pleased, to make their
remarks on what he had said; but they had nothing to say, and
therefore, after he had recollected himself a little, he went on
with his discourse concerning his own affairs, as recorded in this
and the two following chapters, in which, I. He describes the
height of the prosperity from which he had fallen. And, II. The
depth of the adversity into which he had fallen; and this he does
to move the pity of his friends, and to justify, or at least
excuse, his own complaints. But then, III. To obviate his friends'
censures of him, he makes a very ample and particular protestation
of his own integrity notwithstanding. In this chapter he looks back
to the days of his prosperity, and shows, 1. What comfort and
satisfaction he had in his house and family, <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.1-Job.29.6" parsed="|Job|29|1|29|6" passage="Job 29:1-6">ver. 1-6</scripRef>. 2. What a great deal of honour
and power he had in his country, and what respect was paid him by
all sorts of people, <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.7-Job.29.10" parsed="|Job|29|7|29|10" passage="Job 29:7-10">ver.
7-10</scripRef>. 3. What abundance of good he did in his place, as
a magistrate, <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.11-Job.29.17" parsed="|Job|29|11|29|17" passage="Job 29:11-17">ver.
11-17</scripRef>. 4. What a just prospect he had of the continuance
of his comfort at home (<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.18-Job.29.20" parsed="|Job|29|18|29|20" passage="Job 29:18-20">ver.
18-20</scripRef>) and of his interest abroad, <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.21-Job.29.25" parsed="|Job|29|21|29|25" passage="Job 29:21-25">ver. 21-25</scripRef>. All this he enlarges upon, to
aggravate his present calamities; like Naomi, "I went out full,"
but am brought "home again empty."</p>
<scripCom id="Job.xxx-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Job.29" parsed="|Job|29|0|0|0" passage="Job 29" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Job.xxx-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.1-Job.29.6" parsed="|Job|29|1|29|6" passage="Job 29:1-6" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Job.29.1-Job.29.6">
<h4 id="Job.xxx-p1.8">Former Prosperity of Job. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Job.xxx-p1.9">b. c.</span> 1520.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Job.xxx-p2">1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,
  2 Oh that I were as <i>in</i> months past, as <i>in</i> the
days <i>when</i> God preserved me;   3 When his candle shined
upon my head, <i>and when</i> by his light I walked <i>through</i>
darkness;   4 As I was in the days of my youth, when the
secret of God <i>was</i> upon my tabernacle;   5 When the
Almighty <i>was</i> yet with me, <i>when</i> my children
<i>were</i> about me;   6 When I washed my steps with butter,
and the rock poured me out rivers of oil;</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p3">Losers may have leave to speak, and there
is nothing they speak of more feelingly than of the comforts they
are stripped of. Their former prosperity is one of the most
pleasing subjects of their thoughts and talk. It was so to Job, who
begins here with a wish (<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.2" parsed="|Job|29|2|0|0" passage="Job 29:2"><i>v.</i>
2</scripRef>): <i>O that I were as in months past!</i> so he brings
in this account of his prosperity. His wish is, 1. "O that I were
in as good a state as I was in then, that I had as much wealth,
honour, and pleasure, as I had then!" This he wishes, from a
concern he had, not so much for his ease, as for his reputation and
the glory of his God, which he thought were eclipsed by his present
sufferings. "O that I might be restored to my prosperity, and then
the censures and reproaches of my friends would be effectually
silenced, even upon their own principles, and for ever rolled
away!" If this be our end in desiring life, health, and prosperity,
that God may be glorified, and the credit of our holy profession
rescued, preserved, and advanced, the desire is not only natural,
but spiritual. 2. "O that I were in as good a frame of spirit as I
was in then!" That which Job complained most of now was a load upon
his spirits, through God's withdrawing from him; and therefore he
wishes he now had his spirit as much enlarged and encouraged in the
service of God as he had then and that he had as much freedom and
fellowship with him as then thought himself happy in. This was
<i>in the days of his youth</i> (<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.4" parsed="|Job|29|4|0|0" passage="Job 29:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>), when he was in the prime of his
time for the enjoyment of those things and could relish them with
the highest gust. Note, Those that prosper in the days of their
youth know not what black and cloudy days they are yet reserved
for. Two things made the months past pleasant to Job:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p4">I. That he had comfort in his God. This was
the chief thing he rejoiced in, in his prosperity, as the spring of
it and the sweetness of it, that he had the favour of God and the
tokens of that favour. He did not attribute his prosperity to a
happy turn of fortune, nor to his own might, nor to the power of
his own hand, but makes the same acknowledgment that David does.
<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.30.7" parsed="|Ps|30|7|0|0" passage="Ps 30:7">Ps. xxx. 7</scripRef>, <i>Thou, by thy
favour, hast made my mountain stand strong.</i> A gracious soul
delights in God's smiles, not in the smiles of this world. Four
things were then very pleasant to holy Job:—1. The confidence he
had in the divine protection. They were <i>the days when God
preserved me,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.2" parsed="|Job|29|2|0|0" passage="Job 29:2"><i>v.</i>
2</scripRef>. Even then he saw himself exposed, and did not make
<i>his wealth his strong city</i> nor <i>trust in the abundance of
his riches,</i> but <i>the name of the Lord was his strong
tower;</i> in that only he thought himself safe, and to that he
ascribed it that he was then safe and that his comforts were
preserved to him. The devil saw a hedge about him of God's making
(<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.1.10" parsed="|Job|1|10|0|0" passage="Job 1:10"><i>ch.</i> i. 10</scripRef>), and Job
saw it himself, and owned it was <i>God's visitation that preserved
his spirit,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Job.10.12" parsed="|Job|10|12|0|0" passage="Job 10:12"><i>ch.</i> x.
12</scripRef>. Those only whom God protects are safe and may be
easy; and therefore those who have ever so much of this world must
not think themselves safe unless God preserve them. 2. The
complacency he had in the divine favour (<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.3" parsed="|Job|29|3|0|0" passage="Job 29:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>): <i>God's candle shone upon his
head,</i> that is, God lifted up the light of his countenance upon
him, gave him the assurances and sweet relishes of his love. The
best of the communications of the divine favour to the saints in
this world is but the candle-light, compared with what is reserved
for them in the future state. But such abundant satisfaction did
Job take in the divine favour that, by the light of that, he walked
through darkness; that guided him in his doubts, comforted him in
his griefs, bore him up under his burdens, and helped him through
all his difficulties. Those that have the brightest sun-shine of
outward prosperity must yet expect some moments of darkness. They
are sometimes crossed, sometimes at a loss, sometimes melancholy.
But those that are interested in the favour of God, and know how to
value it, can, by the light of that, walk cheerfully and
comfortably through all the darkness of this vale of tears. That
puts gladness into the heart enough to counterbalance all the
grievances of this present time. 3. The communion he had with the
divine word (<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p4.6" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.4" parsed="|Job|29|4|0|0" passage="Job 29:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>):
<i>The secret of God was upon my tabernacle,</i> that is, God
conversed freely with him, as one bosom-friend with another. He
knew God's mind, and was not in the dark about it, as, of late, he
had been. <i>The secret of the Lord is</i> said to be <i>with those
that fear him,</i> for <i>he shows them</i> that in <i>his
covenant</i> which others see not, <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p4.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.25.14" parsed="|Ps|25|14|0|0" passage="Ps 25:14">Ps.
xxv. 14</scripRef>. God communicates his favour and grace to his
people, and receives the return of their devotion in a way secret
to the world. Some read it, <i>When the society of God was in my
tabernacle,</i> which Rabbi Solomon understands of an assembly of
God's people that used to meet at Job's house for religious
worship, in which he presided; this he took a great deal of
pleasure in, and the scattering of it was a trouble to him. Or it
may be understood of the angels of God pitching their tents about
his habitation. 4. The assurance he had of the divine presence
(<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p4.8" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.5" parsed="|Job|29|5|0|0" passage="Job 29:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>): <i>The
Almighty was yet with me.</i> Now he thought God had departed from
him, but in those days he was <i>with him,</i> and that was all in
all to him. God's presence with a man in his house, though it be
but a cottage, makes it both a castle and a palace.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p5">II. That he had comfort in his family.
Every thing was agreeable there: he had both mouths for his meat
and meat for his mouths; the want of either is a great affliction.
1. He had a numerous offspring to enjoy his estate: <i>My children
were about me.</i> He had many children, enough to compass him
round, and they were observant of him and obsequious to him; they
were about him, to know what he would have and wherein they might
serve him. It is a comfort to tender parents to see their children
about them. Job speaks very feelingly of this comfort now that he
was deprived of it. He thought it an instance of God's being with
him that his children were about him; and yet reckon amiss if, when
we have lost our children, we cannot comfort ourselves with this,
that we have not lost our God. 2. He had a plentiful estate for the
support of this numerous family, <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.6" parsed="|Job|29|6|0|0" passage="Job 29:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. His dairy abounded to such a
degree that he might, if he pleased, <i>wash his steps with
butter;</i> and his olive-yards were so fruitful, beyond
expectation, that it seemed as if the <i>rock poured him out rivers
of oil.</i> He reckons his wealth, not by his silver and gold,
which were for hoarding, but by his butter and oil, which were for
use; for what is an estate good for unless we take the good of it
ourselves and do good with it to others?</p>
</div><scripCom id="Job.xxx-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.7-Job.29.17" parsed="|Job|29|7|29|17" passage="Job 29:7-17" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Job.29.7-Job.29.17">
<p class="passage" id="Job.xxx-p6">7 When I went out to the gate through the city,
<i>when</i> I prepared my seat in the street!   8 The young
men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, <i>and</i>
stood up.   9 The princes refrained talking, and laid
<i>their</i> hand on their mouth.   10 The nobles held their
peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.  
11 When the ear heard <i>me,</i> then it blessed me; and when the
eye saw <i>me,</i> it gave witness to me:   12 Because I
delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and <i>him that
had</i> none to help him.   13 The blessing of him that was
ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to
sing for joy.   14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me:
my judgment <i>was</i> as a robe and a diadem.   15 I was eyes
to the blind, and feet <i>was</i> I to the lame.   16 I
<i>was</i> a father to the poor: and the cause <i>which</i> I knew
not I searched out.   17 And I brake the jaws of the wicked,
and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p7">We have here Job in a post of honour and
power. Though he had comfort enough in his own house, yet he did
not confine himself to that. We are not born for ourselves, but for
the public. When any business was to be done in the gate, the place
of judgment, Job <i>went out to</i> it <i>through the city</i>
(<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.7" parsed="|Job|29|7|0|0" passage="Job 29:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>), not in an
affectation of pomp, but in an affection to justice. Observe,
Judgment was administered in the gate, in the street, in the places
of concourse, to which every man might have a free access, that
every one who would might be a witness to all that was said and
done, and that when judgment was given against the guilty others
might hear and fear. Job being a prince, a judge, a magistrate, a
man in authority, among the children of the east, we are here
told,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p8">I. What a profound respect was paid to him
by all sorts of people, not only for the dignity of his place, but
for his personal merit, his eminent prudence, integrity, and good
management. 1. The people honoured him and stood in awe of him,
<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.8" parsed="|Job|29|8|0|0" passage="Job 29:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. The gravity
and majesty of his looks and mien, and his known strictness in
animadverting upon every thing that was evil and indecent,
commanded all about him into due decorum. <i>The young men,</i> who
could not keep their countenances, or, it may be, were conscious to
themselves of something amiss, <i>hid themselves,</i> and got out
of his way; <i>and the aged,</i> though they kept their ground, yet
would not keep their seats: they <i>arose and stood up</i> to do
homage to him; those who expected honour from others gave honour to
him. Virtue and piety challenge respect from all, and usually have
it; but those that not only <i>are</i> good, but <i>do</i> good,
are worthy of double honour. Modesty becomes those that are young
and in subjection as much as majesty becomes those that are aged
and in power. Honour and fear are due to magistrates, and must be
rendered to them, <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.13.7" parsed="|Rom|13|7|0|0" passage="Ro 13:7">Rom. xiii.
7</scripRef>. But, if a great and good man was thus reverenced, how
is the great and good God to be feared! 2. The princes and nobles
paid great deference to him, <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.9-Job.29.10" parsed="|Job|29|9|29|10" passage="Job 29:9,10"><i>v.</i> 9, 10</scripRef>. Some think that these
were inferior magistrates under him, and that the respect they paid
him was due to his place, as their sovereign and supreme. It should
rather seem that they were his equals in place, and joined in
commission with him, and that the peculiar honour they gave him was
gained by his extraordinary abilities and services. It was agreed
that he excelled them all in quickness of apprehension, soundness
of judgment, closeness of application, clearness and copiousness of
expression; and therefore he was among his fellows an oracle of
law, and counsel, and justice, and what he said all attended to and
acquiesced in. When he came into court, especially when he stood up
to speak to any business, <i>the princes refrained talking, the
nobles held their peace,</i> that they might the more diligently
hearken to what he said and might be sure to understand his
meaning. Those that had been forward to speak their own thoughts,
loved to hear themselves talk, and cared not much what any body
else said, yet, when it came to Job's turn to speak, were as
desirous to know his thoughts as ever they had been to vent their
own. Those that suspected their own judgment were satisfied in his,
and admired with what dexterity he split the hair and untied the
knots which puzzled them and which they knew not what to make of.
When the princes and nobles wrangled among themselves all agreed to
refer the matters in dispute to Job and to abide by his judgment.
Happy the men that are blessed with such eminent gifts as these;
they have great opportunities of honouring God and doing good, but
have great need to watch against pride. Happy the people that are
blessed with such eminent men; it is a token for good to them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p9">II. What a great deal of good he did in his
place. He was very serviceable to his country with the power he
had; and here we shall see what it was which Job valued himself by
in the day of his prosperity. It is natural to men to have some
value for themselves, and we may judge something of our own
character by observing what that is upon which we value ourselves.
Job valued himself, not by the honour of his family, the great
estate he had, his large income, his full table, the many servants
he had at his command, the ensigns of his dignity, his equipage and
retinue, the splendid entertainments he gave, and the court that
was made to him, but by his usefulness. Goodness is God's glory,
and it will be ours; if we are merciful as God is, we are perfect
as he is.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p10">1. He valued himself by the interest he had
in the esteem, affections, and prayers, of sober people; not by the
studied panegyrics of the wits and poets, but the unconstrained
praises of all about him. All that heard what he said, and saw what
he did, how he laid out himself for the public good with all the
authority and tender affection of a father to his country, blessed
him, and gave witness to him, <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.11" parsed="|Job|29|11|0|0" passage="Job 29:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>. Many a good word they said of
him, and many a good prayer they put up for him. He did not think
it an honour to make every body fear him (<i>Oderint dum
metuant—Let them hate, provided they also fear</i>) nor to be
arbitrary, and to have his own will and way, not caring what people
said of him; but, like Mordecai, to be <i>accepted of the multitude
of his brethren,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Esth.10.3" parsed="|Esth|10|3|0|0" passage="Es 10:3">Esth. x.
3</scripRef>. He did not so much value the applauses of those at a
distance as the attestations of those that were the witnesses of
his conduct, that constantly attended him, saw him, and heard him,
and could speak of their own knowledge, especially theirs who had
themselves been the better for him and could speak by their own
experience: such was the blessing of him who was ready to perish
(<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.13" parsed="|Job|29|13|0|0" passage="Job 29:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>) and who by
Job's means was rescued from perishing. Let great men, and men of
estates, thus do good, and they shall have praise of the same; and
let those who have good done to them look upon it as a just debt
they owe to their protectors and benefactors to bless them and give
witness to them, to use their interest on earth for their honour
and in heaven for their comfort, to praise them and pray for them.
Those are ungrateful indeed who grudge these small returns.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p11">2. He valued himself by the care he took of
those that were least able to help themselves, the poor and the
needy, the widows and fatherless, the blind and the lame, who could
not be supposed either to merit his favour or ever to be in a
capacity to recompense it. (1.) If the poor were injured or
oppressed, they might cry to Job, and, if he found the allegations
of their petitions true, they had not only his ear and his bowels,
but his hand too: He <i>delivered the poor that cried</i>
(<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.12" parsed="|Job|29|12|0|0" passage="Job 29:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>) and would
not suffer them to be trampled upon and run down. Nay (<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.16" parsed="|Job|29|16|0|0" passage="Job 29:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>), he was <i>a father to
the poor,</i> not only a judge to protect them and to see that they
were not wronged, but a father to provide for them and to see that
they did not want, to counsel and direct them, and to appear and
act for them upon all occasions. It is no disparagement to the son
of a prince to be a father to the poor. (2.) The fatherless that
had none to help them found Job ready to help them, and, if they
were in straits, to deliver them. He helped them to make the best
of what little they had, helped them to pay what they owed and to
get in what was owing to them, helped them out into the world,
helped them into business, helped them to it, and helped them in
it; thus should the fatherless be helped. (3.) Those that were
ready to perish he saved from perishing, relieving those that were
hungry and ready to perish for want, taking care of those that were
sick, that were outcasts, that were falsely accused, or in danger
of being turned out of their estates unjustly, or, upon any other
account, were ready to perish. The extremity of the peril, as it
quickened Job to appear the more vigorously for them, so it made
his seasonable kindness the more affecting and the more obliging,
and brought their blessings the more abundantly upon him. (4.) The
widows that were sighing for grief, and trembling for fear, he made
to sing for joy, so carefully did he protect them and provide for
them, and so heartily did he espouse their interest. It is a
pleasure to a good man, and should be so to a great man, to give
those occasion to rejoice that are most acquainted with grief. (5.)
Those that were upon any account at a loss Job gave suitable and
seasonable relief to (<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.15" parsed="|Job|29|15|0|0" passage="Job 29:15"><i>v.</i>
15</scripRef>): <i>I was eyes to the blind,</i> counselling and
advising those for the best that knew not what to do, and <i>feet
to the lame,</i> assisting those with money and friends that knew
what they should do, but knew not how to compass it. Those we best
help whom we help out in that very thing wherein they are defective
and most need help. We may come to be blind or lame ourselves, and
therefore should pity and succour those that are so, <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.35.3-Isa.35.4 Bible:Heb.12.13" parsed="|Isa|35|3|35|4;|Heb|12|13|0|0" passage="Isa 35:3,4,Heb 12:13">Isa. xxxv. 3, 4; Heb. xii.
13</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p12">3. He valued himself by the conscience he
made of justice and equity in all his proceedings. His friends had
unjustly censured him as an oppressor. "So far from that," says he,
"I always made it my business to maintain and support right." (1.)
He devoted himself to the administration of justice (<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.14" parsed="|Job|29|14|0|0" passage="Job 29:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>): <i>I put on
righteousness and it clothed me,</i> that is, he had an habitual
disposition to execute justice and put on a fixed resolution to do
it. It was <i>the girdle of his lions,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.5" parsed="|Isa|11|5|0|0" passage="Isa 11:5">Isa. xi. 5</scripRef>. It kept him tight and steady in
all his motions. He always appeared in it, as in his clothing, and
never without it. Righteousness will clothe those that put it on;
it will keep them warm, and be comfortable to them; it will keep
them safe, and fence them against the injuries of the season; it
will adorn them, and recommend them to the favour both of God and
man. (2.) He took pleasure in it, and, as I may say, a holy
delight. He looked upon it as his greatest glory to do justice to
all and injury to none: <i>My judgment was as a robe and a
diadem.</i> Perhaps he did not himself wear a robe and a diadem; he
was very indifferent to those ensigns of honour; those were most
fond of them who had least intrinsic worth to recommend them. But
the settled principles of justice, by which he was governed and did
govern, were to him instead of all those ornaments. If a magistrate
do the duty of his place, that is an honour to him far beyond his
gold or purple, and should be, accordingly, his delight; and truly
if he do not make conscience of his duty, and in some measure
answer the end of his elevation, his robe and diadem, his gown and
cap, his sword and mace, are but a reproach, like the purple robe
and crown of thorns with which the Jews studied to ridicule our
Saviour; for, as clothes on a dead man will never make him warm, so
robes on a base man will never make him honourable. (3.) He took
pains in the business of his place (<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.16" parsed="|Job|29|16|0|0" passage="Job 29:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>): <i>The cause which I knew not
I searched out.</i> He diligently enquired into the matters of
fact, patiently and impartially heard both sides, set every thing
in its true light, and cleared it from false colours; he laid all
circumstances together, that he might find out the truth and the
merits of every cause, and then, and not until then, gave judgment
upon it. He never answered a matter before he heard it, nor did he
judge a man to be righteous, however he seemed, for his being
<i>first in his own cause,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.18.17" parsed="|Prov|18|17|0|0" passage="Pr 18:17">Prov.
xviii. 17</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p13">4. He valued himself by the check he gave
to the violence of proud and evil men (<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.17" parsed="|Job|29|17|0|0" passage="Job 29:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>): <i>I broke the jaws of the
wicked.</i> He does not say that he broke their necks. He did not
take away their lives, but he broke their jaws, he took away their
power of doing mischief; he humbled them, mortified them, and
curbed their insolence, and so plucked the spoil out of their
teeth, delivered the persons and estates of honest men from being
made a prey of by them. When they had got the spoil between their
teeth, and were greedily swallowing it down, he bravely rescued it,
as David did the lamb out of the mouth of the lion, not fearing,
though they roared and raged like a lion disappointed of his prey.
Good magistrates must thus be a terror and restraint to evil-doers
and a protection to the innocent, and, in order to this, they have
need to arm themselves with zeal, and resolution, and an undaunted
courage. A judge upon the bench has as much need to be bold and
brave as a commander in the field.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Job.xxx-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.18-Job.29.25" parsed="|Job|29|18|29|25" passage="Job 29:18-25" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Job.29.18-Job.29.25">
<p class="passage" id="Job.xxx-p14">18 Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I
shall multiply <i>my</i> days as the sand.   19 My root
<i>was</i> spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon
my branch.   20 My glory <i>was</i> fresh in me, and my bow
was renewed in my hand.   21 Unto me <i>men</i> gave ear, and
waited, and kept silence at my counsel.   22 After my words
they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them.   23
And they waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouth
wide <i>as</i> for the latter rain.   24 <i>If</i> I laughed
on them, they believed <i>it</i> not; and the light of my
countenance they cast not down.   25 I chose out their way,
and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one <i>that</i>
comforteth the mourners.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p15">That which crowned Job's prosperity was the
pleasing prospect he had of the continuance of it. Though he knew,
in general, that he was liable to trouble, and therefore was not
secure (<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.3.26" parsed="|Job|3|26|0|0" passage="Job 3:26"><i>ch.</i> iii. 26</scripRef>,
<i>I was not in safety, neither had I rest</i>), yet he had no
particular occasion for fear, but as much reason as ever any man
had to count upon the lengthening out of his tranquility.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p16">I. See here what his thoughts were in his
prosperity (<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.18" parsed="|Job|29|18|0|0" passage="Job 29:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>):
<i>Then I said, I shall die in my nest.</i> Having made himself a
warm and easy nest, he hoped nothing would disturb him in it, nor
remove him out of it, till death removed him. He knew he had never
stolen any coal from the altar which might fire his nest; he saw no
storm arising to shake down his nest; and therefore concluded,
<i>To morrow shall be as this day;</i> as David (<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.30.6" parsed="|Ps|30|6|0|0" passage="Ps 30:6">Ps. xxx. 6</scripRef>), <i>My mountain stands strong, and
shall not be moved.</i> Observe, 1. In the midst of his prosperity
he thought of dying, and the thought was not uneasy to him. He knew
that, though his nest was high, it did not set him out of the reach
of the darts of death. 2. Yet he flattered himself with vain hopes,
(1.) That he should live long, should <i>multiply his days as the
sand.</i> He means as the sand on the sea-shore; whereas we should
rather reckon our days by the sand in the hourglass, which will
have run out in a little time. See how apt even good people are to
think of death as a thing at a distance, and to put far from them
that evil day, which will really be to them a good day. (2.) That
he should die in the same prosperous state in which he had lived.
If such an expectation as this arise from a lively faith in the
providence and promise of God, it is well, but if from a conceit of
our own wisdom, and the stability of these earthly things, it is
ill-grounded and turns into sin. We hope Job's confidence was like
David's (<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.27.1" parsed="|Ps|27|1|0|0" passage="Ps 27:1">Ps. xxvii. 1</scripRef>,
<i>Whom shall I fear?),</i> not like the rich fool's (<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:Luke.12.19" parsed="|Luke|12|19|0|0" passage="Lu 12:19">Luke xii. 19</scripRef>), <i>Soul, take thy
ease.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p17">II. See what was the ground of these
thoughts.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p18">1. If he looked at home, he found he had a
good foundation. His stock was all his own, and none of all his
neighbours had any demand upon him. He found no bodily distemper
growing upon him; his estate did not lie under any incumbrance; nor
was he sensible of any worm at the root of it. He was getting
forward in his affairs, and not going behind-hand; he lost no
reputation, but gained rather; he knew no rival that threatened
either to eclipse his honour or abridge his power. See how he
describes this, <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.19-Job.29.20" parsed="|Job|29|19|29|20" passage="Job 29:19,20"><i>v.</i> 19,
20</scripRef>. He was like a tree whose root is not only spread
out, which fixes it and keeps it firm, so that it is in no danger
of being overturned, but <i>spread out by the waters,</i> which
feed it, and make it fruitful and flourishing, so that it is in no
danger of withering. And, as he thought himself blessed with the
fatness of the earth, so also with the kind influences of heaven
too; for the <i>dew lay all night upon his branch.</i> Providence
favoured him, and made all his enjoyments comfortable and all his
enterprises successful. Let none think to support their prosperity
with what they draw from this earth without that blessing which is
derived from above. God's favour being continued to Job, in the
virtue of that his glory was still fresh in him. Those about him
had still something new to say in his praise, and needed not to
repeat the old stories: and it is only by constant goodness that
men's glory is thus preserved fresh and kept from withering and
growing stale. His <i>bow</i> also <i>was renewed in his hand,</i>
that is, his power to protect himself and annoy those that assailed
him still increased, so that he thought he had as little reason as
any man to fear the insults of the Sabeans and Chaldeans.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p19">2. If he looked abroad, he found he had a
good interest and well confirmed. As he had no reason to dread the
power of his enemies, so neither had he any reason to distrust the
fidelity of his friends. To the last moment of his prosperity they
continued their respect to him and their dependence on him. What
had he to fear who so gave counsel as in effect to give law to all
his neighbours? Nothing surely could be done against him when
really nothing was done without him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p20">(1.) He was the oracle of his country. He
was consulted as an oracle, and his dictates were acquiesced in as
oracles, <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.21" parsed="|Job|29|21|0|0" passage="Job 29:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>.
When others could not be heard all men <i>gave ear</i> to him,
<i>and kept silence at his counsel,</i> knowing that, as nothing
could be said against it, so nothing needed to be added to it. And
therefore, <i>after his words, they spoke not again,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.22" parsed="|Job|29|22|0|0" passage="Job 29:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>. Why should men meddle
with a subject that has already been exhausted?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p21">(2.) He was the darling of his country. All
about him were well pleased with every thing he said and did, as
David's people were with him, <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.3.36" parsed="|2Sam|3|36|0|0" passage="2Sa 3:36">2 Sam.
iii. 36</scripRef>. He had the hearts and affections of all his
neighbours, all his servants, tenants, subjects; never was man so
much admired nor so well beloved. [1.] Those were thought happy to
whom he spoke, and they thought themselves so. Never were the dews
of heaven so acceptable to the parched ground as his wise
discourses were to those that attended on them, especially to those
to whom they were particularly accommodated and directed. His
speech dropped upon them, and they waited for its as for the rain
(<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.22-Job.29.23" parsed="|Job|29|22|29|23" passage="Job 29:22,23"><i>v.</i> 22, 23</scripRef>),
wondering at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth,
catching at them, laying hold on them, and treasuring them up as
apophthegms. His servants that stood continually before him to hear
his wisdom would not have envied Solomon's. Those are wise, or are
likely to be so, that know how to value wise discourse, that wish
for it, and wait for it, and drink it in as the earth does <i>the
rain that comes often upon it,</i> <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Heb.6.7" parsed="|Heb|6|7|0|0" passage="Heb 6:7">Heb.
vi. 7</scripRef>. And those who have such an interest as Job had in
the esteem of others whose <i>ipse dixit—bare assertion</i> goes
so far, as they have a great opportunity of doing good, so they
must take great care lest they do hurt, for a bad word out of their
mouths is very infectious. [2.] Much more happy were those thought
on whom he smiled, and they thought themselves so, <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p21.4" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.24" parsed="|Job|29|24|0|0" passage="Job 29:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>. "<i>If I laughed on
them,</i> designing thereby to show myself pleased in them, or
pleasant with them, it was such a favour that <i>they believed it
not</i> for joy," or because it was so rare a thing to see this
grave man smile. <i>Many seek the ruler's favour.</i> Job was a
ruler whose favour was courted and valued at a high rate. He to
whom a great prince gave a kiss was envied by another to whom he
only gave a golden cup. Familiarity often breeds contempt; but if
Job at any time saw fit, for his own diversion, to make himself
free with those about him, yet it did not in the least diminish the
veneration they had for him: <i>The light of his countenance they
cast not down.</i> So wisely did he dispense his favours as not to
make them cheap, and so wisely did they receive them as not to make
themselves unworthy of them another time.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p22">(3.) He was the sovereign of his country,
<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.25" parsed="|Job|29|25|0|0" passage="Job 29:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>. He <i>chose
out their way,</i> sat at the helm, and steered for them, all
referring themselves to his conduct and submitting themselves to
his command. To this perhaps, in many countries, monarchy owed its
rise: such a man as Job, that so far excelled all his neighbours in
wisdom and integrity, could not but sit chief, and the fool will,
of course, be servant to the wise in heart: and, if the wisdom did
but for a while run in the blood, the honour and power would
certainly attend it and so by degrees become hereditary. Two things
recommended Job to the sovereignty:—[1.] That he had the
authority of a commander or general. He <i>dwelt as a king in the
army,</i> giving orders which were not to be disputed. Every one
that has the spirit of wisdom has not the spirit of government, but
Job had both, and, when there was occasion, could assume state, as
the king in the army does, and say, "Go," "Come," and "Do this,"
<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p22.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.8.9" parsed="|Matt|8|9|0|0" passage="Mt 8:9">Matt. viii. 9</scripRef>. [2.] That yet
he had the tenderness of a comforter. He was as ready to succour
those in distress as if it had been his office to comfort the
mourners. Eliphaz himself owned he had been very good in that
respect (<scripRef id="Job.xxx-p22.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.4.3" parsed="|Job|4|3|0|0" passage="Job 4:3"><i>ch.</i> iv. 3</scripRef>):
<i>Thou hast strengthened the weak hands.</i> And this he now
reflected upon with pleasure, when he was himself a mourner. But we
find it easier to comfort others with the comforts wherewith we
ourselves have been formerly comforted than to comfort ourselves
with those comforts wherewith we have formerly comforted
others.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Job.xxx-p23">I know not but we may look upon Job as a
type and figure of Christ in his power and prosperity. Our Lord
Jesus is such a King as Job was, the poor man's King, who loves
righteousness and hates iniquity, and upon whom the blessing of a
world ready to perish comes; see <scripRef id="Job.xxx-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.72.2-Ps.72.17" parsed="|Ps|72|2|72|17" passage="Ps 72:2-17">Ps.
lxxii. 2</scripRef>, &amp;c. To him therefore let us give ear, and
let him sit chief in our hearts.</p>
</div></div2>