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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. XVII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter,
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I. Job reflects upon the harsh censures which his friends had passed
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upon him, and looking upon himself as a dying man
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:1">ver. 1</A>),
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he appeals to God, and begs of him speedily to appear for him, and
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right him, because they had wronged him, and he knew not how to right
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himself,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:2-7">ver. 2-7</A></A>.
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But he hopes that, though it should be a surprise, it will be no
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stumbling-block, to good people, to see him thus abused,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:8,9">ver. 8, 9</A>.
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II. He reflects upon the vain hopes they had fed him with, that he
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should yet see good days, showing that his days were just at an end,
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and with his body all his hopes would be buried in the dust,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:10-16">ver. 10-16</A>.
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His friends becoming strange to him, which greatly grieved him, he
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makes death and the grave familiar to him, which yielded him some
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comfort.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Job17_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job17_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job17_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job17_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job17_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job17_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job17_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job17_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job17_9"> </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>Deplorable Condition of Job; The Improvement of Job's Troubles.</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 breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves <I>are
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ready</I> for me.
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2 <I>Are there</I> not mockers with me? and doth not mine eye
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continue in their provocation?
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3 Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee; who <I>is</I> he
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<I>that</I> will strike hands with me?
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4 For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore
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shalt thou not exalt <I>them.</I>
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5 He that speaketh flattery to <I>his</I> friends, even the eyes of
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his children shall fail.
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6 He hath made me also a byword of the people; and aforetime I
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was as a tabret.
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7 Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members
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<I>are</I> as a shadow.
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8 Upright <I>men</I> shall be astonied at this, and the innocent
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shall stir up himself against the hypocrite.
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9 The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath
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clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Job's discourse is here somewhat broken and interrupted, and he passes
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suddenly from one thing to another, as is usual with men in trouble;
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but we may reduce what is here said to three heads:--</P>
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<P>
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I. The deplorable condition which poor Job was now in, which he
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describes, to aggravate the great unkindness of his friends to him and
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to justify his own complaints. Let us see what his case was.</P>
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<P>
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1. He was a dying man,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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He had said
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+16:22"><I>ch.</I> xvi. 22</A>),
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"<I>When a few years have come,</I> I shall go that long journey." But
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here he corrects himself. "Why do I talk of years to come? Alas! I am
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just setting out on that journey, am now ready to be offered, and the
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time of my departure is at hand. <I>My breath is already corrupt,</I>
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or broken off; my spirits are spent; I am a gone man." It is good for
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every one of us thus to look upon ourselves as dying, and especially to
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think of it when we are sick. We are dying, that is,
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(1.) Our life is going; for the breath of life is going. It is
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continually <I>going forth; it is in our nostrils</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+2:22">Isa. ii. 22</A>),
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the door at which it entered
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+2:7">Gen. ii. 7</A>);
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there it is upon the threshold, ready to depart. Perhaps Job's
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distemper obstructed his breathing, and short breath will, after a
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while, be no breath. Let <I>the Anointed of the Lord be the breath of
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our nostrils,</I> and let us get spiritual life breathed into us, and
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that breath will never be corrupted.
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(2.) Our time is ending: <I>My days are extinct, are put out,</I> as a
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candle which, from the first lighting, is continually wasting and
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burning down, and will by degrees burn out of itself, but may by a
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thousand accidents be extinguished. Such is life. It concerns us
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therefore carefully to redeem the days of time, and to spend them in
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getting ready for the days of eternity, which will never be extinct.
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(3.) We are expected in our long home: <I>The graves are ready for
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me.</I> But would not one grave serve? Yes, but he speaks of the
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<I>sepulchres of his fathers,</I> to which he must be gathered: "The
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graves where they are laid are ready for me also," graves in consort,
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the congregation of the dead. Wherever we go there is but a step
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between us and the grave. Whatever is unready, that is ready; it is a
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bed soon made. If the graves be ready for us, it concerns us to be
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ready for the graves. <I>The graves for me</I> (so it runs), denoting
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not only his expectation of death, but his desire of it. "I have done
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with the world, and have nothing now to wish for but a grave."</P>
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<P>
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2. He was a despised man
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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"<I>He</I>" (that is, Eliphaz, so some, or rather God, whom he all
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along acknowledges to be the author of his calamities) "<I>has made me
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a byword of the people,</I> the talk of the country, a laughing-stock
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to many, a gazing-stock to all; <I>and aforetime</I> (or to men's
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faces, publicly) <I>I was as a tabret,</I> that whoever chose might
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play upon." They made ballads of him; his name became a proverb; it is
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so still, <I>As poor as Job.</I> "<I>He has</I> now <I>made me a
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byword,</I>" a reproach of men, whereas, aforetime, in my prosperity, I
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was as a tabret, <I>deliciæ humani generis--the darling of the
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human race,</I> whom they were all pleased with. It is common for those
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who were honoured in their wealth to be despised in their poverty.</P>
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<P>
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3. He was a man of sorrows,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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He wept so much that he had almost lost his sight: <I>My eye is dim by
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reason of sorrow,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+16:16"><I>ch.</I> xvi. 16</A>.
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The sorrow of the world thus works darkness and death. He grieved so
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much that he had fretted all the flesh away and become a perfect
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skeleton, nothing but skin and bones: "<I>All my members are as a
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shadow.</I> I have become so poor and thin that I am not to be called a
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man, but the <I>shadow of a man.</I>"</P>
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<P>
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II. The ill use which his friends made of his miseries. They trampled
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upon him, and insulted over him, and condemned him as a hypocrite,
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because he was thus grievously afflicted. Hard usage! Now observe,</P>
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<P>
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1. How Job describes it, and what construction he puts upon their
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discourses with him. He looks upon himself as basely abused by them.
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(1.) They abused him with their foul censures, condemning him as a bad
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man, justly reduced thus and exposed to contempt,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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"They are <I>mockers,</I> who deride my calamities, and insult over me,
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because I am thus brought low. They are <I>so with me,</I> abusing me
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to my face, pretending friendship in their visit, but intending
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mischief. I cannot get clear of them; they are continually tearing me,
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and they will not be wrought upon, either by reason or pity, to let
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fall the prosecution."
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(2.) They abused him too with their fair promises, for in them they did
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but banter him. He reckons them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>)
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among those that speak flattery to their friends. They all came to
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mourn with him. Eliphaz began with a commendation of him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+4:3"><I>ch.</I> iv. 3</A>.
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They had all promised him that he would be happy if he would take their
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advice. Now all this he looked upon as flattery, and as designed to vex
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him so much the more. All this he calls their <I>provocation,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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They did what they could to provoke him and then condemned him for his
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resentment of it; but he thinks himself excusable when his eye
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<I>continued</I> thus <I>in their provocation:</I> it never ceased, and
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he never could look off it. Note, The unkindness of those that trample
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upon their friends in affliction, that banter and abuse them then, is
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enough to try, if not to tire, the patience even of Job himself.</P>
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<P>
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2. How he condemns it.
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(1.) It was a sign that <I>God had hidden their heart from
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understanding</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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and that in this matter they were infatuated, and their wonted wisdom
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had departed from them. Wisdom is a gift of God, which he grants to
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some and withholds from others, grants at some times and withholds at
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other times. Those that are void of compassion are so far void of
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understanding. Where there is not the tenderness of a man one may
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question whether there be the understanding of a man.
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(2.) It would be a lasting reproach and diminution to them:
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<I>Therefore shalt thou not exalt them.</I> Those are certainly kept
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back from honour whose hearts are hidden from understanding. When God
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infatuates men he will abase them. Surely those who discover so little
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acquaintance with the methods of Providence shall not have the honour
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of deciding this controversy! That is reserved for a man of better
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sense and better temper, such a one as Elihu afterwards appeared to be.
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(3.) It would entail a curse upon their families. He that thus violates
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the sacred laws of friendship forfeits the benefit of it, not only for
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himself, but for his posterity: "<I>Even the eyes of his children shall
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fail,</I> and, when they look for succour and comfort from their own
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and their father's friends, they shall look in vain as I have done, and
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be as much disappointed as I am in you." Note, Those that wrong their
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neighbours may thereby, in the end, wrong their own children more than
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they are aware of.</P>
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<P>
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3. How he appeals from them to God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee,</I> that is, "Let me be
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assured that God will take the hearing and determining of the cause
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into his own hands, and I desire no more. Let some one engage for God
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to bring on this matter." Thus those whose hearts condemn them not have
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confidence towards God, and can with humble and believing boldness beg
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of him to search and try them. Some make Job here to glance at the
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mediation of Christ, for he speaks of a surety with God, without whom
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he durst not appear before God, nor try his cause at his bar; for,
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though his friends' accusations of him were utterly false, yet he could
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not justify himself before God but in a mediator. Our English
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annotations give this reading of the verse: "<I>Appoint, I pray thee,
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my surety with thee,</I> namely, Christ who is with thee in heaven, and
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has undertaken to be my surety let him plead my cause, and stand up for
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me; and <I>who is he then that will strike upon my hand?</I>" that is,
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"Who dares then contend with me? Who shall lay any thing to my charge
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if Christ be an advocate for me?"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+8:32,33">Rom. viii. 32, 33</A>.
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Christ is the surety of the better testament
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+7:22">Heb. vii. 22</A>),
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a surety of God's appointing; and, if he undertake for us, we need not
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fear what can be done against us.</P>
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<P>
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III. The good use which the righteous should make of Job's afflictions
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from God, from his enemies, and from his friends,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:8,9"><I>v.</I> 8, 9</A>.
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Observe here,</P>
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<P>
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1. How the saints are described.
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(1.) They are <I>upright men,</I> honest and sincere, and that act from
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a steady principle, with a single eye. This was Job's own character
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+1:1"><I>ch.</I> i. 1</A>),
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and probably he speaks of such upright men especially as had been his
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intimates and associates.
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(2.) They are <I>the innocent,</I> not perfectly so, but innocence is
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what they aim at and press towards. Sincerity is evangelical
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innocency, and those that are upright are said to be <I>innocent from
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the great transgression,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:13">Ps. xix. 13</A>.
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(3.) They are <I>the righteous,</I> who walk in the way of
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righteousness.
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(4.) They have <I>clean hands,</I> kept clean from the gross pollutions
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of sin, and, when spotted with infirmities, <I>washed with
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innocency,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+26:6">Ps. xxvi. 6</A>.</P>
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<P>
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2. How they should be affected with the account of Job's troubles.
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Great enquiry, no doubt, would be made concerning him, and every one
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would speak of him and his case; and what use will good people make of
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it?
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(1.) It will amaze them: <I>Upright men shall be astonished at
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this;</I> they will wonder to hear that so good a man as Job should be
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so grievously afflicted in body, name, and estate, that God should lay
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his hand so heavily upon him, and that his friends, who ought to have
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comforted him, should add to his grief, that such a remarkable saint
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should be such a remarkable sufferer, and so useful a man laid aside in
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the midst of his usefulness; what shall we say to these things? Upright
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men, though satisfied in general that God is wise and holy in all he
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does, yet cannot but be astonished at such dispensations of Providence,
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paradoxes which will not be unfolded till the mystery of God shall be
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finished.
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(2.) It will animate them. Instead of being deterred from and
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discouraged in the service of God, by the hard usage which this
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faithful servant of God met with, they shall be so much the more
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emboldened to proceed and persevere in it. That which was St. Paul's
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care
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Th+3:3">1 Thess. iii. 3</A>)
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was Job's, that no good man should be moved, either from his holiness
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or his comfort, by these afflictions, that none should, for the sake
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hereof, think the worse of the ways or work of God. And that which was
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St. Paul's comfort was his too, that <I>the brethren in the Lord would
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wax confident by his bonds,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+1:14">Phil. i. 14</A>.
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They would hereby be animated,
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[1.] To oppose sin and to confront the corrupt and pernicious
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inferences which evil men would draw from Job's sufferings, as that God
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has forsaken the earth, that it is in vain to serve him, and the like:
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<I>The innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite,</I> will
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not bear to hear this
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+2:2">Rev. ii. 2</A>),
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but will withstand him to his face, will stir up himself to search into
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the meaning of such providences and study these hard chapters, that he
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may read them readily, will stir up himself to maintain religion's just
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but injured cause against all its opposers. Note, The boldness of the
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attacks which profane people make upon religion should sharpen the
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courage and resolution of its friends and advocates. It is time to stir
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when proclamation is made in the gate of the camp, <I>Who is on the
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Lord's side?</I> When vice is daring it is no time for virtue, through
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fear, to hide itself.
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[2.] To persevere in religion. <I>The righteous,</I> instead of drawing
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back, or so much as starting back, at this frightful spectacle, or
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standing still to deliberate whether he should proceed or no (allude to
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+2:23">2 Sam. ii. 23</A>),
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<I>shall</I> with so much the more constancy and resolution <I>hold on
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his way</I> and press forward. "Though in me he foresees that bonds and
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|
afflictions abide him, <I>yet none of these things shall move him,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+20:24">Acts xx. 24</A>.
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Those who keep their eye upon heaven as their end will keep their feet
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|
in the paths of religion as their way, whatever difficulties and
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|
discouragements they meet with in it
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[3.] In order thereunto to grow in grace. He will not only hold on his
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|
way notwithstanding, but will grow <I>stronger and stronger.</I> By the
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|
sight of other good men's trials, and the experience of his own, he
|
|
will be made more vigorous and lively in his duty, more warm and
|
|
affectionate, more resolute and undaunted; the worse others are the
|
|
better he will be; that which dismays others emboldens him. The
|
|
blustering wind makes the traveller gather his cloak the closer about
|
|
him and gird it the faster. Those that are truly wise and good will be
|
|
continually growing wiser and better. Proficiency in religion is a good
|
|
sign of sincerity in it.</P>
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<A NAME="Job17_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job17_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job17_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job17_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job17_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job17_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Job17_16"> </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>Job Reproves His Three Friends; Vanity of Worldly Expectations.</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>10 But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: for I cannot
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|
find <I>one</I> wise <I>man</I> among you.
|
|
11 My days are past, my purposes are broken off, <I>even</I> the
|
|
thoughts of my heart.
|
|
12 They change the night into day: the light <I>is</I> short because
|
|
of darkness.
|
|
13 If I wait, the grave <I>is</I> mine house: I have made my bed in
|
|
the darkness.
|
|
14 I have said to corruption, Thou <I>art</I> my father: to the
|
|
worm, <I>Thou art</I> my mother, and my sister.
|
|
15 And where <I>is</I> now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see
|
|
it?
|
|
16 They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when <I>our</I> rest
|
|
together <I>is</I> in the dust.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Job's friends had pretended to comfort him with the hopes of his return
|
|
to a prosperous estate again; now he here shows,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. That it was their folly to talk so
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Return, and come now,</I> be convinced that you are in an error,
|
|
and let me persuade you to be of my mind; <I>for I cannot find one wise
|
|
man among you,</I> that knows how to explain the difficulties of God's
|
|
providence or how to apply the consolations of his promises." Those do
|
|
not go wisely about the work of comforting the afflicted who fetch
|
|
their comforts from the possibility of their recovery and enlargement
|
|
in this world; though that is not to be despaired of, it is at the best
|
|
uncertain; and if it should fail, as perhaps it may, the comfort built
|
|
upon it will fail too. It is therefore our wisdom to comfort ourselves,
|
|
and others, in distress, with that which will not fail, the promise of
|
|
God, his love and grace, and a well-grounded hope of eternal life.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. That it would he much more his folly to heed them; for,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. All his measures were already broken and he was full of confusion,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:11,12"><I>v.</I> 11, 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
He owns he had, in his prosperity, often pleased himself both with
|
|
projects of what he should do and prospects of what he should enjoy;
|
|
but now he looked upon his days as past, or drawing towards a period;
|
|
all those purposes were broken off and those expectations dashed. He
|
|
had had thoughts about enlarging his border, increasing his stock, and
|
|
settling his children, and many pious thoughts, it is likely, of
|
|
promoting religion in his country, redressing grievances, reforming the
|
|
profane, relieving the poor, and raising funds perhaps for charitable
|
|
uses; but he concluded that all these thoughts of his heart were now at
|
|
an end, and that he should never have the satisfaction of seeing his
|
|
designs effected. Note, The period of our days will be the period of
|
|
all our contrivances and hopes for this world; but, if with full
|
|
purpose of heart we cleave to the Lord, death will not break off that
|
|
purpose. Job, being thus put upon new counsels, was under a constant
|
|
uneasiness
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The thoughts of his heart</I> being broken, they <I>changed the
|
|
night into day and shortened the light.</I> Some, in their vanity and
|
|
riot, turn night into day and day into night; but Job did so through
|
|
trouble and anguish of spirit, which were a hindrance,
|
|
|
|
(1.) To the repose of the night, keeping his eyes waking, so that the
|
|
night was as wearisome to him as the day, and the tossings of the night
|
|
tired him as much as the toils of the day.
|
|
|
|
(2.) To the entertainments of the day. "The light of the morning is
|
|
welcome, but, by reason of this inward darkness, the comfort of it is
|
|
soon gone, and the day is to me as dismal as the black and dark night,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+28:67">Deut. xxviii. 67</A>.
|
|
|
|
See what reason we have to be thankful for the health and ease which
|
|
enable us to welcome both the shadows of the evening and the light of
|
|
the morning.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. All his expectations from this world would very shortly be buried in
|
|
the grave with him; so that it was a jest for him to think of such
|
|
mighty things as they had flattered him with the hopes of,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+5:19,8:21,11:17"><I>ch.</I> v. 19; viii. 21; xi. 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
"Alas! you do but make a fool of me."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) He saw himself just dropping into the grave. A convenient house,
|
|
an easy bed, and agreeable relations, are some of those things in which
|
|
we take satisfaction in this world: Job expected not any of these above
|
|
ground; all he felt, and all he had in view, was unpleasing and
|
|
disagreeable, but under ground he expected them.
|
|
|
|
[1.] He counted upon no house but the grave
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
|
|
|
|
"If I wait, if there be any place where I shall ever be easy again, it
|
|
must be in the grave. I should deceive myself if I should count upon
|
|
any out-let from my trouble but what death will give me. Nothing is so
|
|
sure as that." Note, In all our prosperity it is good to keep death in
|
|
prospect. Whatever we expect, let us be sure to expect that; for that
|
|
may prevent other things which we expect, but nothing will prevent
|
|
that. But see how he endeavours not only to reconcile himself to the
|
|
grave, but to recommend it to himself: "It is my house." The grave is a
|
|
house; to the wicked it is a prison-house
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+24:19,20"><I>ch.</I> xxiv. 19, 20</A>);
|
|
|
|
to the godly it is <I>Bethabara, a passage-house</I> in their way home.
|
|
"It is my house, mine by descent, I am born to it; it is my father's
|
|
house. It is mine by purchase. I have made myself obnoxious to it." We
|
|
must everyone of us shortly remove to this house, and it is our wisdom
|
|
to provide accordingly; let us think of removing, and send before to
|
|
our long home.
|
|
|
|
[2.] He counted upon no quiet bed but in the darkness: "There," says
|
|
he, "<I>I have made my bed.</I> It is made, for it is ready, and I am
|
|
just going to it." The grave is a bed, for we shall rest in it in the
|
|
evening of our day on earth, and rise from it in the morning of our
|
|
everlasting day,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+57:2">Isa. lvii. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let this make good people willing to die; it is but going to bed; they
|
|
are weary and sleepy, and it is time that they were in their beds. Why
|
|
should they not go willingly, when their father calls? "Nay, <I>I have
|
|
made my bed,</I> by preparation for it, have endeavoured to make it
|
|
easy, by keeping conscience pure, by seeing Christ lying in this bed,
|
|
and so turning it into a bed of spices, and by looking beyond it to the
|
|
resurrection."
|
|
|
|
[3.] He counted upon no agreeable relations but what he had in the
|
|
grave
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I have cried to corruption</I> (that is, to the grave, where the
|
|
body will corrupt), <I>Thou art my father</I> (for our bodies were
|
|
formed out of the earth), and <I>to the worms</I> there, <I>You are my
|
|
mother and my sister,</I> to whom I am allied (for <I>man is a
|
|
worm</I>) and with whom I must be conversant, for the <I>worms shall
|
|
cover us,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+21:26"><I>ch.</I> xxi. 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
Job complained that his kindred were estranged from him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+19:13"><I>ch.</I> xix. 13, 14</A>);
|
|
|
|
therefore here he claims acquaintance with other relations that would
|
|
cleave to him when those disowned him. Note, <I>First,</I> We are all
|
|
of us near akin to corruption and the worms. <I>Secondly,</I> It is
|
|
therefore good to make ourselves familiar with them, by conversing much
|
|
with them in our thoughts and meditations, which would very much help
|
|
us above the inordinate love of life and fear of death.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) He saw all his hopes from this world dropping into the grave with
|
|
him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:15,16"><I>v.</I> 15, 16</A>):
|
|
|
|
"Seeing I must shortly leave the world, <I>where is now my hope?</I>
|
|
How can I expect to prosper who do not expect to live?" He is not
|
|
hopeless, but his hope is not where they would have it be. <I>If in
|
|
this life only</I> he had <I>hope,</I> he was <I>of all men most
|
|
miserable.</I> "No, as for my hope, that hope which I comfort and
|
|
support myself with, who shall see it? It is something out of sight
|
|
that I hope for, not things that are seen, that are temporal, but
|
|
things not seen, that are eternal." What is his hope he will tell us
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+19:25"><I>ch.</I> xix. 25</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Non est mortale quod opto, immortale peto--I seek not for that which
|
|
perishes, but for that which abides for ever.</I> "But, as for the
|
|
hopes you would buoy me up with, they shall go down with me to the bars
|
|
of the pit. You are dying men, and cannot make good your promises. I am
|
|
a dying man, and cannot enjoy the good you promise. Since, therefore,
|
|
our rest will be together in the dust, let us all lay aside the
|
|
thoughts of this world and set our hearts upon another." We must
|
|
shortly be in the dust, for dust we are, dust and ashes in the pit,
|
|
under <I>the bars of the pit,</I> held fast there, never to loose the
|
|
bands of death till the general resurrection. But we shall rest there;
|
|
we shall rest together there. Job and his friends could not agree now,
|
|
but they will both be quiet in the grave; the dust of that will shortly
|
|
stop their mouths and put an end to the controversy. Let the foresight
|
|
of this cool the heat of all contenders and moderate the disputers of
|
|
this world.</P>
|
|
|
|
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