Job 36

ELihu also proceeded, and said,

Suffer me a little Give me thy patient attention but a little longer, and I have done., and I will show thee that I have yet to speak on Gods behalf That I have not said all that can be said to justifie God's proceedings against thee..

I will fetch my knowledge from afar i. e. From remote times, and places, and things. I will not confine my discourse to thy particular case, but will justifie God by declaring his great and glorious works of Creation and Providence both in the Heaven and Earth, and the manner of his dealing with men in other Parts and Ages of the World: for these are the chief Heads of the following Discourse, and therefore the best comment upon this general expression., and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker I will acknowledge that which is true, that God is righteous. He adds the words, my Maker, either 1. as an argument or evidence of God's righteousness; partly because it is not likely that God should be unjust to his own Creatures, since even men are not only just, but kind to their own Works and Relations: and partly because the Work of Creation gave unto God an absolute right and power to dispose of Job as he saw fit, as the Potter has power over the Clay, Rom. 9. 21. and therefore there was no foundation for unrighteousness, nor any temptation upon God to do it: and partly because Man's Maker must needs be a Being of all possible perfection, and therefore one of perfect righteousness. Or, 2. as a motive or obligation upon him to plead God's cause. I do not engage my self in this Controversie out of a pragmatical or contentious humour, nor out of any prejudice or ill will to thee, but merely from the sense of my duty to my blessed Creator. Withal he reflects upon Job as guilty of great folly and ingratitude in contending with him, in or by whom he lived, and moved, and had his being..

For truly, my words shall not be false I will not speak any thing against my own Conscience, nor against Truth, either to flatter God, or to vex thee, as thou supposest thy other Friends have done, Chap. 13. 7. and elsewhere.: he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee This is meant either 1. of God. Thou hast to do with a God of perfect Knowledge by whom all thy words and actions are weighed; and therefore hast need to be more wary and circumspect in thy expressions and behaviour. Or rather 2. of himself, as the former part of the Verse is. And he speaketh of himself in the third Person for modesty's sake. He speaks not of absolute, but of comparative Perfection. And whatsoever perfection of Knowledge he had, he does not ascribe it to himself but to God's Spirit, Chap. 32. 8. And the meaning may be this, Thou hast not to do with a Novice, but with one who has accurately considered, and though God's grace does fully understand these matters. Therefore hearken to me. But the word rendred perfect signifieth also sincere or upright, or right. And this may seem best to agree with the former Clause, wherein he says that he would not speak what he knew to be... alse, and now he adds, that he was and would be upright in the use of his knowledge, or in the delivery of his Opinion in this matter, and not be by any passion or prejudice either to speak otherwise than he thought, or to judge otherwise than he should..

Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any His greatness does not make him (as it does men) to scorn, or despise, or oppress the meanest. Though he may do what he pleaseth and none can hinder him, yet he will not use it to do any Man wrong, as Job seemed to in... nuate, Chap. 10. 3. & 19. 7. & 23. 13.: he is mighty in strength and wisdom. His strength is guided by Wisdom, and therefore cannot be imployed to do any thing unbecoming God, or unjust to his Creatures; for either of these is folly. Or, in strength, or virtue of heart: for the and is not in the Hebrew. So the sense is, He is truly magnanimous, of a great and generous mind or heart, and therefore not unrighteous: for all injustice proceeds from littleness or weakness of Heart. Truly great Souls scorn unjust actions..

He preserveth not the life of the wicked To wit, for ever; but will in his due time forsake them, and give them up to the Destroyer. Or, he does not or will not preserve is put for, he will certainly and dreadfully destroy by the Figure called M... iosis, used Prov. 17. 21. and oft elsewhere.: but giveth right to the poor He does uphold, and he will certainly in his time deliver his poor oppressed Ones from all their Oppressours..

He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous He never ceaseth to care for and watch over them, no not when they are afflicted or persecuted, when he may seem to neglect them.: but with Kings are they on the Throne Though they may be oppressed for a time, yet ofttimes he not only delivers them, but also raiseth them to the highest Honour and Happiness in this life compare; 1 Sam. 2. 8. Psal. 113. 7, 8.; yea, he does establish them for ever Their selicity is more stable and permanent than that of the wicked., and they are exalted Having mentioned the cause, that God did establish them, he now mentions the effect, that are or continue to be exalted, they are not cast down from their Dignity, as the wicked commonly are..

And if they be bound in fetters If through the vicissitude of Worldly affairs, and the righteous judgment of God upon them for their sins they be brought from their Throne into a Prison, as sometimes has been done., and be holden in cords of affliction:

Then he shows them their work i. e. Their evil works, as the next Clause explains and limits it. By these afflictions he brings them to a sight of their sins and to repentance, which is the way and means of their recovery., and their transgressions, that they have exceeded That they have greatly sinned by abusing their Power and Prosperity, which even good men are too prone to do..

He openeth also their ear i. e. He enableth and enclineth them to hearken to what God speaks by the rod, who would not hear in the time of their Prosperity, like them; Jer. 22. 21. to discipline Or, to instruction, i. e. to receive instruction: or to chastening, i. e. to hear the rod, and who has appointed it, as is said, Mich. 6. 9., and commandeth Either by his Word o... Spirit accompanying the affliction and discovering the mind and will of God in this dispensation. that they return from iniquity Which is the chief cause of their Calamity..

If they obey God's admonition and command. and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity They shall be restored to their former Prosperity, and shall live and die in it. This he speaks according to the Tenour of God's promises especially in the Old Testament-state of the Church, and according to the common course and method of Gods Providence which Elihu and other good men had observed., and their years in pleasures Abounding in worldly comforts and being enabled by God to rejoyce in them, which is God's gift, Eccles. 3. 13. and delighting themselves in God's love and favour to them..

But if they The righteous spoken of v. 7. opposed to the Hypocrites here following, v. 13. for even good men may sometimes be disobe dient to Divine admonitions and may suffer deeply, yea, even death it self, for their folly; see 1 Cor. 11. 30. obey not, they shall perish by the Sword, and they shall dye without knowledge In or for their ignorance or inadvertency or folly. Or, because they are without knowledge, because they are foolish, or brutish, and will not learn the Lessons which God so plainly teacheth them..

But the hypocrite... heart Such as are truely void of that Piety which they profess. Whereby he either secretly insinuates that Iob was such an one: or gives him this occasion to search himself whether he were not so: or rather admonisheth him not to carry himself like such an one, as he had hitherto done, and for which he reproved him, Chap. 34. 8. heap up wrath i. e. By their impious and obslinate carriage in all conditions, they treasure up God's wrath against themselves.: they cry not Unto God for help. They live in the gross neglect of God, and of Prayer. when he bindeth them To wit, with the cords of affliction expressed, v. 8. which is mentioned as an aggravation of their wickedness, because even wicked men, if not pro... igately bad, will seek God in a time of affliction, Hosea 5. 15. Withal he secretly reflects upon Job as one that himself like a wicked Man, because though he cried out of God in way of complaint, yet he did not cry unto him by humble supplication..

They die in youth They provoke God to cut them off before their time. Heb. Their Soul (i. e. they themselves) shall die in., and their li... e is Or, rather life shall die or be extinct: which Verb is understood out of the former Clause after the manner of the Hebrews. among the unclean Or, the filthy, or W... oremongers, or Sodomites; to whose destruction (which happened not long before this time) he may seem to allude. The sense is, They shall die by some dreadful and exemplary stroke of Divine vengeance..

He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears i. e. Causeth them to hear, and understand and do the will of God hearing being oft put for obeying. And this latter Clause seems to be added to intimate, that he will not deliver all afflicted Persons, but only those whose Ears he openeth to receive his Counsels. in oppression i. e.... n the time of their oppression. Or, by oppression or tribulation, as the means of opening their Ears and Hearts..

Even so would he If thou hadst opened thine Ear to God's counsels, and humbled thy self under his correcting hand, and sued to God for Mercy. have removed thee As this Verb is used, 2 Chron. 18. 31. Or, allured, or inti... ed, or persuaded thee, as the word properly signifies: which possibly may here be emphatical, and may imply as that Iob had by his sins brought himself into these straits, so that God would have brought him out of them by the usual and regular way, to wit, by persuading him to turn from his sins, and humbly and earnestly to cry to God for Mercy, which if he had complied with, God would have delivered him. out of the Heb. out of the mouth or jaws of Tribulation; which like a wild Beast was ready to swallow him up. strait into a broad place i. e. Into a state of ease and freedom., where there is no straitness, and that which should be set on thy table; should be full of fatness. r Thy Dishes, or the food in them.

But thou hast fulfilled the judgment Or, the cause, or sentence, as the word most properly signified. Thou hast fully pleaded their cause, and justified the hard and reproachful speeches which wicked men in their rage utter against God, condemning God and justifying themselves. of the wicked: judgment and justice take hold on thee Or, therefore (which is oft understood) the sentence and judgment (or, the judicial sentence, to wit, of the wicked now mentioned) shall take hold on thee. Thou hast maintained their cause against God, and God shall pass against thee their sentence, or the Sentence of Condemnation due to such wicked men..

Because there is wrath To wit, conceived by God against thee. Because by thy pleading the cause of the wicked, thou hast deserved that God should give sentence against thee, as was now said, and hast provoked God's wrath against thee, therefore look to thy self, and reconcile thy self to God by true repentance whilst thou mayest, and before sentence be executed upon thee., beware This is not in the Hebrew, but is necessarily to be understood to make up the sense, and is oft understood in the like cases, and that before this Hebrew Particle Pen, as Gen. 3. 22. & 11. 4. & 42. 4. Isa. 36. 18. See the like also, Mat. 25. 9. Act. 5. 39. le... t he take thee away with his stroke Properly, with the stroke of his hand or foot. It is an allusion to men who oft express their anger by clapping their hands, or stamping with their feet.: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee For if once God's wrath take hold of thee, and sentence be executed upon thee before thou dost repent and humble thy self to thy judge, neither Riches, nor Friends, no nor any Person, or thing in Heaven and Earth can redeem thee, no Ransom or Price will be accepted for thee..

Will he esteem thy riches? no not Gold, nor all the... orces of strength If thou couldst recover thy lost wealth or strength, or thy Friends would employ theirs on thy behalf, neither could the one ransom thee, nor the other rescue thee..

Desire not the night Either 1. properly, that in it thou mayest find some ease or rest, as men usually do. But this Iob did not much desire, for he complains that his nights were as restless as his days. Or rather 2. metaphorically, the night of Death, which is called the Night both in Scripture, as Iohn 9. 4. and in other Writers; and which Io... had oft and earnestly desired and even thirsted after, as this Verb notes. See Ch. 7. 15. And this seems best to agree with the foregoing counsel, v. 18. beware l... st take thee away with his stroke, for then, says he, thou art irrecoverably lost and gone; and therefore take heed of thy foolish and oft r... peated desire of death, le... God inflict it upon thee in great anger., when Or, by which: which words are oft understood in divers Text... of Scripture. people Even whole Nations and Bodies of People, which a... e all God's Creatures as well as thou, and yet are not spared by him, but cut off in wrath, and many of them sent from one death to another; take heed therefore thou bee... not added to the number. are cut off Heb. are made to i. e. to vanish, or perish, or die, as this Verb is of... as J... b 18. 16. Psal. 102. 25. in their place In their several places where they are: or, suddenly before they... an remove out of the Place where the hand and stroke of God finds them: or, in the place where they are settled and surrounded with all manner of Comforts and Supports, and Friends, all which could not prevent their being.... ossibly this phrase may allude to that expression of Job's, Chap. 29. 18. I shall die in my... est..

Take heed, regard not Or look not to it, to wit with an approving or cove... ing eye, as this word is used, Prov. 23. 31. iniquity: for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction Thou hast chosen rather to quarrel with God, and censure his judgments, than humbly and quietly to to them, and to wait upon God by Faith and Prayer for deliverance time and way..

Behold, God exalteth Or, is... igh, or ex... lted, the active Verb being taken intransitively; which is not unusual in the Hebrew Tongue. This is a proper argument to force the foregoing counsels. God is omnipotent; and therefore can with great facility, either punish thee far worse, if thou be... st obstinate and refr... ctory; or deliver thee, if thou doest repent and return to him. by his power: who teacheth like him He is also infinitely wi... e as well as powerful, and as none can work like him, so none can teach li... e him Therefore do not presume to teach him how to govern the World or to order thy affairs, but know that whatsoever he does with thee, or with any other men is best to be done. And therefore... e willing to learn from him: learn obedience by the things which thou su... erest from him; and do not follow thy own fancies or affections, but use the methods which God has taught thee to get out of thy troubles, by submission, and prayer, and repentance. The words may be rendred. What Lord is like him For the word Mor... in the Chaldee dialect signifies a Lord? This Translation suits with the former Clause of this Verse, but ours agrees well enough with that, and is confirmed by the following Verse.?

Who has enjoyned him his way Wherein he should walk, i. e. what courses and methods he shall use in the administration of humane affairs If he had a Su periour Lord who gave him Laws for his actions, he might be accountable to him, and questionable for what he did: but he is Supream, absolute and uncontrollable, who has no Law to regulate him, but his own holy Nature and blessed Will. And therefore how... ash and impudent,... nd absurd a thing is it for any Man to censure his proceedings?? or who can say, Thou hast wrought iniquity Thou hast swerved from the Law and Rule given to thee.?

Remember Call to mind this thy duty, and take this matter into thy more serious thoughts, and it will prevent thy horrible mistakes and miscarriages. that So this Hebrew Particle is used here, v. 10. & Io... 3. 12. thou magnifie his work Or, his wo... s... he singular number being put for the plural; every work which he does; do not condemn any of his providential works thee or others, but adore and glorifie them as done with admirable wisdom, and justice, and faithfulness., which men behold To wit, with... iration and astonishment: which by their greatness and draw the eyes and minds of all men towards them: which deserve to be entertained with adoration and reverence of all men, not with censure and reproach.?

Every man may see it To wit, his work, last mentioned. The power, and wisdom, and greatness of God is so manifest in all his, that all who are not blind or stupid, must needs see and acknowledge it.: man may behold it afar off The works of God are so great and conspicuous, that they may be seen at a great distance; whereas little things cannot be seen unless we be near them. This translation and interpretation seems better to agree with the context than that which is more common, M... behold it (i. e. God's work or works), i. e. They... ee them darkly and imperfectly as things at a great distance, but not and plainly as things near at hand, and therefore they are so ap... to mistake them, and misjudge of them..

Behold, God is great Infinite in Majesty, and Power, and Wisdom, and all Perfections, and therefore just in all his ways., and we know him not To wit, perfectly. Though we see something of him in his works, as was now, yet we see and know but little of him in comparison of that which is in him. He is incomprehensibly great in his E... nce and in Works, and therefore be not so rash O Job, as to censure ways of God which thou cans... not fully understand., neither can the number of his years be searched out He is from everlasting to everlasting eternal, as in his being so in all his counsels, which therefore must be infinitely wise and above the comprehension of short-lived men..

For Having affirmed that Gods works are incomprehensibly great and glorious, he now enters upon the proof of it; and he proveth it from the most common and vi... ble works of Nature and Providence, which if thoroughly considered are full of wonder, and past the reach of the greatest Philosophers, who indeed speak of them only by guess, and by their... rable disputations about them discover their ignorance in them. And hence he leaves it to Iob to consider how incomparably more deep and unconceivable, the secret counsels and judgments of God must needs be, and therefore how foolish and a thing it was for him to judge and censure them. he maketh small the drops of water i. e. He orders matters so wisely and graciously, that the waters which are in the... louds, do not fall down at once in Spouts, or Rivers, or Seas; which would be both unprofitable and pernicious to the Earth and to Mankind, but by degrees and in drops; which is best for mens safety and comfort, and for the refreshment of the Earth. And this observes as a wonderful work of God: without whose Providence herein those Waters might constantly or commonly fall in spouts, as part of them has done., they Either the Waters, last mentioned: or the Clouds, as it is expr... ed in the next Verse: or the active Verb is used impersonally, which is frequent in the Hebrew Language, they pour down rain, for, the rain is poured down. pour down Or or, which word is borrowed from Metallis..., who dissolve Metals with Fire, and then pour them... orth by degrees and in parcels, as the Clouds are dissolved and then poured forth in drops, as was now expressed. rain according to the vapour thereof i. e. According to the proportion of vapours which the heat of the Sun has drawn up from the Earth or... ea into the Clouds. Or, into the vapour thereof. So it notes that great work of God by which the Rain is first made of Vapours, and afterwards resolved into Vapours, or into the matter of succeeding Vapours, by a constant rotation and reciprocation.:

Which the clouds do drop, and distil upon man abundantly In such plenty as the necessities of the Earth require: which also is a wonderful work of God..

Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds Or rather. of a Cloud, as it is in the Hebrew, whence it comes to pass that a small Cloud no bigger than a Man's hand does suddenly spread over the whole Heavens, how the Clouds come to be suddenly gathered together, and so condensed as to bring forth Thunder and Lightning, which here follows., or the noise of his tabernacle i. e. The Thunder produced in the Clouds, which are oft called God's Te... t or tabernacle, as Psal. 18. 11. & 104. 3. because there he oft times seems to dwell and gives forth tokens of his powerful and glorious presence in those mighty works of Thundring and Lightning, wherewith men are frequently astonished and a... righted..

Behold, he spreadeth his light i. e. The Lightning, of which the whole context speaks which is fitly called Gods Light, as it is called God's Lightning, Psal. 144. 6. because God only can light it. upon it i. e Upon the Cloud, which is in a manner the Candlestick, in which God sets up this Light., and covereth the bottom of the Sea The Lightning spreads far and wide over all the parts of the Sea, and pierceth deep reaching even to the bottom of it and spreading it self upon it and so covering it like a g... y and glorious Garment suddenly cast over and covering the Body of a Man or Woman, or as God is said to cover himself with light as with a Garment, Psal 104. 2..

For by them judgeth he the people By Thunder and Lightning, he manifests his displ... sure and executes his judgments against ungodly People or Countries.; he giveth meat in abundance Or, and (which conjunction is oft understood) he giveth meat, &c. i. e. By the self-same Clouds he punisheth wicked men by Thunder and Lightning, and provideth for others by those plentiful Showers which accompany them..

With clouds With thick and black Clouds spread over the whole Heavens, as it is in times of great Thunders and Lightnings. Heb with hands; either the Clouds are so called for their resemblance to hands, 1 Kings 18. 44. as being hollow and spread abroad: or the meaning is, that God covereth the light as it were by the hollow of his Hand, as a man sometimes cov... rs the light of a Candle. he covereth the light Either the Lightning, or rather the Sun, which is fitly called Light, Iob 31. 26. Psal. 136 7. as being the Fountain of Light., and commandeth it not to shine Or, giveth a charge concerning it, to wit, that it shall be covered: Or forbiddeth it, as this Hebrew word joyned with this Proposition usually signifies, as Gen. 2. 17. & 28. 6 1 Kings 2. 43. & 11. 11. and elsewhere, i. e. hindreth it, as it were by an express command or prohibition, from its usual and pro... er work, to wit, from shining., by the cloud that cometh betwixt Which God interposeth as a vail between the Sun and Earth: by which he does as it were deliver his command or prohibition to the Sun, that he should not shine..

The noise thereof To wit, of or within the black and thick Cloud, spoken of v. 32. Or... is, i. e. Gods, noise, to wit, the Thunder, which is called Gods voice, Psal. 29. 4, 5. shows concerning it To wit, the rain, which is the Principal subject of these Verses, of which he speaketh expresly, v. 27, 28. and of its Companions, the Clouds, and Thunder and Lightning in all the following Verses. The sense is, The Thunder gives notice of... he approaching Rain.; the cattle also concerning the vapour And as the Thunder, so also the Cattle shows (which Verb is understood out of the foregoing Clause, after the manner) concerning the Vapour, i. e. concerning the coming of the Rain: but he puts Vapour for the Rain, because divers Cattle are very sagacious in this matter, and do not only perceive the Rain when it is ready to fall, but foresee it at some distance by the Vapours which are drawn up by the Sun in great abundance, and by divers motions and actions give men timely notice of it, as has been observed not only by Husbandmen, but also by learned Authors..