Man [that is] born of a woman [is] of few days, and full of trouble. Ver. 1. _Man that is born of a woman, &c._] Or, that is borne about by a woman in her womb. Job's design is here to set forth the misery of man (whom in the last verse of the former chapter he had compared, 1. To a rotten thing; 2... [ Continue Reading ]
He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. Ver. 2. _He cometh forth like a flower_] What he had asserted concerning the shortness of man's life is here illustrated by two elegant similitudes, frequently used, not in Scripture only, but in heathen... [ Continue Reading ]
And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? Ver. 3. _And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one?_] _sc._ To observe his faults strictly, and to punish him for the same severely? doth this become so great a Majesty? This Job speaketh, _non citra stoma... [ Continue Reading ]
Who can bring a clean [thing] out of an unclean? not one. Ver. 4. _Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one_] _q. d._ I confess I am unclean; but what can I do withal? or how can I do otherwise, since I do but my kind? But was this a sufficient plea? David was of another mind when he... [ Continue Reading ]
Seeing his days [are] determined, the number of his months [are] with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; Ver. 5. _Seeing his days are determined, &c._] God hath set every man both his time (whether shorter, called here his days, or longer, the number of his months, they have... [ Continue Reading ]
Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day. Ver. 6. _Turn from him, that he may rest_] Heb. Look away from him, _i.e. _ from me; look not so narrowly, and with such a critical eye, upon mine out strays, thus to hold me still on the rack; look not so angerly,... [ Continue Reading ]
For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Ver. 7. _For there is hope of a tree, &c._] Here Job setteth on his request, Job 14:6, with a reason; God loveth a reasonable service, and liketh well that we reverently rea... [ Continue Reading ]
Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; Ver. 8. _Though the root thereof wax old in the earth_] And so the more unlikely to shoot forth again. Trees also have their old age wherein they decay. _ And the stock thereof die in the ground_] Heb. In the du... [ Continue Reading ]
Job 14:9 [Yet] through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. Ver. 9. _Yet through the scent of water it will bud_] Heb. From the smell of waters. A sweet metaphor, saith Merlin, sense being attributed to things senseless, as smelling to the fire, Judges 16:9, and here... [ Continue Reading ]
But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where [is] he? Ver. 10. _But man dieth, and wasteth away_] Heb. Strong and lusty man, _Homo quantum vis robustus_ (Vat.), dieth and wasteth away, or is cut off, _sc._ worse than a tree, for he grows no more; or is discomfited, vanqu... [ Continue Reading ]
__ Job 14:11 _[As] the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:_ Ver. 11. _As the waters fail from the sea_] He sets forth the same truth by an elegant similitude drawn from drying up of waters. Look how these, after some exundation of the sea, or some great river, are separ... [ Continue Reading ]
So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens [be] no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. Ver. 12. _So man lieth down_] _sc._ In the dust of death, or in the bed of the grave; his dormitory, till the last day. _ Ut somnus morris, sic lectus imago sepulchri._ _ And... [ Continue Reading ]
O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! Ver. 13. _O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave_] As in a sweet and safe repository (_Sepulchrum est quasi scrinium vel capsa in quam... [ Continue Reading ]
If a man die, shall he live [again]? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Ver. 14. _If a man die, shall he live again?_] This he speaketh in way of admiration at that glorious work of the resurrection. See the like question Job 15:11 Genesis 3:1; Genesis 17:17. So the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands._ Ver. 15. _Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee_] At the resurrection of the just thou shalt call me out of the grave by thine all powerful voice, uttered by that archangel, with the trump of God, 1Th 4... [ Continue Reading ]
For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin? Ver. 16. _For now thou numberest my steps_] Or, But now thou numberest, &c., thou keepest an exact account of every sin of mine, of every step that I have trod awry; yea, though it be but some wry motion of my mind (as the Septuagint... [ Continue Reading ]
My transgression [is] sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity. Ver. 17. _My transgression is sealed up in a bag_] As the writings or informations of a process which is ready to be sentenced, Deu 32:34 Hosea 13:12. Thou hast, as it were, sealed up and made sure work with all my sins, sa... [ Continue Reading ]
And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place. Ver. 18. _And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought_] _q.d._ If thou, Lord, proceed to deal thus rigidly with me, viz. to number or cipher up my steps, to watch over my sins, to seal them up in a bag,... [ Continue Reading ]
The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow [out] of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man. Ver. 19. _The waters wear the stones_] _Gutta cavat lapidem, &c._ The weakest things wear out the hardest by often falling upon them, or continual running over th... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. Ver. 20. _Thou prevailest for ever against him_] This, and the rest of the words to the end of the chapter, some make to be the application of the similitudes; others an amplification only of... [ Continue Reading ]
His sons come to honour, and he knoweth [it] not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth [it] not of them. Ver. 21. _His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not_] While he lieth sick, he regardeth no earthly thing, no, not what becometh of his children (formerly his greatest care), whether... [ Continue Reading ]
But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn. Ver. 22. _But his flesh upon him shall have pain_] That is, say some, but as long as he is living his body is afflicted with a thousand evils; and though his soul, by the condition of her creation, be exempt from them, yet... [ Continue Reading ]