_Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,_ Ver. 1. _Moreover Job continued his parable, and said_] It was Zophar's turn, and Job waited a while, as it was fitting, to see whether he or any other of them would take up the bucklers again against him; which, when they did not (having heard his hi... [ Continue Reading ]
Job 27:2 [As] God liveth, [who] hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, [who] hath vexed my soul; Ver. 2. _As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment_] Job well knew the nature and end of an oath, which is to put an end to all strife and controversy among men, Hebrews 6:16. For more auth... [ Continue Reading ]
All the while my breath [is] in me, and the spirit of God [is] in my nostrils; Ver. 3. _All the while my breath is in me_] _Periphrasis vitae, - Dum spiritus hos regat artas,_ While I have an hour to breathe, I will hold to this oath of mine; neither may you ever hope to dispute me out of mine inte... [ Continue Reading ]
My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. Ver. 4. _My lips shall not speak wickedness_] Which I should do, should I, contrary to that which the Spirit of God witnesseth to my conscience, through a feigned humility, confess that I have been wicked. Let God's dejected servants t... [ Continue Reading ]
God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. Ver. 5. _God forbid that I should justify you_] _sc._ By saying as you say; viz. that I am a hypocrite, and secretly guilty of some foul practices, for which I thus grievously suffer. I know nothing of this n... [ Continue Reading ]
My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach [me] so long as I live. Ver. 6. _My righteousness I hold fast_] As with tooth and nail, yea, though it be to the loss of my teeth, _Mordicus tenebo,_ as it befell that valiant Sir Thomas Challoner, who served, when he... [ Continue Reading ]
Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous. Ver. 7. _Let mine enemy be as the wicked_] _q.d._ I need wish my greatest enemy no greater harm than to be as the wicked, for then he is sure to be wretched. So far am I from saying that God favoureth the wicked,... [ Continue Reading ]
For what [is] the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul? Ver. 8. _For what is the hope of the hypocrite, &c._] Here Job proveth himself to be no hypocrite, by his and their different character and carriage, especially under affliction. Though God kill Job, yet... [ Continue Reading ]
Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him? Ver. 9. _Will God hear his cry_] Here is another distinctive note between a hypocrite and an honest man. As many are said in Daniel to cleave to the better side by flattery, so many false signs will come in, and flatter a man (when he is in health... [ Continue Reading ]
Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God? Ver. 10. _Will he delight himself in the Almighty?_] viz. When trouble cometh upon him, as in the former verse. No, this is _Christianorum propria virtus,_ a practice that none can skill of but God's people, saith Jerome, to rej... [ Continue Reading ]
I will teach you by the hand of God: [that] which [is] with the Almighty will I not conceal. Ver. 11. _I will teach you by the hand of God_] That is, by the help of God, συν Yεω, or concerning the hand of God, what is in the hand of the Lord (so the Septuagint), what things he is wont to do by his... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, all ye yourselves have seen [it]; why then are ye thus altogether vain? Ver. 12. _Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it_] And can say as much to it as I can in these _sc._ that God afflicteth good men as well as bad, &c. _Ecce autem cum vos omnes speculationibus (theologicis) operam dederi... [ Continue Reading ]
This [is] the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, [which] they shall receive of the Almighty. Ver. 13. _This is the portion of a wicked man with God_] _q.d._ So ye say, and so I say too; for herein I will not deny to comply and to chime in with you. Zophar had said the... [ Continue Reading ]
If his children be multiplied, [it is] for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. Ver. 14. _If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword_] As were Ahab's seventy sons, for instance, 2 Kings 10:1, whom he had begotten after God had threatened to root out his posterity.... [ Continue Reading ]
Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep. Ver. 15. _Those that remain of him shall be buried in death_] That is, shall be presently and privately buried (as some sense it), without any noise or notice. Or, they shall be so hated, that no man shall speak well... [ Continue Reading ]
_Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;_ Ver. 16. _Though he heap up silver as the dust_] Silver and gold, what are they else but white and red earth, the guts and garbage of the earth, as one saith? Yet how greedy of them and gripple after them are many muck worms,... [ Continue Reading ]
He may prepare [it], but the just shall put [it] on, and the innocent shall divide the silver. Ver. 17. _He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on._] Well may he prepare it, so Broughton. Let the wicked man toil and take pains for it; God hath prepared for him an executor never mentioned in h... [ Continue Reading ]
He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth [that] the keeper maketh. Ver. 18. _He buildeth his house as a moth_] Which lodgeth itself in some stately garment, and thinks there to die in his nest, which he hath feathered (as the silkworm endeth his life in his long wrought clew), but is soon br... [ Continue Reading ]
_The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he [is] not._ Ver. 19. _The rich man shall lie down_] That is, the wicked rich man, as James 5:1. _Magna cognatio ut rei sic nominis, divitiis, et vitiis._ He shall lie down, viz. in the streets, as being left home... [ Continue Reading ]
Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night. Ver. 20. _Terrors take hold on him as waters_] Abundantly, suddenly, irresistibly; he is even swallowed up by them and overwhelmed; as he that is plunged into a deep pit full of water, or that hath the proud surges going... [ Continue Reading ]
The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place. Ver. 21. _The east wind carrieth him away_] _Deus subito et severo suo iudicio_ (Lavat.). God, by his sudden and severe judgment, hurrieth him hence to the place of torment, without the least hope of eve... [ Continue Reading ]
For [God] shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand. Ver. 22. _For God shall cast upon him, and not spare_] But set himself to inflict upon this cursed caitiff all the plagues written and unwritten in his book, full vials of vengeance; an evil, an only evil, even punish... [ Continue Reading ]
Job 27:23 [Men] shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place. _Ver 23. Men shall clap their hands at him, &c._] Heb. He shall clap, &c. Every he shall, or God shall, as some read it. God shall kick him off this stage of the world, and then men shall clap and hiss at him in sig... [ Continue Reading ]