{ Give me one example hereof out of all thy experience or Reading. i.e. Was fo utterly undone, as thou art, ſo miſerably aflifted by ſuch unparallel'd and various Judgments from God and Men, all coafpiring againſt thee. » Who had net by his wicked- neſs provoked ſo merciful a God to dothat which is ſo unuſual, & in ſome ſort unpleaſing to himſelf, Therefore thou art guilcy of ſome great, though ſecrer, Crimes, and thy ſin hath now found thee our, and hath brought down theſe ſtupendious Plagues upon thee. o By the Sicle of Divine Vengeance before his time, which is like to be thy caſe. His judgment herein was raſh and falſe; bur nor without ſome appearance of truth ; For God had made many Pro- miſes, not only of ſpiritual and eternal, bur alſo of temporal Blef- ſinzs, to all chat ſhould faithfully ſerve and obey him, which ac- cordingly hedid from time totime confer upon them, as we ſee by the cxamples of Noah, Lot, Abraham, Iſaac, and Jacob, and doubr- leſs many others which had lived in or before their days. And this was Gods uſual method under allthe times of the Old Teftament,as we ſce by the People of 1ſrael, who were generally either in an hap- py and flouriſhing, or in an afflicted and miſerable ſtare, accor- ding to their Obedience to Ged,or their Apoſtacy from him. And therefore it is notſtrange thar they fell into this miſtake: But al- lowing for this miſtake,and the conſequence of it, his uncharitable Opinion of Job, the method which he uſerh with Job 15 commenda- ble, and to be imitated by others in their dealing with perſons in ſickneſs or affli&tion ; For he doth nor flatter him 1n his Sins. nor immediately and unſcaſonably apply Comforts ro him, bur endea- vours to convince him of his Re and to bring hin to Repenrance, as the only regular way to his Remedy. FS,
8Even as I haveſeen p,* they that plough iniquity,
and ſow wickedneſs q, reap the ſame 7
p As thou haſt never ſeen any Example of a righteous man cut off, ſo on the contrary I have ſeen many Examples of wicked men cut off for their wickedneſs. Or, 4s far as 1 have obſerved : Or, Bur as I have ſeen or experienced. q They that deſfigned!y and induſtri. ouſly work wick-dneſs, firſt plotting and preparing themſelves for it, and then continuing to purſue and execute it, as Husbandmen firſt plow vp and prepare the ground, and then caſt in the Seed. Compare Prov. 22: 8: Hoſ. 103 13:7 #. e. Iniquity, Or ſuch Trouble or Tnjury ( for ſo alſo the Hebrew word, Aven, ſignifies ) as they cauſe to others. Or,the fruir of their Iniquity,the juſt Recompence and Puniſhmeat of ir, which is ofc called Sin or Iniquity,as Geneqs7;Numb, tThat is, 123 21: and 16: 26 and 32; 23; Compare Gal. 6: 7,8; hh aw 9g By the blaſt of God s they periſh, and F by the
z, 35 Ia: breath of his noſtrils are they conſumed.
pod <. - To wit. Of his Noſtrils, as it here follows ; 7.e. by his Anger,
Q 15% which in Men ſhews it ſelf, in the Noſtrils, by hor and frequent
L 13" Breathings there,anu therefore by an Anthropopathy is aſcribed to
Ic 3% God: by a ſecrer and oft undiſcerned,* but mighty and powerful E+ Judgment of God, by which they are blaſted and blown away as
PW... Chaff by the Wind, as the Phrale 1s, Pſal. nt. :
tin, 10 Theroaring of * the Lion, and the voice of the
tPl.;8: 6: fierce Lion F,” and + the teeth of the young Lions are
broken «.
£ Underſtand waniſheth, or periſhech, out ofv. 9: or, #reſirained,or ſuppreſſed,as may be gathered out of the following branch of this Verſe. « Which is true lirerally ; the Lions when taken having moſt commonly rheir T -eth broken,as ancient and madern Writers relate. But rhisis here myſtically meanr of wicked and powerful Tyrants, who are ofc and fitly compared to Lions, Exek 32: 2. and 38: 13:2 7.m 4' 173 who though fora time they perſecure and op- preſs other men,yer in due time they are reſtrained, and broken, and cruſhed in pieces by the mighty Power of God appearing a- gainſt them in ſomeeminent Judgments. Poſſibly he may ſecret- ly accuſe 50b, or his Children, or both, that being perſons of great wealth and power in thoſe parts, they had wickedly abuſed ir to ruine their Neighbours, and thefore were juſtly cut off
I1The old Lion peciſheth for lack of prey x, and the
ſtout lions whelps are (cattered abroad y. _* Becauſe they cannor go abroad to ſeek ir, and their young ones either cannot find,or do not bring it rothem. See Pſal. 59: 14: 15: and 199: ro: y Gone from their Dens ſeveral ways to hunt for prey, f Heb, by and can find none, bukh, 12 Now z a thing a was|| ſecretly brought to me 6, and mine ear received c a little thereof 4.
z Heb. And, or, Moreover, I will further convince thee by a Vi- ſion which I 12d relating to ſuch matcers as theſe. That here fol- lows a Relation of a Viſion is apparent from the pun&ual deſcrip- tion of all irs Circumſtances. To think as ſome do, that this was bur a Fiftion and Artifice which Eliphaz uſed,that his words mighr have more authority wit? Fob ; or that this was a Diabolical Delu- ſion ſeems to be both uncharitable and unreaſonable, partly becauſe Eliphaz, though under a miſtake concerning Jeb's caſe, was doubt
{ *Pal.7:14: Prov:22:8: : Hof: 10413;
himſelfa Lyar for Job's convittion ; - and partly from the matter of
the Nzvil, bur holy and agreeable to the Divine Majeſty and Puri- ty,and uſeful for mens Sroliics, and Humiliation and Reforma- tion, Ir was thereforea Divine Viſion, which in that Age and Stare of the Church, before rhe holy Scriptures were written, was the uſual way of God's diſcovery of his Md t>tieſe that ſought to him. a Heb. A word, to wit, from God, av Prov. 13: 13: a Do- Qrine or-Meſſage. b Heb. was ſtoln, or brought by ſtealth into me, 7” e. privately and ſecrerly, as the Word of God uſed to come to the Prophers, being ſpoken in their Ear, as it was to Samnel, 1 Sam. 9; 15: and the like rt Moſes, ſo as Pharaoh, though preſear. could
ſecret Whiſper. This is oppoſed -ro the more publick delivery of (zod's Word by tbe Prophets to rhe People, which was done by
_ this Viſion, which is no way ſuitable ro the Nature or Deſigns of | -
not hear nor obſerve ir, Exod. 11: 1: with a low and {till voice, a
£rymg algnd, Iſa. 58:1; 63.8. I heard. dOr, » parcel thereof, i, e\-
B. 4 Chap. I