of God's Word, not of chat particular Word which God had now delivered to Eliphaz, which doubtleſs God would fo ſpeak,thar he k rs whom he directed his Speech, mighr hear ir all, and Eliphaz cer- 20 tainly would be as careful] notto lote a SylJable of ir; but a parcel | of God's Word in general,which this indeed was: And withal, this may be a modeſt and humble expreſſion, ariting from a deep lenſe of his own inlirmity, and the ſmall meaſure of bis knowledge of Divine things, whereof he knew only ſome little fragments and parcels, as Pazl faid, We know but in part, 1 Cor. 13:9. As ifhe had t2id, Many Idoubrt nothave more familiar acquintance with God, & more full Revelations from God than I can pretendrto,bur a little of that Treaſure God hath been pleated ro impart to me. :
12 * In thoughts e from the viſions of the night f, when deep ſleep fallech on men F.
e In the midſt of my Thoughts, or, by reaſon ofmy Thoughts, my perplexing Thoughts. The word properly ſignifies a branch, and thence a Thought, as 1 Kings 18: 21; which proceeds from the Mind, as Branches from a Tree,and a perplexing Thought, which is entangled like the Branches of a Tree. Theſe Thoughts were the occaſion of the following Fear. f This may belong either to the Thoughts laft mentioned, or to the Fear following 3 both which did ariſe om the Y.ſions of the,Night, z. e. fiom the great importance and the terribleneſs, of ſuch Viſions, whereof probably he had former Experience, and now had an expe&ation of another of them which God had raiſed and wrought in him, to prepare him the better for the reception of it. Yiſins differed from Dreams herein, that God imparted his Mind to a Man in Dreams when he was aſleep, bur in Viſffens, when they were awake. And theſe Yiſons ſometimes happen by day,as Luke 1: 22; As 16: 17: and 26: 19: but moſt frequently by night, whence we read of Yiſfon, or Viſions of the Night, as Gen.46: 2; Job 20:8; and 33: 15. And ſuch this was which made ir the more terrible. f In thedead of the Night, when Men uſually are in a deep ſleep ; though Eliphaz was nor now aſleep, as appearsfrom the nature of a Vifion, and from the following words.
*Ch:33:i5
14 Fear f came upon me &, and trembling, which TIER made || all my bones to ſhake, || Heb«rhe
& Either cauſed by the apparition following : or ſent by God to multitude humble him,and to prepare him far the more diligent attention to, of my revVerent reception of, and ready compliance with the Divine Meſ- bones. ſage.
15 Then ba ſpirit ; paſſed before my face, the hair of my fleſh & ſtood up /.
hb Heb. And, or, Fr, as this Particle is oft uſed. So this was the reaſon of the foregoing Thoughts and Fear, i An Angel in ſome viſible ſhape, otherwiſe he cen]d not have diſcerned it, ner would have been affrighted at it. kz7.e. Ofmy Body, as Feſb is taken,Gen. 2:24; Pjal. 16:9: and 119: 120, 1 Through that exceflive horrour cauſed by ſo glorious, unuſual,and terrible a Preſence. Which God uſed to excite in Men upon ſuch occaſions to convince them, that it was ——— Imagination cr Illuſion, but a real Viſion and Re- velation, and'thar from God.
IG It ſtood ſtill », but T could not diſcern the form thereof » : an image was before mine eyes o ;+Or, 1 T there was ſilence p, and I heard a voice, ſaging, heard a » Having paſſed by him to and again he made a ſtand, as one /## voice. that had ſome buſineſs with him, and addreſſed himſelf ro ſpeak to him.» To wit, exattly and diſtia&ly, ſo as co know what or who it was. I ſaw ſome corperal or viſible Reſemblance, though in a conſuſed manner. p The Spirit, which poſlibly had made ſome noiſe with his motion, now ſtanding ſtill made no noiſe , all other perſons and things about me were fileat,and I alſokept in my Voice and Breath, as much asI could, tharT might diſtinttly hear what I perceived the Spirit was ſpeaking to me, In the Hebew, the words run thus, Silence and 8 Voicey ( i: e a ſilent, or ſtill,or low voice, by a vety common figure, called Hendiadi ) 1 heard. | 17 Shal mortal man be more juſt chan God q? ſhall
a many be more pure than his maker s ? |
9 The ſenſe is, Thou, O Jo, doſt preſumpruouſly accuſe God for dealing harſhly and unrighteouſly with thee,in ſending thee in- to the Wor'd upon ſuch hard terms, and puniſhing an innocent and righreous man with ſuch unparalleY'd ſeverity, bur « onfider things calmly within thy ſelf, IfG-d and thou come to a Trial beforeany equa} Judge, canſt thou think that thou wilſt go away juſtified, and the great God ſhall be condemacd; No righteous man will puniſh another without cauſe,or more than he deſerves ; and therefore if God do ſo with thee, as thy words imply, he is leſs juſt than a man : which is blaſphemous and abſurd to imagine. » A great & mighty man, asthis word ſignifies, a man eminent for Wiſdom, or Fu- ſtice, or power, or any other Perf-&ions,ſuch as thou art thought by thy ſelfor others to be; who therefore might expe& more fa- vour thanapoor miſerable and contemprib'e man, which the word, ensſch, uſed in the former Branch, ſignifies, So he anticipates this ObjeRion which Job might make. 5 An unanſwerable Argument againſt Job, He made thee, and that for himſelf and his own Gle- ry, and therefore hath an unqueſtionable right to deal with thee: and diſpoſe of thee, the Work of his Hands, as he ſees fit Wo to him that frriveth with his maker, Iſa. 45: 9. Beſides, he made man- juſt and pure, if a man have any thing of Juſtice or Purity in him it is derived from God the undoudted and only fountain of it, and
leſsa wiſe and good man, and therefore wou'd not needlefly make f therefore irmuſt neceſſarily be in God in a far more eminent de.
gree.
18 Behold z, he * put no truſt in his ſervants « : a gy” b) || and his angels he charged with folly x :