thereby intimating rhat he pleaded the common cauſe of a1l ſuch. whilſt Job pleaded the cauſe of the wicked,as is elſewhere obſerved: or becauſc he would hereby thankfully acknowledge ſome eminent and particular preſervation given to him amongſt other righteous Men; or becauſe heand his Brethren were of the fame ſubſtance with, and deſcended from the Loins of them whom God had mira«
culouſly preſerved, when others round about them were cut off-ag s bl
God had done for Abraham and his Poſterity, of which Race theſe are conceived to have been. And a like change both of Perſon and Number we find, Hoſ. 4+ 21.He found him( 1. e. Jacob in Bethel )and there he ſpate with us , i. e, with him, as repreſenting us, and for all our good. x All thatwas left undeſt;oyed in the general Calamir . Or, their excellency, all their defirable and de'eQable things. y;. «Of thoſe who are oppoſed to the righteous, and in whoſe deſtruftion the Righteous rezoiced. x To wit, of God's wrath : ſome dread. ful Jucgment, eith-r proper Fire, poſſibly that which deſtroyed Sod;m and Gomorrah, which ſuch knowing and inquiſitive Perſons could not be ignorant of, as a thing done nezr their- times and places ; or ſome other ſore calamity ; for ſuch oft comme under the name of Fire. But this whole Verſe 15,and may be otherwiſe rendred and that Interrogatively. I5-nor, ( orrather, was not, the Hebrew Prehx, he, being here underſtood,afrer the manner of the Language,
almoſt all our
; nature and kind ) cut of ( aJmoſt all deſtroyed in the flood ) and did ; nor the Fire conſrme a remnant of them ; i.e. of Mankind, and of un.
EE ee ES LS -.
may 1cem by thy Diſcourſes. h i.e.God cannct dilcern,and theretore - doth notmind things ſofar below him and diftant from him. 72. e.'
Through thoſe immenſe & innummerableClouds whichlye between
the Heaven and the Earth, although our eyes feces but few of them. 14. Thick clouds are a covering io him that he iceth gor, and he walketh in the circuit of heaven &. "> His converſation and buſineſs and dehghtis in the higher and heavenly World, which is wort' y of his care, but he wt'l not di- parage nor burden himſelf with the care of this contemptibleſpot '6F earth :- which was the opinion of many Heathen Philoſophers, and, as they fancied, was Job's Opinion allo. 15 Halt thou marked the | old way / which wicked
men have troden ? { Heb. The way of antiquity, 7, e. of men living in ancient times,or
Way. \So Gr. -Former ages : By this way is here meant, eirher 1- Their courſe or | | common pratice : Or, 2. Their end or ſucceſs ; as the wayis taken, | 1 Sam.9.6,8. and as death, which 1s, and 1s Called 7he end of 21! men, | Eccleſ. 7. 2 is aiſo called the way of all the earth, Jol.23.14. 1 Kings 2. 2. | h 16 Which were cut down our of tine z2, | whoſe | +a foundation was overfiown with « fioud 7, = q pmred upm 7.e.Before theirtime ; who diced a violent and untimely death. | rheir foun- * VWho,rogether wich their foundaz/c:;, to wir, tie eaith and all their | ation ſupports & enjoymentsin it,were deltroycd by rhe general Deluge; - * which doubtleſs was very well known to them, becauſe they lived riot long after it; and which was moſt proper for this Argumear, Or, whoſe fo:ndation, 7. e, all their power, and riche*, and policy up- on «hich they build all their hopes and happineſs, was like a floud poured forth ; which made a great ſhew and noiſe for a time, bur > ſpcedily vaniſhed and came to nothing: 7 * Which ſaid unto God, Depart from us 2: and | Or, co * what can the Almighty do [| for them 6 7 them. o He reports J0b's words, Chap. 21e 14, 1 5. ( where they are ex- plained ) burto a contrary purpo!e. 7 alleoged them to thew that they proſpered notwithſtanding their profeiied wickedneſs; and Eliphaz produceth them ro ſhew that tney vere cur off for it. | 18 Yet he filled their houſes withgood rhi.gs'p : bur ; *Ch.ar 46 * the counſel of the wicked is far frimime #.
p Yer itistru?, that for a time God did proſper them, as he did thee; which alſo was the aggravation ofcheir fin, and tbat which
godly Mcn, in S:4om and Gemorraſy ?
2 + Acquaine now thy felt || with him a, and be at peace b : thereby c good ſhall come unto thee 7.
a 7. e. With God, as appears both from wv, 23. where he is ex. preiied, and from the nature of tie thing, rhere being no other way toHappineſs. Renew thy acquaintance and converſe with God by Prayer, which thou haſt reſtrained, Chap. 15. 4. and repentance for all thy fins, and true kumiliation under his hand, and hearty compliance with ail his Commands, and diligent care to ſerve and enjoy him; and be no longer eſtranged from God, asthou riow art b This iseither 1. a Promiſe, the Imperative being pur for the Fu. ture of the Indicative Mood, and ſo thou ſhalt have peace; i. e. Pro- ſperity and Happineis : Or, rather, 2. A Counſel or Command,IFf Ged be an Enemy to thee, as thou ſayeſt he is, reconcile thy ſelf to
' Bim by true Repenrance, and earneſtly ſeck his Favour and Friend-
; or Exhortation ; now folldweth the Promiſe. « 7.
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haſtened their ruin © bur ar laſt, andin due time, God cut them off in a tremendous and exemplary manner; as he will:lfo do thee, if
thou doſt not repent. q Herepeats Jcb's words, Chap. 21. 16. not without refieftion and tome kind of derition: Thou didſt foy ſo,but withour ſufficient reaſon, and againſt thy own principle, that God carries himſelf indifferently towards good and bad ; bur I who have obſerved God's rerrible Judgments upon wicked men, have much more reaſon to abhor their Counſels which had ſo ſad an itflue.
19 * The righteous ſee it r, and are glad s: and the
| *Pſal. 07. ;nocent laugh them to ſcorn 7.
r Whom God oft ſpares in common Calamities, and makes them to ſurvive and ſee the deſtruQtion of the wicked ; as Noah Lot, &c. s Not that they in{ult over, or rejoyce in the ruin of any men, but becauſe they delight in the vindication of God's Honour,and Juſtice, and Holineſs, which is conjoynei with the deftruQtion of his cne- mies, and which is and ought to be dearer to them than all the in- tereſts of men. *: They juitly deride them, or their vain and yet ſtrong confidences which are now deſtroyed, and for their profane
contempt of God and of his Judgments which now they feel, and
for their deep and crafty counſels, which are now fruſtrated and
tiirned-again{t themſelves.
ſubſtance is not cut down, but
20 Whereas « our | 7 the fire x conſumeth,
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