©, Eirher I. pre 2 we in it thou mayeſt find ſome eafe or reſt,as ſome men uſually do. But this Job did not much defireyfor he complains that his Nights were as reſtleſs as his Days. Or rather 2 Metzphorically, the Night of Death, which is called the Night both in Scriptures as John 9: 4+. and in other Writers; and which oþ had oft and earneſtly deſired, and even thirſted afrer, as this Verb notes» See Chap; 7; I5ec And this ſeems beft ro agree with the foregoing Counſel, v; 18. beware le# he take thee away with his ſtroke, For then, ſaith he, rhou art irrecoverably loſt and gone ; and there- fore take heed of thy fooliſh and off repeated deſire of death, leſt God infli& it upon thee in great anger. c Or, by which :- which words are ofc underſtood in divers Texts of Scripture. 4 Even whole Nations and Bodies of People, which are all Gods Creatures as well as thou, and yet are not ſpared by him,but cut off in wrath, and many of them ſent from one death to another; rake heed there- fore thou beeſt not added to the number. be. Heb. are made to #ſcend, i, e to vaniſh, or periſh, or die, as this Verb is ofc uſed,as Job 18: 16. Pſal: 102: 25. fln their ſeveral places where they are: or, ſuddenly before they can remove out of the Place where the hand and ſtroke of God finds them : or, in the Place where they are ſzrtled and ſurrounded with all manner of Comforts, and Supports, and Friends, all which could not prevent their being cut off. Poſe ſibly this Phraſe may allude to that expreſſion of Jobs, Chap: 29: 18.
1 ſhal die im my neft. ES : 21 Take heed, regard not g iniquity : for this haſt
thou choſen rather than affliction 5. g Or look not to it,to witywith an approving or coveting eye,as this word is uſed, Prov. 23: 31. h Thou haſt. choſen rarher to quarrel with God, and cenſure his Judgements than humbly and quietly to ſubmit to them, and to wait upon God by Faith and Prayer for deliverance in his time and way. : 22 Behold, God exalteth ; by his power : * who
teacheth like him & ? | : i Or, 5 high, or exalted, the ative Verb being taken intranſitive-
Argument to force the foregoing Counſels- God is Omnipotent; and therefore can with great facilicy, either puniſh thee far worſe, if thou beeſt obſtinate and refratory ; or dehver thee, if thou doſt repent and return to him. & He isalſo infnitely wiſe as well as powerful and as none can work like him;ſo none can teach like him. Therefore do not preſume to teach him how to govern the World, or to order thy Afffairs; bur know that whatſoever he doth with thee, or with any other men, is beſt to be done. And therefore be willing to learn from him ; learn Obedience by the things which thou ſuffereſt from him: and do not follow thy own Fancies or Af- fe&ions, but uſe the Methods which God hath taught thee to get out of thy Troubles, by Submiſſion, and Prayer, and Repentance. The words m'y be rendred, What Lord is like him? For the word Moreb in the Chaldee diale& ſignifies a Lord. This Tranſlation ſuits
J O B.
z pour down 4 rain according to thevapour thereof 5 :
; Having affirmed that Gods Works are incomprehenſibly great and glorious, he now enters upon the proof of it , and he proveth it from the moſt common and viſible Works of Nature and Provis derice, which ifthroughly conſidered, are full of wonder, and paſt the reach ofthe greateſt Philoſophers, who indeed ſp:ak of them only by guefs,and by their innumerableDiſputations about them diſ- cover their ignorance in them. And hence he leaves ir -to Jo6 to conſider how incomparably more deep and unconceivable the ſecret Counſels andJudgments of God muſt needs be,&therefore how foo- liſh & preſumptuous a thing it was for himto judge & cenſure them 9 i: e. He orders matters ſo wiſely and graciouſly, that the Waters which are in the Clouds, do not fall down at once in Spouts,or Rt- vers, or Seas ; which would be both unprofitable and pernicious to the Earth and to Mankind ; but by degrees, and in drops, which is beſt for mens ſafety and comfort, and for the refreſhm-.nt of the Earth. And this he obſerves as a wonderful Work of God, without whoſe Providence herein thoſe Waters might conſtantly or com- monly fall in Spouts, as ſometimes part of them both hath dones z Either the Waters, laſt mentioned ; or the Clouds, as it is expreſ= ſed in the next Verſe ; or the Affive Verb is uſually imperſonally, which is frequent in the Hebrew Language, they pour down rain, for, the;1in 15 poured down. a Or, melt or aiffelve, which word is borrow= ed from Metaliſts, who difſolve Metais with Fire, and then pour them forth by degrees in parcels; as the Clouds are diffolved,and then poured forth in drops, as was now expreſſed. 5 i; e, Accor- ding to the proportion of Vapours which the heat of the Sun hath drawn up fromthe Earth or Sea into the Clouds. Or, into the wa- pour thereof. Soitnotes that great Work of God by which the Rain is firſt made of Vapours, and afterwards reſolved into Vapours, or into the matter of ſucceeding Vapours, by a conſtant rotation and TECCIProcation»
abundantly c.
c In ſuch plenty as the neceſſities of the Earth require;which alſo 1s a wonderful Work of God.
29 Alſo can ay underſtand the ſpreadings of the f cloudsd, or thenoiſe of his tabernacle e.
da Or rather, of a Cloud, as it is in the Hebrew: whence it comes to paſs, that a (mall Cloud,no bigger than aMans hand,doth ſudden- ly ſpread over the whole Heavens:how the Clouds come to be ſud- denly gathered together, and ſo condenſed as to bring forth Thun« der and Lightning, which here follows # 7: e. The Thunder proe duced in the Clouds, which are oft called Gods Tent or Tabernacle, as Pſal: 18:11; and 104:3. becauſe there he oft times ſeems to dwell,and gives forth Tokens of his powerful and glorious Pceſence in thoſe mighty Works of Thundring and Lightning, wherewith Men are frequently afteniſhed and affrighted
30 Bekold, he ſpreadeth his light F upon it g, and ce- vereth 7 the bottom ot the ſea þ.
with the former Clauſe of this Verſe, but ours agrees well enough with thar, and is confirmed by the following Verſe. 23 * Who hatch enjoyned him his way 1? or * who
1 Wherein ae wouid walk, 7. e. what Conrſes and Methods he ſhould uſe in the Adminiſtration of Humane Affairs: If he had a Su-