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Ver. 6. If thou sinnest, what dost thou against him?] What more than show thy teeth? or shoot at a rock, where the arrow rebounds upon thee? In the sack of Constantinople the image of the crucifix was taken down by the Turks, and a Turk’s cap put upon the head thereof, and so set up, and shot at with their arrows; and afterwards, in great derision, carried about in the camp, as it were in procession, with drums playing before it, railing and spitting at it, and calling it the God of the Christians. But what was all this to Christ? He that sitteth in the heavens (extra iactum) laughed at them, the Lord had them in derision, Psalms 2:4. Do wicked sinners, when they work hardest against God, as the word here signifieth, and take greatest pains to go to hell; do they, I say, provoke the Lord to anger? Etsi naviter peccas. “Do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?” Jeremiah 7:19. And, nay we not well say to such, as Ulysses’s companions said to him, when he would needs provoke Polydamas, Σχετλιε τιπτ εθελεις ερεθιζεμεν αγριον ανδρα (Hom. Odys.). God can easily get him a name in the utter overthrow of a rabble of rebels conspiring against him, as at the flood, tower of Babel, Sodom, Egypt, Moab, &c., who were trodden down under him, as straw is trodden down for the dunghill, Isaiah 25:10. And in the next verse, “The Lord shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim” (that is, with greatest facility; for violent strokes rather sink than support a swimmer): “and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands. And the fortress of the high fort of their walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust,” Isaiah 25:11,12.
Ver. 7. If thou be righteous, what givest thou him?] Nothing, since he is self sufficient, and independent. He needeth us not, neither doth our righteousness reach him, Psalms 16:2. The Pharisees dreamed of an over-doing of the law, and making God beholden to them. The Papists also, those modern Pharisees, talk of works of supererogation, and of merit of congruity, and merit of condignity. But these are mere fictions, chimaeras, absurd doctrines, such as Elihu never heard of. “He that doeth righteousness is righteous,” 1 John 3:7, but he addeth nothing thereby to God, let him do his utmost. Indeed who so offereth praise glorifieth God, Psalms 50:23, so he is pleased to account it, and call it; but his glory is, as himself is, eternal, infinite, immense. The sun would shine in its own brightness though all the world were blind, and should wilfully wink: so here. God accepts not our presents, but to return them us back with interest, as the rain ascends in thin vapours, but comes down again in thick showers. Or what receiveth he of thine hand?] If anything, it is of his own, as David thankfully acknowledgeth, 1 Chronicles 29:14, and besides that, our sweetest incense smelleth strong of the hand that offereth it.
Ver. 8. Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art] Wicked men are many ways mischievous to others; and have much to answer for their other men’s sins. How many are undone by their murders, adulteries, robberies, false testimonies, blasphemies, and other rotten speeches, to the corrupting of good manners! &c. What hurt is done daily by the devil’s factors, to men’s souls, bodies, names, estates! Besides that they betray the land wherein they live into the hands of divine justice, while they do wickedly with both hands earnestly, Micah 7:3; that I speak not of the manifold miseries they pull upon themselves. And thy righteousness may profit the son of man] Thyself and others; for the just liveth by his own faith; he maketh a living of it, and a good one too. And as for his charity, it is the mother of all manner of good works, whereof others have the benefit. Papists, and some as silly, have shrunk up charity to a hand’s breadth, to giving of alms. But besides that, a good man draweth out, not only his sheaf, but his soul to the hungry. He also warneth the unruly, comforteth the feeble-minded, supporteth the weak, and tradeth all his talents for the good of others, 1 Thessalonians 5:14. He is a common blessing to all that are abou t him. As Plutarch said of the neighbouring villages of Rome, in Numa’s time, That sucking in the air of that city, they breathed δικαιοσυνην, righteousness; so may it be said of the city of God, and her citizens.
Ver. 9. By reason of the multitude (or magnitude) of oppressions, &c.] Or, of the oppressed, whom they (that is, whom the oppressors, not worthy to be named, as neither is that rich glutton, Luke 16:19-31) make to cry. Job had said, Job 24:12, “Men groan out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.” He punisheth not the wrong dealers according to their deserts, as Elihu interprets Job; and here refuteth him, as one that accused God of injustice, because he heareth not the cries of the oppressed. But this is merely their own fault, saith Elihu; because they cry not to God with truth and devotion. They ask and miss, because they ask amiss. For God never faileth to be with his afflicted, Psalms 91, to preserve the simple, as David found by experience, &c., Psalms 116, to hear those that call upon him in truth, Psalms 145; he requireth nothing of them but lawful petitions aud honest hearts, and then they are sure to have out their prayers, either in money or money’s worth; either the same thing they ask or a better. They cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty] Magnatum. Such as was Pompey, of whom the Romans cried out, Nostra miseria tu es Magnus, We rue by thy greatness, and are ruined. The greater any man is, unless gracious also, the more he thinks he may oppress the meaner sort. They “eat up my people as they eat bread,” Psalms 14:4, as so many cannibals, and as the bigger fishes devour the lesser; they lay load upon them without mercy or measure; they beat them with a strong arm, and make them cry aloud, filling the air with their complaints, as nature teacheth even brute beasts to do when they are hurt: Videri possunt magnates non alio loco habere tenues quam minutos pisciculos, quos confertim et pleno ore pro deliciis esitent (Merl.). It was not patience, but pertinace, an obstinate stiffness of mind, that made some heathens, as Mithridates, Marius, Epicurus, &c., forbear crying when grievously tormented.
Ver. 10. But none saith, Where is God my maker] Heb. my makers; to note the Trinity, [Hebrew Text Note] say some; others think that he speaks of God in the plural number only for honour’s sake. They call not upon God as their Creator, they praise him not as their preserver and benefactor, saith Elihu in this and the next verse; but express a great deal of pride and vanity, Job 35:12,13; and thence it is that their prayers are unanswered and themselves unrelieved. The oppressed should not only make moan and fill the air, vagis clamoribus, with brutish outcries (the fruit of the flesh for ease, rather than of the spirit for grace), but beg help of God by faithful prayer, and say, “Where is God my maker?” as Elisha once said, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” Did he not make me, and will he not maintain me? built he not the earthly house of this tottering tabernacle, and is not he bound to repairs? will he cast off the care of his own handiwork? Qui nos fecit, idem ille est qui nos fovet, conservat ac sustentat, &c. (Brent.). Is he not my master as well as my maker? and shall other lords beside him have dominion over me, and do with me at their pleasure? Lord, look upon the wounds of thy hands (said Queen Elizabeth while she was a prisoner at Woodstock, and had like to have been burnt in her bed one night), and despise not the work of thine hands. Thou hast written me down in thy book of preservation with thine own hand; oh read thine own handwriting, and save me, &c. Who giveth songs in the night] As the oppressed pray not, and therefore are not eased (they are deservedly miserable, that might, but will not, make themselves happy by asking), so they praise not, God for former deliverances by day and night conferred upon them. Thou hast compassed me about, saith David, with songs of deliverance, Psalms 32:7, that is, Thou hast given me plentiful matter of praising thy name. So here, Qui dat Psalmormn argumentum de nocte, as Tremellius translateth it; who giveth cause to praise him with psalms by night, as David did, Psalms 119:62, and as Paul and Silas, Acts 16:25; and as Mr Philpot and his fellows did in the Bishop of London’s coal house. In the night season it is that God giveth his beloved sleep, and keepeth them and theirs then in safety. Or, if he hold them waking, he filleth them with many sweet meditations (their reins, at that time especially, instructing them, Psalms 16:7), shineth upon them by his moon and stars (which praise God in their courses, and twinkle as it were at us to do the like), and remindeth them by the melody made by the nightingale, which singeth for fifteen nights and days together without intermission, if Pliny may be believed, putting a thorn to her breast to keep her waking for that purpose, Plin. 1. x. c. 29. Luscinia dicitur quia ante lucem canit. Nec quantum lnsciniae dormiunt. Hereupon Epictetus hath this savoury saying, Si luscinia essem, facerem quod luseinia; Cure autem homo rationulls sire, quid faciam? Laudabo Denm, nee cessabo unquam; Vos vero ut idem faciatis hortor: that is, If I were a nightingale, I would do as the nightingale doth; but since I am a man endued with reason (since God hath taught me more than the fowls of heaven, as Elihu hath it in the next verse), what shall I do? I will incessantly praise God; and I exhort you to do the like. But this is not done, saith Elihu here, or very slenderly; and hence it is that men complain of their many and mighty oppressions without remedy from God, who seeth that his favours and benefits would be even lost and spilt upon them; according to that of the philosopher, Ingrato quicquid donatur deperditur, All is cast away that is conferred upon an ungrateful person.
Ver. 11. Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth] This many wretched people never consider; and are therefore heavily, but worthily, vexed by oppressors, ut vexatio det intellectum, that smart may make wit; and that they may not bellow as beasts do when they feel pain; but flee to God by well prepared prayer, not so much for ease as for the use of what they suffer. Now, blessed is the man whom God chasteneth, and withal teacheth him out of his law; that he may give him rest from the days of adversity, Psalms 94:12,13. Hereunto, not only reason is required (the mercy here mentioned, and celebrated), but religion also; which is the true philosopher’s stone that makes golden afflictions, 1 Peter 1:7, and, as Moses’s hand, turneth a serpent into a rod. The truth is, religion is the highest reason (neither is anything more irrational than irreligion, 2 Thessalonians 3:2), and this also God alone teacheth. For, Cathedram habet in coelo qui corda docet, saith Austin. And again, Quando Christus Magister, quam cito discitur quod docetur? It is God above who teacheth the heart; and this, if he once undertake, it is soon despatched. All this, if sinful men would well weigh, and be thankful for, as they ought, God would surely help them, and not suffer them so to be held under. And maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?] Sapientificat. Some birds are very silly, as the struthiocamelus, that having thrust his head into a thicket, and seeing nobody, thinketh that therefore none seeth him, and so maketh himself a prey (Plin. l. x. c. 1). Doves sit in their dovecotes and see their nests destroyed, their young ones taken away and killed before their eyes; neither ever do they offer to rescue or revenge. Mention is made by writers of a certain nameless little bird, which, for fear lest the heavens should fall upon her, puts always, when she sleepeth, one foot upon her head (Cael. Rhod.). How much better the bird onocrotalus; of whom it is reported, that out of expectation of the hawk to grapple with her, she sleepeth with her beak exalted, as if she would contend with her adversary. Something there is that the wisest may learn from the fowls of the air, to whom, therefore, they are sent and set to school, Matthew 6:26 Jer 8:7; yet generally God hath put more understanding into men; so that as he should not do like them by preying upon others, so he should not cry unto God only in distress, as the young ravens do when hunger bitten; but pray always, and in everything give thanks; for which purpose it is that God hath given us reason, speech, and much matter and means, far above the unreasonable creatures. Vae igitur stupiditati hominum in calamitatibus torpentium.
Ver. 12. There they cry, but none giveth answer] Cry they do, but not to the true God, Jonah 1:5. The Papists have their he saints and she saints, for several uses. Or, if to the true God, yet not in a due manner; not in faith, and with remorse for their misdoings. And hence it is that either they are not heard and helped; or not in mercy, but for a further mischief, and to furnish out their indictment at the last day; and on their death beds God will not come to them, or be entreated by them, Proverbs 1:28 Ps 18:42. Because of the pride of evil men] i.e. Because these oppressed ones that thus cry are not so poor as proud; humbled they are, but not humble; low, but not lowly. Plectuntur, sed non flectuntur; they have lost the fruit of their afflictions, and are not a button the better for all that they have suffered.
Ver. 13. Surely God will not hear vanity] Prayer without faith is but an empty ring, a tinkling cymbal. Neque enim omnes qui citharam habent, sunt citharaedi, Every sound is not music, neither is every complaint and outcry of men in extremity an effectual prayer. Those in Hosea, when pined almost, howled as dogs, growled as swine, bellowed as bulls, screeched horribly as the ravens of Arabia, Hosea 7:14, but because they cried not to God with their hearts he heard them not. It is not the labour of the lips or the loudness of the voice, but the travail of the heart, and truth in the inward parts, that he regardeth, Psalms 51:6. Wilt thou not know, O vain (or empty) man, that faith without works is dead? saith St James, James 2:20; so that prayer without faith is to no purpose. Men may cry aloud in distress, and make their voices to be heard on high; they may chatter out a charm when God’s chastening is upon them, yea, be with child, as it were, of a prayer, yet bring forth nothing better than wind, work no deliverance at all in the earth, Isaiah 26:16-18. God may turn them off, and justly, with, Depart, ye workers of iniquity; get you to the gods whom ye have chosen, let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation; for I will deliver you no more, Judges 10:13,14. Neither will the Almighty regard it] Heb. Look intently into it. It is other and better fruit of affliction that he looketh for. Whereof missing, he looketh another way, as it were, and taketh no notice of their prayers or pressures. Hence they deny, or at least doubt, the Divine providence; and are ready to let fly at God, as the Chinese whip their gods if they help them not at a call.
Ver. 14. Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, &c.] This is that tertium Iobi pronuntiatum, Job’s third speech, which Elihu taketh upon him to reprehend and refute. It is taken out of Job 23:8,9, and the sense is, that God would never appear to do him right. But although thou sayest such a thing, and so seemest to chime in with those wicked ones who deny God’s providence; yet thou oughtest to be better persuaded of his presence with thee and providence over thee; for judgment is before him, and he will certainly do right; only thou must give glory to God and wait his time. Yet judgment is before him] Or, Judge thyself in his sight; give glory to God, and confess thy sin; and then, stepping from the bar to the bench, judge thyself worthy to be destroyed, 1 Corinthians 11:31. This do, and then Trust thou in me] For safety here and salvation hereafter; acting thy faith upon the precious promises, and hopefully expecting the performance thereof in due time. This was excellent counsel indeed, and worthy of all acceptation, Pia et salubris adhortatio (Mercer).
Ver. 15. But now, because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger] Because thou hast not yet done as I have prescribed, God is forced thus to treat thee, and to increase his plagues upon thee in great displeasure at thine incorrigibleness. Thus is good Job miscensured, whom God suffered so to be afflicted for his trial, and not for his punishment; though there wanted not in him cause enough if God should have taken advantages. But know now that his anger hath visited thee but a little (this is Beza’s translation of the whole verse); neither hath he made any great inquisition. Piscator readeth this and the next verse thus: But now, because his anger hath not visited, neither hath he taken notice of the multitude of his sins very much; therefore doth Job open his mouth with vanity, and heap up words without knowledge. Tremellius thus, For now, because there is nothing of these, doth his anger visit thee: viz. because thou neither rightly judgest thyself nor waitest upon God; but lookest upon thyself as utterly undone, casting away all hope of better, therefore art thou yet held under. Yet he knoweth it not in great extremity] Job perceiveth not (so blind he is) though he have his back burdened with afflictions, and knows not how to be rid of them. This Elihu speaketh to the company, by an angry apostrophe.
Ver. 16. Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain] Dilatat, divaricat, rictum diducit ut bellua. An open mouth is oft a purgatory to the master; digito compesce labellum. He multiplieth words without knowledge] Eliphaz had charged Job with malice and blasphemy, Job 22 Elihu, only with vanity and ignorance. We may not make the worst of things, but give a favourable interpretation.