There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. In the land of Uz, which lieth upon the borders of the Chaldeans, Sabeans, and Canaanites, there was a man of the posterity of Abraham by Keturah, called Job; and he was sincere and true-hearted, and one that feared God, and conscionably avoided all known and wilful wickedness. This man was the greatest of all the men of the east. He was the greatest and wealthiest of all that posterity of Abraham, which were dispersed into the eastern countries. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And, to speak after the manner of men, and to express the counsels and proceedings of God by human allusions, on a time God held his sessions; and therein, the angels coming to present their service unto God for the behoof of his children, Satan also thrust him in amongst them into the presence of God. I. 7, 8, 9. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, &c. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, &c.? Then Satan answered the LORD, Doth Job fear God for nought? And, (as if there had been a real and vocal conference betwixt God and Satan, concerning the proceedings with Job; wherein God should inquire of Satan whence he came; and, upon his answer, should, in a holy kind of confident insultation, commend Job's perfection to this enemy of mankind; which Satan spitefully detracts from, and desires to have tried by several afflictions,) so God most holily decreed to give power to Satan, for the proof of Job's fidelity and patience; and yielded to the several trials and calamities, which were brought upon Job. II. 1, 2, 4, 5. Again there was a day when the sons of God came, &c. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? &c. And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, &c. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh. Satan, as not satisfied with that trial which he had taken of Job, in the loss of his oxen, sheep, camels, children, receives, as if it had been upon his importunate and personal suit unto God, commission from God, to take a further trial of him in his person; in his flesh, and bones, with the reservation of his life only. Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God and die. Dost thou still stand upon the terms of retaining thine integrity, with God, since it speeds no better with thee? I wis, thou hast fared much the better, for thy so humble and patient resigning of thyself into the hands of God. It were as good for thee, to dispatch at once, and be rid out of this misery. Curse God; and he will, by his judgment, make speedy way for thee out of this lingering torment. They rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. They testified their exceeding sorrow for his great affliction, by rending their clothes, and strewing dust upon their heads. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him. And they were so affected and astonished with his grievous sufferings, that they sat down silently by him, for the most part of seven days and seven nights, abridging themselves of their wonted rest and sustenance. After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day. At the last, Job himself began to break his silence; and, in a pitiful complaint of his misery, weakly cursed the day wherein he was born. Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night wherein, &c. Would to God, that day had never come, wherein so wretched a man, as I, was born; and now that it is unhappily come, let it be ever noted for direful and ominous. Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. Let the deepest and horriblest darkness make it uncomfortable; let a thick cloud cover it; and let a continued darkness make it terrible to all beholders. Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck? Why were the knees of the midwife ready to hold me, or why were the breasts ready to give me suck? With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves. With kings and great potentates of the earth, who, to raise glory unto themselves, build sumptuous houses in those places, which, through their desolateness and barrenness, seemed incapable of any cost or magnificence. Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? Why is light cast away upon a man, whom God hath made so miserable, that there is no way to be hoped for, of his evasion I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came. Indeed, when I was at the best, I never made any account of my life and welfare; and yet this fear and moderation of mind doth not now excuse me from misery. Is not this thy fear, thy confidence? Is not this thy storming and fretting at the hand of God, a plain argument, that all thy religion or pretended fear of God, was only upon a confidence that he would still bless and prosper thee? Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. I have well seen and observed, that men speed according to their actions, and reap the fruit of their evil doings in evil sufferings. The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad. The tyrants and oppressors of the earth, which are as strong and roaring lions, however they may prevail with men, yet they are by the just and powerful God disappointed of their purposed prey, and distressed with just want. Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine car received a little thereof. If you think not fit to believe me, yet believe the revelation, which I lately had concerning thee: for I had a secret intimation from God, wherein it pleased him to make known to me, what he judgeth of thine estate. In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men. When I was most seriously thinking of thee, in the very deep of the night, at such time as other men are overtaken and possessed with their dead sleep, Fear came upon me, &c. There came a great fear and trembling on a sudden upon me, as a harbinger of that vision, which soon followed after it. Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up. Then a spirit appeared before me, the presence whereof made my hair to stand upright. But I could not discern the form thereof. It stood still by me, but I could not discern what manner of visage it had. Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly. If the best and most glorious creatures be compared with him, alas, what are they? Behold: he finds not any such stability or absoluteness in his very angels, as that, setting aside his own gracious endowments of them, and his firm decree concerning them, they can stand out in the challenge of any perfection in themselves. How much less on them that dwell in houses of clay, &c.? How much less can miserable man stand upon such points with his Maker! Call now, if there be any that will answer thee: and to which of the saints will thou turn? Since thou standest upon thine own justification so much, I appeal to any of the saints of God upon earth: let any of them judge of this thy condition; and say, whether there be not reason to charge thee with hypocrisy. For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy (or indignation) slayeth the silly one. They will tell thee, in all experience; that God, in his most just judgment, meets with the man, not that is just, but that is wickedly foolish; and that his indignation falls heavy, even unto death, upon him that is grossly ignorant of God and the things of his peace. I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation. I have seen the wicked man, seemingly grounded and flourishing in the world, but suddenly I gave him for gone; and in my thoughts, made full account of his utter extirpation. Although affliction cometh not out of the dust, neither doth spring out of the ground; Yet this misery and affliction, that alights upon men, comes not either by chance, or of itself, or merely from the second causes, whether of men or other creatures, but it comes from above, and is inflicted by the Divine Hand of Supreme and Infinito Justice; Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. And yet, even in the course of nature, man is born to trouble and vexation; and it is no less natural to him, to be tried with manifold crosses here, than for the sparks of fire to fly upwards. They meet with darkness in the day time, and grope in the noonday as in the dark. They meet with unexpected crosses in their designs, and find contrary events to what they promised to themselves: when they made account of most joy, they meet with heaviness. He shall deliver thee from six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. He shall save thee from sinking under many troubles; and from the last and worst, he shall so rescue thee, that the evil of it shall not have so much as power to touch thee. Thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field. All the creatures, who are engaged in the quarrels of their Thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin (or err). Thou shalt oversee thine affairs with good success, and not err, or fail in the administration of them. Therefore my words are swallowed up. Such is the greatness of my affliction, that it bereaves me of all words, whereby I should endeavour to express it. For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirits. The grievous pains that I feel are so many poisoned arrows, shot into my flesh by the Almighty Hand of God; which have diffused their venom into all the parts of my body and soul, and have even spent and wasted my spirits, with the woeful sense of them. Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? &c. Can ye imagine that I would cry out so bitterly, if I did not feel a just cause of my complaint? Ye see the very dumb creatures do not make their moan, but when they find a sense of their want. Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg? Yet this is no small addition to my sorrow, that ye speak unto me words that have no savour of any comfort, but rather tend towards my further dejection: surely, there is no more relish in your speeches, than in the white of an egg without salt. The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat. And yet these are they, that I am forced to feed upon, for the present, though they be such as my soul hath too much cause to abhor. Let him not spare: for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One. Let him do me this favour, to take away my life: let him not spare me to my further vexation; for I have been faithful to him, and have not concealed the words of his mouth, but have freely declared them to the world. Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven away from me? However ye labour to dishearten me, yet have not I the testimony of a good conscience to bear me up? Is there not true spiritual wisdom yet remaining in me, to know both my God and myself? My brethren have dealt deceitfully with me, as a brook, &c. My kinsmen, that came to comfort me, are like a deceitful current of land-waters in winter: VOL. III. L Which are blackish by reason of the ice, &c. Which, in the cold season, seem to be strongly covered with a firm ice; What time they wax warm, they vanish. But when the heat of the sun hath risen upon them, and warmer seasons come in, they vanish away, as if they had never been. The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them. The troops of the Ishmaelitish merchants, that trade unto Tema, made account to refresh themselves with those streams in that dry wilderness; and so did the merchants that traffic to Sheba. They were confounded. And now find themselves miserably disappointed. For now ye are nothing. Right such are ye unto me; for now, howsoever ye formerly seemed, ye are as nothing; having utterly deceived my hopes of kindness and mercy from you. Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give, &c.? Was I ever beholden to any of you for a favour? Did I ever crave of any of you, either gift or rescue? Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind? Do you imagine that I speak nothing but light and idle words, and reprove me thereafter? Or do ye account the passionate complaints of a man, thus desperately miserable, to be no other than wind? Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my righteousness is in it. Bethink yourselves well of the cruel wrong ye have offered me; and go not on to charge me thus unjustly: my righteousness and integrity is, and shall be apparent, in this whole carriage of the matter. As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow. As a servant longeth after the approach of the night; when all things are shaded in a common darkness. My flesh is clothed with worms and with clods of dust. My flesh, beyond all the ordinary condition of other men, is, even in my life-time, annoyed with worms, that grow in my ulcerous sores; and with cloddy scabs, that fall off from me. Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me? Am I as some boisterous or raging sea, or some huge unruly whale, that thou shouldst need to set such bounds of restraint upon me, and hold me in from passing out of this my limited misery? So that my soul chooseth strangling. So that my soul would rather, if I might have my free choice, wish to have my sorrow ended with a present despatch by strangling, than thus to linger in continual torment. How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle? How long shall it be, ere thou wilt release thy heavy hand, that is upon me; and give me but so much respite, as while a man may swallow down his spittle! For now I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be. For now I am dying; and, when that brunt is past, if thou wouldst make further use of me, for the manifesting of thy power and my patience, I shall not be at all. VIII. 11, 12, 13. Can a rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water? Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth, &c. And the hope of the hypocrite shall perish. Look how ordinary a thing it is, for the rush that grows up without mire, or the flag that sprouts up without water, to wither and die without any hand cutting it off; so usual a thing it is with God to cause the ungrounded hypocrite to perish, after all the vain hopes that his profession have raised. His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of stones. His roots are so vigorous, that, by the force of their own inward moisture, they can grow and spread, notwithstanding any opposition of rubbish or stones in their way. If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee. And, if his master have a mind to destroy him and root him up, the very place where he grew shall not be unknown of him; neither shall there be any mention left, that such a one grew there. Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing. Neither therefore will God leave thee in this extremity (if thou be, as thou pretendest, upright with him); nor will desist from mitigating thy affliction, so as that thou shalt receive full and perfect consolation. Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars. Who, when he pleaseth, can command the sun not to rise in the morning, that it may make day; and can forbid the stars to appear in the evening, and restrain the succession of the night. L 2 Which maketh Areturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south. Who ordereth all the set seasons of the year; and both maketh and disposeth of those remarkable constellations, by which the four seasons of the year are sensibly distinguished and governed; Areturus which ariseth in autumn, Orion in winter, Pleiades or the seven stars in the spring; and those other stars, which lie hidden in the southern coasts of heaven, which rise to us in the heat of summer. Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life. Though I were perfect, yet would I not stand out in the justification of myself before his presence; but, if he have determined my death, would willingly surrender my life into his hands. This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked. This is one especial thing, that I have noted and justly stood upon, that the outward proceedings of God are indifferent towards all: he taketh away both the upright and the wicked man. He covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he? He bringeth contempt upon the great rulers of the earth; and if it be not he that doth it, where and who is he besides, that hath this power, and executes these judgments? Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me. Let me seem never so pure in mine own eyes, yet, O Lord, the rigour of thy justice shall show me as foul, as the man that is plunged in some filthy ditch; who is so defiled, that his very clothes make him more loathsome. Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress? O God, is it any profit or advantage to thy glory, that thou dealest so rigorously with me? Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? Hast thou not made me in a wonderful fashion; while, of the liquid matter of my marvellous conception, thou hast formed this solid substance of my body, by several degrees of thy powerful work? And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee. And though thou bestowedst so much cost upon me in my formation, yet thou didst from eternity retain in thyself this purpose of afflicting me: I know that this was from eternity determined by thee. Thou renewest thy witnesses against me. Thou renewest the convictions of my sins, which are thy heavy afflictions upon me. Changes and war are against me. Varieties of troubles, by thine appointment, fight against me. And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! If he would manifest unto thee the hidden secrets of his wisdom, thou shouldst find, that in strict rigour he might justly inflict double upon thee, to that thou now sufferest. If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, who shall hinder him? If he have purposed to alter the course of all things, to destroy, or to draw into a narrow compass those things which are now at a large and diffused liberty, who can hinder his will or proceedings! For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt. For vain man will be taking upon him to be wise, although indeed he is in himself no better than brutish. Yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety. If thou do but dig a place where to pitch thy tent, thou shalt dwell there as safely as in a walled city. I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him. I am as one mocked and scorned of you my neighbours; and yet, how meanly so ever ye please to think of me, I am, in my faithful invocations upon God, heard, and graciously answered by him. He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease. He that is near to his ruin, as I now am, is, unto those that prosper and are at ease, like unto a lamp, that is near burning out to the very snuff; and therefore despised by them for the present, however it have formerly shined. 13. With the ancient is wisdom. With him is wisdom. You have told me of your age and wise experience, wherein I detract nothing from you; but what is your wisdom to God's? He is only, and allwise, &c. Will ye accept of his person? Do ye think he hath need of an unjust gratification from you; so as that he would have you give him an undue favour in his cause, out of by-respects? Your remembrances are like unto ashes. Whatsoever thing of yours seems memorable, or what monument soever ye shall set up to yourselves, it shall vanish away, and be scattered like ashes. Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand? Wherefore do I give way to these desperate extremities, as if I would tear my flesh in pieces with my own teeth? and why do I cast away all the care of my life, as now past all possibility of recovery? Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. Though God should have determined thus to make an end of me, yet I will not cease to cast myself upon his hands, and confidently to rely upon his mercy; neither will I ever be driven from the defence of my honest sincerity before him. For now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost. I am so full of this grief, that I cannot hold it in; and if I should not thus give it vent, it would presently kill me. Only do not two things unto me: then will I not hide myself from thee. And if it shall please God to vouchsafe to argue this case with me, I shall desire but these two conditions of him: and then I will not withdraw myself for fear, from appearing before him. Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid. One is, that he would take off from me this heavy hand of his present affliction, which overwhelms me with the violence of it; the other, that he would give me courage to bear out this my humble contestation, so as I may not be confounded with the terrors of his Glorious Majesty. How many are mine iniquities and sins? make thou me to know my transgressions and my sin. O God, I cannot accuse myself of wilful wickednesses against thee; but if there be any secret iniquity that I am not privy unto, do thou make it known to me, and convince me of it. Will thou break a leaf driven to and fro? Alas, Lord, am I a fit subject for thee to contend with? Oh consider my weakness, and my unworthiness; and enter not into judgment with my vileness. Thou makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth. Thou callest me to a back-reckoning for the very sins of my youth; and dost now cause me to feel the smart of them. Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly upon all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet. Thou shuttest me in, sure and close, with these strong afflictions, so as I cannot stir out of thy hand: thou dost strictly observe all my carriage; and, as if thou hadst set some soft And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth. Alas, Lord, if I look to the condition of man in general, what a poor vain thing he is! for, behold he consumeth away, as a thing that is already rotten. As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up. As waters, that, after some exundation of the sea or some great river, are left, upon the reflux thereof, behind the rest, upon the plain, which cannot return or continue, but dry up and evaporate; such is man. All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. All the days of my appointed time upon earth, will I patiently wait for that day, wherein my God shall change this my mortal condition for immortality: that so I may be ready for the happy day of my dissolution. My transgressions are sealed up in a bay. Thou dost not let go any of my transgressions, but hast made sure work with them, and hast packed and sealed them up, that they may be forthcoming for my present punishment. And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place. Certainly, if the hugest and strongest mountains do moulder away, and come to nothing; if the very hardest rocks be, through the powerful hand of God, removed out of their places: The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man. If the very stones be worn with water falling upon them; and deluges bear down any thing that is fastened in the earth, &c.; how much less shall weak and frail man make account to continue upon the face of the earth! His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought lower, but he perceiveth it not. When he is now in the agony of death, striving with those his last pangs, he little regards what honour his son is newly come unto, or what shame he hath incurred. But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn. But his flesh upon him is in extremity of pain, which takes up all his thoughts and senses; and his soul within him mourns for the present violence of his torment, and for the expectation or fear of the future. Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the cast wind? Is it for a wise man, under a pretence of knowledge, to speak vain words, and to have his heart filled with unprofitable and harmful imaginations? Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God. I do now see that thou hast cast off the fear of God; and art not careful and devout to call upon God, in thy tribulation; yea, in all kind of inferred denial of the Providence of God, thou seemest to discourage others from calling upon him. The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of his years is hidden to the oppressor. The great tyrants of the world, however they may seem to flourish, yet have many secret girds and gripes of conscience, and are continually tormented within themselves; and yet, besides, they little know how long they shall be allowed to live upon earth; God keeps the stint of their life secret from them. He rumeth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his buckler. He maketh violent and presumptuous opposition to God, as if he could grapple with and overcome the Almighty; and fearlessly runs upon the most eminent judgments of God. Because he covereth his face with fatness. Because he lives at ease, and prospers in all his designs, so as, through too much pampering, his cheeks are covered with fatness. And he dwelleth in desolate cities, &c. And he is able, through his power, to raise sumptuous buildings in those places, which others have forsaken as barren and uninhabitable. He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth. Yet, for all this, though he can for a glory do these great matters, this wealth of his shall not continue long; neither shall this his flourishing estate hold any long while upon the earth. He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away. He shall irrecoverably lie under those sad and remediless calamities, which are cast upon him; and if any hopes of comfort do begin to look forth, God shall presently scorch and defeat them by the flames of his displeasure, and shall utterly confound him by his just judgments. Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity. Let not the man therefore, that hath been heretofore carried away with the vain confidence in these earthly things, suffer himself to be so deceived any more. It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green. That recompence of his shall be so accomplished, that he shall be cut off before his natural period; and his endeavours shall be blasted at their first putting forth, neither shall ever come to any perfection. He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive. He shall be as a vine, whose grape is perished in the very bud; and as an olive, whose flower is cast off at the first putting forth; so as his hopes shall never attain to any maturity. Their belly prepareth deceit. Their secret thoughts do but, in the event, deceive themselves. Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou thus answerest? When wilt thou have made an end of these vain speeches? Or what hath moved thee to make so uncharitable a reply to my words? But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company. But now, God hath loaded me with sorrow, till I am even weary of bearing it; yea thou, O Lord, hast put a distraction betwixt my family, my friends, and myself; and hast made us all miserable. Thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me. The wrinkles, that are suddenly grown in my face, are a sufficient witness of my extreme suffering. He teareth me with his teeth who hateth me, &c. Mine enemy, who beareth deadly hatred against me, hath now his full scope of malice upon me; and, in his cruelty, insulteth over me at pleasure. He cleaveth my reins asunder; he poureth out my gall upon the ground. His wrath reacheth to my inmost parts, even to my reins and gall; and leaveth no part of me free from his tormenting hand. And defiled my horn in the dust. I have laid down all mine honour in the dust; and have justly humbled myself, in the very height of my glory, by casting dust and ashes upon my forlorn head. Doth not mine eye continue in their provocation? Is not their unjust provocation continually in mine eye; so as I cannot but be a woeful witness of their injury? Lay down now, put me in surety with thee; who is he that will strike hands with me? I do much desire to have my case thoroughly tried; let me see then, who will give security to maintain the suit with me, who will agree to join issue with me upon this point. He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail. He, that flatters his friend, shall find God plaguing him, both in himself, and in his seed after him: He hath made me also a byword of the people; and before them I was a tabret. But for me, this is not my case; I am scorned rather: it hath pleased God to give me over to so great misery, that I am become a byword to the world; and am the matter of minstrelsy and sport to mine enemies. They change the night into the day: the light is short because of darkness. My great afflictions change my night into day; causing me to pass over that time of darkness without any rest, so as my thoughts are no less busy, than in the day-time; and so great is the darkness of my misery, that it eclipseth my day, and makes it either short, or none. If I wait, the grave is my house, &c. Tell not me of any restoration of myself, or of my estate: all that I can wait for, is the grave; that shall, I hope, receive and shelter me. I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: and to the worms, Thou art my sister, and my mother. I am even already entering into my grave; the corruption whereof hath already seized upon me; and I have yielded myself up unto it, and am as it were incorporated in it. They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust. Those hopes, that you speak of, shall go down with me to the bottom of the grave, and shall rest with me together in the dust. He teareth himself in his anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of his place? Hear now, thou, that talkest of tearing thy flesh with thy teeth for indignation and sorrow, what, dost thou think that thy clamour and complaint can prevail to alter God's just administration; so as the earth should be forsaken because thou speedest ill, and the rocks removed because thy misery continues! He is cast into a net by his own feet. He shall, by his own plots and devices, run himself into inextricable perplexities and miseries. And it shall bring him to the king of terrors. His confidence shall, at the last, lead him into the extremest of all terrors, that can be conceived. It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. Yea, this terror shall dwell and continue in his tabernacle, which, howsoever he possesseth, yet his conscience tells him is not his own, since he hath got it by extortion and violence; and God shall rain down brimstone upon it, as he did upon Sodom. His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branches be cut off. He shall be like unto a withered tree, whose roots, when they are once dried up below, the branches are presently cut down for firewood. They that come after him shall be astonished at his day, as they that went before were affrighted. Posterity shall be astonished to hear of the severe judgment of God executed upon him; and those, that lived in the same age with him, were affrighted at the sight of that vengeance which was inflicted upon him. These ten times have ye reproached me. We have had ten several interlocutions, wherein you have most uncharitably and cruelly reproached me; ye have cast many and frequent aspersions of hypocrisy and wickedness upon mine innocence. Know now that God hath overthrown me. If I be (as I am) most miserable; alas! you should have considered, that it is God's hand that hath cast me down, which is both holy and irresistible. My maids count me for a stranger. My very maid-servants look strangely and overlie upon me, as if I were not their master: the very meanest of my family slight and neglect me. My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated her for the children's sake of mine own body. My wife, as she was ready to add unto my trial by her ill counsel, so now, she keeps aloof from me, and denies me the comfort and aid of her tendance in this extremity, though I intreated and importuned her, even by the remembrance of those children which she had borne from my loins, which were the dear pledges of our conjugal love. And I am escaped with the skin of my teeth. I have nothing, that I can call skin, about me, but only that, which is of my gums; for the rest, the flesh hath shrunk from the skin, and the skin is gone into corruption. Why do ye persecute me as God? If it hath pleased God to afflict me, will ye afflict me too? He knoweth upon what holy and just reasons he proceedeth with his creatures; it is not for you to arrogate this to yourselves; let it be enough therefore, that God's hand is upon me, though yours be not. Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book, &c. I am now to speak a sentence so memorable, that I could desire it should be recorded to all posterity for ever. For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: However I am judged by you, yet this is my comfort, that I know I have a Judge and gracious Redeemer to come, who lives eternally when ye shall be gone to dust, and shall one day come down to judge the quick and the dead, and shall in that last day of our general account present himself here upon earth to the eyes of all flesh: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: And though this skin, and this body of mine, shall now soon go to corruption and dust; yet in this very flesh of mine, raised up glorious by his Divine power, I shall see my God and Saviour: Whom I shall see myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another. I shall see him with these mine own eyes, and not with any others for me: I shall see and receive him as my just and gracious Deliverer; both from those powers of death, and all these false calumniations which ye now cast upon me. But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me? But ye should rather say; Alas, why do we persecute this distressed man any more, seeing we find, if we look to the very root and bottom of this our quarrel, that he is upright, and innocent of those things whereof we have accused him? His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods. His children shall be glad to make restitution to the poor, and to stop their clamorous mouths with a late satisfaction: yea perhaps himself, with his own hands, shall give back his extorted goods. His bones are full of the sins of his youth. He shall, in his old decrepit age, feel the smart of the sins of his lawless youth; they shall stick by him when he hath forgotten them. He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter. Howsoever he hath promised himself great contentment and felicity in his lawless courses, yet he shall find himself utterly disappointed; his hopes shall fail him, and leave him quite destitute of all comforts. There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods. He shall not have so much as meat left to his mouth; much less shall there be ought for other men to hope for, after him. Every hand of the wicked (or troublesome) shall come upon him. Every hand of those, whom he hath cruelly spoiled, shall be upon him; each of them shall vex him, whether with suits or violence, to recover his own. He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through. When he desires and hopes to avoid a lesser danger, he shall fall into a greater. A fire unblown shall consume him. A fire, not kindled by man, but sent down from heaven in the just judgment of God, shall consume him, as thou, O Job, hast, not long since, had lamentable proof. Is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled? If I had only to do with man, in this my misery, and had no other to make my complaint unto, I had just reason to be utterly dejected; but now, I have a God to make my moan unto. Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh. When I bethink myself of my own grievous calamity, and, on the contrary side, of the great and apparent prosperity of wicked men, I am so vexed and disquieted with the consideration hereof, that my very flesh trembleth. Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me. Yet, for all that, the prosperity of the wicked is not in their own hands, to continue at pleasure: no, they are in the power of that just God, who can crush them when he thinks good; and therefore far be it from me, notwithstanding all their outward peace and glory, to yield unto the ways of wickedness. God layeth up his iniquity for his children. God reserveth the outward punishment of his iniquity, to be, besides his own person, inflicted upon his children after him. His breasts (or, pails) are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow. The udders of his cattle, and his pails, are full of milk; and his bones are strong, and his flesh firm and succulent; so as, both his outward estate and his body do exceedingly prosper and flourish. For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked? Ye say in a secret scorn; Where is now the house of this great man, that hath borne himself as a prince amongst his neighbours; or what is become of this wicked man's habitation? He pretended godliness, but this very desolation shows what he was. Who shall declare his way to his face? or who shall repay him what he hath done? He is so great and imperious, that no man dares reprove him for his faults; or offer to punish him for his injuries done. The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him. He shall be glad to rest in the grave: and, by the law of nature, every man shall follow after him, in his own time, to that common receptacle of all flesh; as there are also innumerable gone thither before him. The mighty man, he had the earth. Thou, through thy covetousness and pride, didst engross the earth to thyself. Abundance of water covers thee. Affliction, like a violent stream, bears thee over, and covers thee, as drowning in the bottom of it. Host thou not marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? Hast thou not observed the course, that God hath of old wont to take with the wicked? Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth. This is the lot of wicked men; whereas we, that are righteous and godly, speed otherwise; our substance is both continued and multiplied; but as for them, that, which remains of their riches, together with their persons, shall be consumed with the fire of God's displeasure. When men are cast down, then shalt thou say, There is a lifting up; and he shall save the humble person. When thou seest good men cast down, then shalt thou, by the strength of thy faith, say; There shall be an exaltation for these men; and God will find a time to deliver and honour the humble person. Even to-day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning. Even still I have every day more cause than other, to complain of my great affliction; and the stroke, that I feel from God, is more heavy than my groanings can express. Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! Oh that I knew where and how I might meet with God; that I might lay open my estate before him, and, in an humble manner, argue the case of my suffering with him! Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me. I know he is gracious: he would not stand either upon his rigour or his power with me; but would mercifully sustain me, and give me courage and ability to stand out in the maintenance of my sincerity before him. There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge. Upon these terms, a man of upright heart might hold a lowly contestation with him; which once done, being absolved by his most just sentence, I should be delivered for ever, from the slanders and condemnations of my unjust censurers. XXIII. 8, 9. Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, &c. But, alas! I know not how to come to have speech with the Almighty: though he be everywhere, yet he doth not in any one place or way manifest himself, so as to admit any plea of mine; in vain therefore shall I hope to argue my cause with him. But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? But, O vain man that I am, how should I hope to alter the determinations of that wise and powerful God! What he hath decreed, must be; and who can change his purposes? And many such things are with him. Many such things, as these his proceedings with me, doth he, in his great and unlimited power and unsearchable wisdom, bring to pass; whereof we can give no reason or judgment. Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face. I am astonished at the hand of the Almighty, for that I am still upheld by his power in these extremities, and not cut off by death before this darkness of sorrow and misery overwhelmed me; neither yet hath he restrained these intolerable evils from seizing upon me, but hath caused me to feel them, and not to be swallowed up by them. Why, seeing the times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days? It is good reason we should attribute so much to the most wise Providence of the Almighty, that he knows and hath determined of the fittest times for his own actions; but why will men be so presumptuous, as (though they know him not, yet) to foresee, and foreset the days and times for his judgments? Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks. There are wicked men, that give themselves to all violent and licentious outrages, of removing of landmarks, driving away the flocks and herds of their neighbours. Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work. They run as eagerly after their spoil and rapine, as the wild ass in the desert runs after his prey. They reap every one his corn in the field: and they gather the vintage of the wicked. They reap every one his share of corn in another man's field; and gather that vintage, which their cruel oppression hath forced to be theirs. They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter. So as their naked bodies are exposed to the showers that fall from the mountains; and are fain to seek shelter of the rock, to keep them from the violence of the weather. Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, yet suffer thirst. The poor and painful man toils hard for these oppressors, to scruze out their oil and wine within their own walls, and is forced to thirst the while; being by their cruelty abridged of his wages and livelihood, and not suffered so much as to taste of his own labours. They are of those that rebel against the light. They are of those, that hate the light, which reproves their wicked deeds, and lays them open to the view of the world. He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed upon earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards. Thus doth the evil man; but shall he prosper in his mischief? No; God shall soon be avenged of him: he shall pass away swiftly, even as a heady current of waters; and, while he continues here, he enjoys that which he hath, with a curse: his lot shall be barrenness, so as he shall not so much as look towards the way of the vineyards; he shall have no hope of receiving the benefit of his seasonable culture of the earth. Drought and heat consume the snow waters; so doth the grave those which have sinned. As the moisture of the snow, which is more light and airy, is dried up by the heat of the sunbeams, so are the sinners suddenly Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways. Though this wicked man seem to pass his time in much security and confidence, yet the eyes of God are so upon his ways, as that he observes him to take his advantages against him, and to fit him with judgments. Dominion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in his high places. He is an awful God, that hath the absolute dominion over all the world: he ordereth the very heavens so, that there is a perfect harmony in all the (seemingly contrary) motions thereof; and contriveth all things so, that they agree to glorify him. Is there any number of their armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise? How innumerable troops of glorious angels hath he there above, and how infinite armies of his creatures to execute his will upon all occasions! and how gracious is he in sending forth his light into all the corners of the earth; and how wise in searching all the secrets of human actions and counsels! How hast thou helped him that is without power? &c. Oh what goodly help hast thou given to the Almighty! I wis he had not had power enough to right himself without thee; foolish man! that pleadest for God, as if he had need of thy patronage. Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof. What dost thou tell me of a Providence, ordering those heavenly bodies and motions? I know all this and more; and tell thee again, that the same Providence reacheth to all those obscure creatures, which are formed under the waters, and under the earth; so as they have not their being and continuance, but from him. Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering. Yea, the very lowest part of the earth lies naked and open to his all-seeing eyes: he knows the places, and ways, and means of the dissolution, of all the creatures which he hath made. He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. He hath spread out this glorious hemisphere of the heavens, upon the void and empty space of the light and thin air; and hangeth the great ball of the earth in the midst of heaven, without any prop or foundation. VOL. III. M He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it. He hideth the face of heaven, which is his throne, from our sight; by spreading his thick clouds betwixt it and us. The pillars of the heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof. The high mountains, upon which the heaven seems to rest as so many pillars, tremble and shake with his earthquakes. His hand hath formed the crooked serpent. His hand hath made the huge and mighty whale in the waters, and the monstrous and dreadful serpent on the land. As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; who hath vexed my soul. As God liveth, who hath not yet given any outward and sensible signification, that he hath taken notice of my cause, to clear and avenge me; but, contrarily, hath laid many sore afflictions upon me. Surely there is a vein for silver, and a place for gold where they fine it. However you have pleased to pass your censure concerning the proceedings of God, certainly his ways and his wisdom are unsearchable: there is a certain and determinate place for these earthly treasures, where they may be found out; there is a vein for silver and a place for gold. Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone. And so it is with the coarser metals: iron is found in the earth; and brass is molten out of the ore, which is the rude matter of it. He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and shadow of death. He setteth a stint or limit to the most obscure places of the earth; and, by the industry of man, finds them out; and works out of them the purity and perfection of the best metals and mines; and fetcheth thence those precious or useful stones, which lay hid in darkness and utter obscurity. The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men. He disposeth of the waters also at his pleasure; so as, one while the flood breaketh out by a sudden inundation; and, soon after, is so dried up, that the passenger's foot takes not notice that ever any water was there. The stones of it are the places of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold. Among the quarries of the earth, are sapphires and other precious stones found and digged up; and the ore of gold is also had amongst the dust and mould thereof. There is a path which no fowl knoweth, &c. There are indeed secret places of the earth, which never any creature came to the sight of, &c. But where shall wisdom be found, &c. But in all these regions of the clouds, of the earth, of the waters, where shall wisdom be found? Neither is it found in the land of the living. Neither is it to be found amongst living men; since it is not an earthly, but a heavenly thing. To make weights for the winds. However the wind is the most light of all creatures, and incapable of any ponderation; yet he, who made it, can make weights wherein to poise it. When his candle shined upon my head, &c. When the light of his countenance shone graciously upon me, and gave me comfort and success in all my actions. When I washed my steps with butter. When I had such abundance of all these outward things, that, in the plenty of my milk, I might have washed and supplied my feet with butter, &c. Then I said, I shall die in my nest. Then did I please myself in the confidence of my continuing happiness; and durst boldly resolve, I shall die in peace and fulness of days in my own house. If I laughed on them, they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they did not cast down. If by my smiles I gave intimation that I gave not assent to any report, it was presently distrusted by the hearers; or, if I sported with them, they had such an awful opinion of my gravity, that they did not think me to be in jest; neither did they forbear to give me all due reverence, and to hold their great respects to me. Whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock. Whose fathers I would have disdained to have made the keepers of those dogs, which tended upon my flocks. Where to might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished? For what use could I have made of them, which had wholly lost their time, and lived idly and unprofitably? M 2 Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me. Because God hath bereaved me of that power and honour, which I formerly enjoyed, therefore they let loose the reins of their obedience and respects to me. By the great force of my disease is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat. By the running of my sores, my garment is all stained with purulent matter, and requires a frequent change: yea, it cleaveth so close unto my body, by the means of this loathsome moisture, as the collar of my coat is straitened to my neck. Thou liftest me up to the wind, &c. Thou tossest me up with thy judgments, as dust or chaff is blown up with the wind. I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. My pain forceth me to so lamentable cries and ejulations, that I might seem fit to be consorted with dragons and owls, in some horrible desert, whose howlings and shriekings are wont to be held most mournful and ominous. XXXI. 1, 2. I made a covenant, &c. For what portion of God is there from above? &c. For if I had suffered my eyes and my heart to rove after these unlawful lusts, what could I have looked for at the hand of God, but due vengeance? Then let my wife grind unto another, &c. Then let my wife become false to my bed, and repay my sin with the like adultery: let me be plagued, as I deserve, in my own kind. Yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges. This had been a capital offence, worthy to be punished by the sword of authority. If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate. If I have used my power injuriously against the fatherless, when I saw that my sentence would have been seconded, and would have carried it, upon the bench. XXXI. 26, 27, 28. If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand: This also were an iniquity, &c. If, when I have beheld thy glorious creatures, the sun and the moon, I have given way to any idolatrous conceits, and have ascribed divine honour unto them, as my heathen neighbours do; this were indeed a heinous and capital wickedness. If I have covered my transgressions as Adam. If I have made shifts and excuses to hide or diminish my offence, as the manner of men is, who do herein imitate our first father Adam, and from him have derived this corruption. Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me? Did I forbear to reprove or oppose any sin, because it was backed by a multitude of offenders? or, if I suffered myself to be disheartened by the fear of that contempt, which might fall upon me from large combinations and families. Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book. Oh, that I had a fair and equal hearing in this cause of mine! Yea, I could presume so far as to wish, that the Almighty himself would be pleased to undertake this business: and that my trial might be the more certain, oh that my adversaries would put in their bill of complaint in writing against me! Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me. Surely I would much rejoice and triumph in that indictment; and would account it the greatest honour, that could be done me. I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him. I would help such a one with such informations against myself, as he should never be able to find out; and when I have done, I would encounter him boldly and courageously, as some warlike prince would come into the field against a weak enemy. I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. I said, as in good manners I ought; Those, that are ancient and full of days, should speak; and those, that had many years' experience, should be most able to teach wisdom to their younger. But there is a spirit in man. But I see, all is not in age: there is a spirit of God, which, breathing where it listeth, maketh a difference in man. Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not man. Do not think, or say, that you have, by your great wisdom, convinced Job, upon this ground, that God hath afflicted him, not man; and God, being just, punishes none but a sinner, therefore Job is a hypocrite: I shall go another way to work with him. For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my maker would soon take me away. I dare not sooth up and flatter any man in a false conceit: if I should so do, I know God would be sure to be speedily avenged of me. For God speaketh once, yea twice, but man perceiveth it not. Many times and divers ways, doth God solicit and admonish men; yet, such is the dulness and security of their hearts, that they either do not or will not hear and understand him. XXXIII. 16, 17. Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instructions. That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. Then, and by these means, he causeth men to hear, and imprinteth in their heart his instructions; that he may prevail with man, to withdraw him from those evil courses and resolutions, which he hath undertaken; and that he may convince him of his proud and insolent conceits, which he hath harboured in himself. XXXIII. 23, 24. If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness: Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. When a man is thus soundly humbled, if a faithful messenger and minister of God, which is not easy and common to be found, shall shew that man his true estate, both in the truth of his repentance and in the safety of his faithful dependence upon his All-sufficient Redeemer; then will God be gracious to that man, and will administer seasonable comforts to his soul, and say, This man shall be delivered from hell; I have found perfect and absolute atonement and ransom for him, in the blood of that Saviour in whom he hath believed. Should I lie against my right? my wound is incurable without my transgression. Should I belie myself in my own cause, so as to say, I have received hard measure from God, without any desert of mine; I am plagued, and have not offended? What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorn like water? There is no man, that pretends to be so wise and holy as Job, that would thus expose himself to the scorn of the world, in his insolent challenges; or would thus turn off the grave admonitions of his friends, with scorn and contempt. Shall he that hateth right govern? &c. Is it fit for thee, who fondly censurest the just proceedings of God, to over-rule thy Maker? In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight. He shall fetch away the great commanders of the earth, in a time when it is least expected; even in the deepest of security, shall he cause astonishment and tumult in the death of the mighty ones. That he should enter into judgment with God. That man should hereupon have any just cause of contestation with God, or any ground of cavil against him. That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared. Yea, not only doth God execute his judgments upon the vulgar people only, but on the great potentates of the earth; so as he strikes wicked tyrants with his plagues, lest the people should be too much oppressed with their injustice.