Matthew Poole and continuators on Job 14

1. MAn that is born of a Woman , is of few days , and full of trouble .

This expression is here used either, 1. To intimate the cause of Mans Misery, that he was born of Woman, a weak Creature, 1 Pet. 3. 7. and withal corrupt and sinful, and of that Sex by which sin and all calamity was brought into the world. See Ch. 15. 14. & Gen. 3. 17. 1 Tim. 2. 13, 4. Or 2. To note the Universality of the thing, Every man, every Mothers Son, as we use to speak. Mens Fathers are oft times unknown and uncertain, but their Mothers are always definite and certain. One man was then to be born, and afterwards was born without an earthly Father, to wit, our Lord and Saviour Christ; but no man was ever born without a Mother.

A short liv'd Creature in himself, and therefore needs no violent hand to cut him off, because he withereth so soon of his own accord.

And therefore a fitter Object for divine Compassion, than for his [illegible: 1+ letters]ury or severity. He chiefly intendeth himself, but he expresseth it thus generally, partly to relieve himself with the thoughts of the common Calamities of Mankind; and partly to move God with the consideration of the frailty and misery of humane Nature, and consequently of his condition.

Marginal references: Heb. [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] days.; Eccles. 2. 23.

2. He cometh forth like a Flower , and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow , and continueth not.

Out of his Mothers Womb, Ch. 1. 21.

Which quickly groweth up and maketh a fair shew, but soon withereth, or is cut down.

Which being made by the Sun, follows its motions, and is in perpetual variation until at last it quite vanish and disappear.

Marginal references: Chap. [illegible: 1+ letters]. 9. P[illegible: 1+ letters]. 90. 5, 6. & 102. 11. & 103. 15. & 144. 4. Isa. 4[illegible: 1+ letters]. 6. Jam. 1. 10, 11. 1 Pet. 1. [illegible: 1+ letters]4.

3. And dost thou open thine Eyes upon such an one , and bringest me into judgment with thee ?

Either 1. To take thought or care about him. Or rather 2. To observe all his ways, that thou maist find cause of Punishment. He is not a fit match for thee. It is below thee to contend with him, and to use thy infinite Wisdom and Power to crush him. This seems best to suit with the scope and context.

i. e. Pleadest with me by thy Judgments, and thereby, in a manner, forcest me to plead with thee, without granting me those Two necessary and favourable conditions, expressed Ch. 13. 20, 21.

4. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ? Not one .

I do not say, I am clean, as Zophar pretendeth, Ch. 11. 4. but confess that I am a very unclean Creature, and therefore liable to thy Justice, if thou wiltst deal rigorously with me: but remember that this is not my peculiar case, but the common lot of every Man, who, coming from sinful Parents, and being infected with original Corruption, must unavoidably be unclean. Why then doest thou inflict such peculiar and extraordinary Judgments upon me, for that which is common to all men? And although my original Corruption do not excuse my actual Sins. yet I hope it may procure some mitigation to my punishments, and move thy divine Pitty, which oft sheweth itself upon such occasions. See Gen. 8. 21.

i. e. No man can cleanse himself, or any other from all sin. See 1 Kin. 8. 46. Psal. 14. 3. Eccles. 7. 21. This is the Prorogative of thy Grace, which therefore I humbly implore of thee.

Marginal references: Heb. [illegible: 1 word], will give.; Gen. 5. 3. Psal. 51. 5. Joh. 3. 6. Rom. 5. 12. Ephes. 2. 3.

5. Seeing his days are determined , the number of his Months are with thee , thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass .

The days, or (as it follows) months of his Life.

Are by thy Sentence and Decree limited to a certain period.

i. e. Exactly known to thee. Or, in thy power and disposal.

Thou hast appointed a certain end of his days beyond which he cannot prolong his Life. And therefore let this short Life, and unavoidable Death suffice for mans punishment, and do not add further and sorer Calamities.

Marginal references: Ch. 7. 1.

6. Turn from him that he may rest , till he shall accomplish as an hireling his day .

Withdraw thine afflicting Hand from him.

That he may have some present comfort and ease. Or, and let it cease, to wit, the affliction, which is sufficiently implied. Others, and let him cease, to wit, to live, i. e. Take away my life. But that seems not to agree with the following clause of this Verse, nor with the succeeding Verses.

Give him some respite, till he finish his course and come to the period of his Life, which thou hast allotted to him, as a man appoints a set time to a mercenary servant.

Marginal references: Ch. 7. 16, 19.; Heb. [illegible: 1 word].; Chap. [illegible: 1+ letters]. 1.

7. For there is hope of a Tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again , and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.

But man, though a far nobler Creature, is in a much worse condition, and when once he loseth this present and Worldly Life, he never recovers it: Therefore shew some pity to him, and give him some Comfort whilest he lives.

8. Though the root thereof wax old in the Earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground:

Begin to wither and decay.

To wit, in outward appearance.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]

9. Yet through the sent of Water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a Plant .

i. e. By means of Water. Sent or Smell is figuratively ascribed to a Tree.

Like a Tree newly planted.

10. But man dieth, and wasteth away : yea, man giveth up the Ghost, and where is he ?

His body by degrees rotting away, Or, and is cut off, as this word is used, Exod. 17. 13. Isa. 14. 12.

i. e. He is no where, or, he is not, to wit, in this World, as that Phrase is commonly used. See Iob 3. 16. & 7. 8, 21.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 span].

11. As the Waters fail from the Sea, and the flood decayeth, and drieth up :

This may be understood, either 1. By way of opposition, The Waters go, or flow out of the Sea, and return thither again, Eccles. 1. 7. and a Lake, or River sometimes decayeth, and drieth up; but afterwards is recruited and replenished. But man lieth, &c. as it follows. Or 2. By way of resemblance. As Waters, i. e. some portion of Waters, fail from the [illegible: 1+ letters]a, being either exhaled or drawn up by the Sun, or received and sunk into the dry and thirsty Earth, or overflowing its Banks; and as the Flood or a River, or a Pond, (for the word signifies any considerable confluence of Waters) in a great drought decayeth, and is dried up: in both which cases the self same Waters never return to their former places. So it is with man. Or thus, as when the Waters fail from the Sea, i. e. when the Sea forsakes the place into which it used to flow, the River which was fed by it, Eccles. 1. 7. decayeth and drieth up without all hopes of Recovery. So man, when once the Fountain of his radical moisture is dried up, dies, and never revives again.

12. So man lieth down , and riseth not , till the Heavens be no more , they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their Sleep.

To wit, in his Bed, the Grave, or to sleep the sleep of Death▪ as this Phrase is used, Gen. 46. 30. Deut. 31. 16. 2 Sam. 7. 12. 1 Kin. 1. 21.

To wit, to this Life: For he speaks not here of the Life to come, nor of the Resurrection of the Body after death by the divine Power; of his belief whereof he giveth sufficient evidences in divers places.

i. e. Either 1. Never; because the Heavens, though they shall be changed in their Qualities, yet shall never cease to be as to the Substance of them. And therefore everlasting and unchangeable things are expressed by the duration of the Heavens; of which see Psal. 72. 5, 7, 17. & 89. 30, 36, 37. Mat. 5. 18. & 24. 35. Or 2. not until the time of the general Resurrection, and the restitution of things, when these visible Heavens shall pass away, and be no more, at least in the same form and manner as now they are: of which see Psal. 102. 26. Luk. 21. 33. 2 Pet. 3. 7, 10. Rev. 21. 1.

13. O that thou wouldest hide me in the Grave , that thou wouldst keep me secret , until thy Wrath be past , that thou wouldst appoint me a set time , and remember me .

Either 1. In some dark Vault under ground, such as good men hide themselves in, in times of Persecution. Heb. 11. 38. Lord hide me in some hiding place from thy Wrath, and all the intolerable effects of it, which are upon me: for I cannot be hid from thee but by thee. Or 2. In the Grave, properly so called. Though I know Life once lost is irrecoverable, yet I heartily desire Death rather than to continue in these Torments. And if the next words and wish seem to suppose the continuance of his Life, that is not strange: For he speaks like one almost distracted with his miseries, sometimes wishing one thing, sometimes another, and the quite contrary, as such persons use to do. And these Wishes may be understood disjunctively, I wish either that I were dead, or that God would give me Life free from these torments. Or the place may be understood thus, I could wish, if it were possible, that I might lie in the Grave for a time, till these storms be blown over, and then be restored to a comfortable Life.

In some secret and safe place, under the shadow of thy Wings and favour. that I may have some support and comfort from thee.

Whilst I am oppressed with such grievous and various Calamities, which he calls Gods Wrath, because they were, or seemed to be, the effects of his Wrath.

To wit, to my sufferings, as thou hast done to my Life, v. 5.

i. e. Wherein thou wiltst remember me, to wit, in mercy, o[illegible: 1+ letters] so as to deliver me: For it is well known that God is frequently said to forget those whom he suffers to continue in misery, and to remember those whom he delivers out of it.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word].

14. If a man die, shall he live again ? all the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come .

i. e. He shall not▪ namely in this World, as was said before. The affirmative question is equivalent to an absolute denial, as Gen. 18. 17. Psal. 56. 7. Ier. 5. 9. and every where.

Seeing Death puts an end to all mens hopes of any comfortable being here, because man once dead never returns to Life; I will therefore wait on God, and hope for his favour whilest I live, and it is possible to enjoy it, and will continue waiting from time to time, until my change come, i. e. either 1. Death, the great and last change; which is expressed by the Root of this word, Iob 10. 17. Or 2. The change of my condition for the better, which you upon your Terms encourage me to expect, and which I yet trust in God I shall enjoy; for this word properly signifies Vicissitudes or Changes in ones condition, and this seems to suit best with the following verse. And this Change, or a comfortable Life here Iob so heartily wisheth, not only from that love of Life and Comfort which is naturally implanted in all men, good and bad, and is not forbidden by God, which also was stronger in those Old Testament Saints when the discoveries of Gods Grace to sinners, and of eternal Life, were much darker than now they are; but also because this would be an effectual vindication of his own Integrity, and Good-name, and of the honour of Religion, both which did suffer some Eclipse from Iob's extream Calamities, as is evident from the discourses of his Friends.

Marginal references: Heb. my warfare.

15. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee : thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands .

I trust there is a time coming when thou wiltst grant me the mercy which now thou deniest me, to wit, a favourable hearing, when thou wiltst call to me to speak for my self, and I shall answer thee; which I know will be to thy Satisfaction and my Comfort. Compare this with Chap. 13. 22. where the same words are used in this same Sense. Or, thou shalt call me out of the Grave of my Calamities, and I shall answer thee, and say, Here I am, raised out of the Pit in which I was buried by thy powerful and gracious Command.

i. e. To me who am thy Workmanship in divers respects, from whom thou now seemest to have an aversion and abhorrency, but I doubt not thou wiltst have a desire, i. e. shew thy Affection or Good-will to me; or a desire to look upon me, and to deliver me. Nor is it strange that Iob, who lately was upon the brink of despair, doth now breath out words of Hope, such Ebbings and Flowings being usual, both with Iob elsewhere, as Ch. 13. 15, 16. and with David frequently in the Psalms, and with others of God's People.

Marginal references: Chap. 40. 3.

16. For now thou numbrest my steps , dost thou not watch over my sin ?

So this is a reason of his desire of Death, v. 13. Or rather, But now; for this seems to be added by way of opposition. I believe thou wiltst pitty and help me, but for the present it is far otherwise with me.

Thou makest a strict enquiry into all my Actions, that thou maist find out all mine Errours, and punish them. Compare Iob 13. 27. & 31. 4. & 34. 21. Psal. 56. 6.

i. e. Dost thou not watch for my Haltings, or Miscarriages, as if thou wast glad of an occasion to punish me? Or, thou dost not delay the punishment of my sin: For the same Hebrew word signifies both sin, and its punishments.

Marginal references: Psa. 139. 2, 3. Chap. 13. 27. Prov. 5. 21. Jer. 32. 19.

17. My transgression is sealed up in a bag , and thou sewest up mine iniquity .

As Writings or other choice things, that they may be safely kept, and all of them brought forth upon occasion, and not one of them forgotten or lost. Compare Deut. 32. 34. Iob 37. 7. Hos. 13. 12.

i. e. Thou keepest all my sins in thy memory, and fastenest the guilt of them upon my Conscience. Or, thou addest to my sin, one sin to another, the follies of my youth, Iob 13. 26. to those of my riper Years. Or, thou addest to my punishment, i. e. thou punishest me more than mine Iniquities deserve, all things considered. For this sinful thought seems somtimes to have risen in Iob's Mind, as may be gathered from divers parts of this Book: which therefore Zophar decries, and disproves, Iob. 11. 6.

18. And surely as the Mountain falling cometh to nought : and the Rock is removed out of his place:

As when a great Mountain falls, either by an Earthquake or Inundation of Waters, or from any other cause, it moulders away like a fading Leaf, (as the Hebrew word signifies) and never recovers its former height and stability, and as the Rock when by the violence of Winds or Earthquake, &c. it is removed out of its place, and thrown down is never readvanced. And as the waters by continual droppings, or violent and frequent assaults, wear away, or break the stones to pieces, so as they can never be made whole again: And as thou washest away, to wit, by a great and violent Inundation which thou sendest, the things which grow out of the dust of the Earth, to wit, Herbs, & Fruits, & Plants, which once washed away are irrecoverably lost, and, or so (as this particle is oft used, i. e. in like manner, to wit, irrecoverably,) thou destroyest the hope of man; i. e. So when man dies all hope of living again in this World is utterly lost, And this seems to be the plain meaning of these two Verses. And as before he declared the hopelesness of mans restauration from death to this animal life, by way of opposition to such things as did rise in a manner from death to life, v. 7▪ &c. so now he declares it by way of similitude or resemblance to such things as being once lost and gone, are past all hopes of recovery.

Marginal references: Heb. sad[illegible: 1+ letters].

20. Thou prevailest for ever against him , and he passeth : thou changest his Countenance , and sendest him away .

When once thou takest away this life it is gone for ever: For he speaks not here of man's future and eternal life in another World.

i. e. He dieth or is about to die: Man's death is oft called a passage or a going; to intimate that it is not an annihilation, but only a translation of him into another place and state.

Either 1 his Visage, which by death and its Harbingers, is quite transformed in colour and shape, as we see by daily experience. Or 2. the face and state of his Affairs, as to worldly riches and pleasures, and honours, all which he leaves behind him.

To his long home by death.

21. His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not ; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.

Either 1. is ignorant of all such events: Or, 2. is not concerned nor affected with them. A dead or dying man minds not these things.

22. But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn .

This is mans condition, he is miserable [illegible: 1+ letters]oth when he dies, because he dies without hope of returning to life, as he had discoursed before; and (as he now adds) whilest he lives, whilest his flesh is upon him, and his soul within him; whilest the soul is clothed with or united to the body, he feels sharp pain in his body, and bitter grief in his soul, Seeing therefore the state of man upon earth is so vain and unhappy every way, Lord give me some comfort to sweeten my life, or take away my life from me.