Matthew Poole and continuators on Job 4:7

7. Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?

Give me one Example hereof out of all thy Experience or Reading.

i. e. Was so utterly undone, as thou art, so miserably afflicted by such unparallel'd and various Judgments from God and Men, all conspiring against thee.

Who had not by his wickedness provoked so merciful a God to do that which is so unusual, and in some sort unpleasing to himself. Therefore thou art guilty of some great, though secret, Crimes, and thy Sin hath now found thee out, and hath brought down these stupendious Plagues upon thee.

By the Sicle of Divine Vengeance before his time, which is like to be thy case. His Judgment herein was rash and false, but not without some appearance of Truth: For God had made many Promises, not only of spiritual and eternal, but also of temporal Blessings, to all that should faithfully serve and obey him, which accordingly he did from time to time confer upon them, as we see by the Examples of Noah, Lot, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and doubtless many others which had lived in or before their days. And this was Gods usual method under all the times of the Old Testament, as we see by the People of Israel, who were generally either in an happy and flourishing▪ or in an afflicted and miserable State, according to their Obedience to God, or their Apostacy from him. And therefore it is not strange that they fell into this mistake: But allowing for this mistake, and the consequence of it, his uncharitable Opinion of Iob, the method which he useth with Iob is commendable, and to be imitated by others in their dealing with persons in Sickness or Affliction: For he doth not flatter him in his Sins, nor immediately and unseasonably apply Comforts to him; but endeavours to convince him of his Sins, and to bring him to Repentance, as the only regular way to his Remedy.