John Trapp on Job 1:21

Verſe 21. And ſaid] He lay not on the ground dumb as a ſtone, as it is ſaid of Nabal, 1 Sam. 25.37 Herod Hom. and fained of Niobe. He rageth not as Xerxes did, when he beat the Sea by way of revenge: neither vexeth himſelf without meaſure, as Achilles at the death of his friend Patroclus. He curſeth not God to his face (as Satan that old liar ſaid he would do) nor ſo much as the Sabees and Chaldees, or the divel the chief Enginere of his preſent ſufferings: but rejoycing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing inſtant in prayer he ſaid in the words of truth and ſoberneſſe.Rom. 12.12.

Naked came I out of my mothers womb.] Hence the Proverb, Nudus tanquam ex [illegible: 1 letter]atre, not having a ragge to my back, but ſtark naked, as ever I was born. Hither I came a pitiful poor deſtitute, ſhiftleſſe and forlorn creature, not having a croſſe to bleſſe my ſelf with, as they ſay: much leſſe, ſheep and oxen, children and ſervants &c.Pſal. 22.9, 10 howbeit God provided for me then; and as he took me out of the womb, ſo he made me to hope when I was upon my mothers breaſts. I was caſt upon him from the womb &c. And ſhall I now caſt away my confidence which hath ſo great recompenſe of reward? No, though he hath ſtripped me ſtark-naked, and left me with as little as he firſt found me, yet I will truſt in him. It is he that maketh poore, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up againe, 1 Sam. 2.7. The will of the Lord be done. Here I am, let the Lord do with me, that which is right in his own eyes, 2 Sam. 15.26. He is Lord Paramount, the true proprietary and Owner of all: I have been only his ſteward, his tenant at will.

Jamque meos dedo Domino tibijure pena[illegible: 1 letter]es: Tu mihi jus dederas, poſſe vocare Meos.

And naked ſhall I return thither again] ſc. to the womb of my Magna Paren[illegible: 1 letter], the earth,Magna paren[illegible: 1 letter] terra eſt. Ovid. fitly called a Mother, becauſe as thence we came in Adam, ſo there-hence ſhall we be born again (as it were) at the reſurrection; called therefore the Regeneration, Matth 19.28. for ſo ſome read the words there; Ye which have followed me, ſhall in the Regeneration (when the Son of man ſhall ſit in his glory) ſit upon twelve thrones &c. See Pſal. 2.7. with Acts 13.33. This Plato hammered at in his [non-Latin text not transcribed] or great Revolution. To the grave therefore, that womb of the earth, that Congregation houſe of all living, as Job elſwehere calleth it, chap. 30.23. ſhall I return, ſaith he; implying that our life is nothing but a coming and a returning. Repatriâſſe erit hoc, ſaith Bernard concerning death. It is but a coming and a going (ſaith a Divine) it is but a flood and an ebb, and then we are carried into the Ocean of Eternity. I read of one, who being asked what life was? made an anſwer anſwerleſſe; for he preſently turned his back, and went his way. The truth is, wee fetch here but a turn, and God ſaith, Return againe, Pſal. 90.3. To live, is but to lye a dying: the earth receiveth us like a kind mother into her entrailes; when we have a while troden her underfoot, we haſte to our long home, Eccleſ. 12.5. Heb. to our old home; ſc. to the duſt, from whence at firſt we were taken. Tremellius rendreth it in domum ſaeculi, to the houſe of our generation, where we and all our Contemporaries ſhall meet. Cajetan, in domum mundi, the houſe which the world provideth for us; and to this houſe (much in Jobs mind, and therefore he here ſaith Thither) this houſe of the grave (as the Chald[illegible: 1 letter]e paraphraſeth) men muſt return naked. As he came forth of his mothers womb, naked ſhall he return to go as he came (ſaith Solomon) and ſhall take nothing of his labour which he may carry away in his hand, Eccleſ. 5.15. Death as a porter, ſtands at the gate, and ſtrips men of all their worldly wealth, leaving them ne obolum quidem unde naulum ſolvant.

Haud ullas portabis opes Acherontis ad undas. Nudus ab inferna ſtulte vehêre rate.Propert.

Some have had great ſtore of gold and ſilver buried with them, but to ſmall purpoſe, more then to proclaim their own folly. Some wiſer then ſome: if I muſt leave all the reſt, yet this Ile take with me, ſaid a ſilly fellow, when giving up the Ghoſt, he clapt a twenty ſhillings piece of gold into his mouth. Athenaeus telleth of one,Rog. of Lou. that at the hour of his death, devoured many pieces of gold, and ſewed the reſt in his coat, commanding that they ſhould be all buried with him. Hermocrates being loth that any man ſhould enjoy his goods after him, made himſelf by will, heir of his own goods. Theſe muck-worms, like thoſe ten men Jer. 41.8. having treaſures in the field, of wheat, barley, oyle &c. are full loth to part with them: and having much cattle, as thoſe Reubenites and Gadites, Numb. 32.5. they would faine live ſtill on this ſide Jordan: having made their gold their God, they cannot think of parting with it: they would if poſſible, carry the world with them out of the world. But what ſaith the Apoſtle? We brought nothing with us into this world, and it is certain (ſee how he aſſevereth and aſſureth it, as if ſome rich wretches made queſtion of it) we can carry nothing out, nothing but a winding-ſheet;1 Tim. 6, 7. as Sultan Saladines ſhirt, which he commanded to be hung up at his buriall; a bare Prieſt going before the bier and proclaiming, Saladine the mighty Monarch of the Eaſt is gone, and taketh no more with him then what you here ſee. And to the ſame ſenſe the Poet ſpeaking of Annibal, ſaith, — modò quam fortuna ſovendo Congeſtis opibus doniſque refer ſit opimis, Nudum tartareâ portârit navita cymbâ.Sil. Ital.

The Lord gave] It is his bleſſing upon the diligent hand, that maketh rich, Pro. 10.22. as without that, all pains and policies are but arena ſine calce, ſand without lime, they will not hold together. Not only every perfect, (that is, ſpiritual bleſſings in heavenly things) but every good gift, that is, temporal bleſſings in creature-comforts, come from above, from the Father of lights, Jam. 1.17. as pledges of his love to thoſe that are his, and as an earneſt of better things hereafter, Pſal. 23.67. Gen. 27.28. God give thee the dew of heaven, ſaith Iſa[illegible: 1 letter]k to Jacob. Eſau likewiſe hath the like, but not with a God give thee; he profanely ſacrificed to his owne net, not having God in all his thoughts. He ſaid with that Aſſyrian, Iſai. 10.13. By the ſtrength of my hand have I done this: my power and the might of my hand hath gotten me all this wealth &c. Is not this great Babel that I have built &c? Job. Deut. 8.10, 11. uttereth no ſuch bubbles of words; he arrogateth nothing to himſelfe, but aſcribeth all to God, whom the heathens alſo acknowledge — [non-Latin text not transcribed],Hom. The giver of all Good.

And the Lord hath taken away] As well he might; for though I had the poſſeſſion, yet he hath the property; neither can he poſſibly do me wrong, ſith he is Lord of all, and may diſpoſe of me and mine as he pleaſeth. Hierome teacheth his friend Julian to ſay, Tuliſti liberos qu[illegible: 1 letter]s ipſe dedoras: non centriſtor quod recepiſti, ago gratias quòd dediſti: Thou haſt taken away the children which thou hadſt given me: I grieve not that thou haſt taken them, but give thee thanks for giving them.Vitam repoſcenti natura tanquam debitor bona fidei reddituras exult[illegible: 1 letter]. Ammi[illegible: 1 letter]n. l. 25. Julian that vile Apoſtate, ſaid at his death, I gladly render up my life to Nature requiring it; as a thankfull and faithfull debt[illegible: 1 letter]r. This was ſure, but a copy of his countenance, and meerly for a name. And what ſhall we think of Quin[illegible: 1 letter]us Fabius Maximus? who when he heard that his mother and wife whom he loved dearly, were ſlain by the fall of an houſe, and that his younger ſon, a brave hopefull young man, died the ſame time in Ʋmbria, he never changed his countenance (though his friends lamented the loſſe with many tears) but went on with the buſineſſes of the Common-wealth, as if no ſuch calamity had befallen him; was this patience or ſtupidity, whether? Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, Gal. 5.22. ſo that Aquinas needed not to have queſtioned, Aquin. 2, 2. q. 136. whether a man can have patience ſine auxilio gratiae, without the help of Gods grace. A natural man may, for ſiniſter ends, bite in his paine, as Marius did, when his leg was cut off by the Chirurgion; he may conceale his grief, as Mithridates did for a time; but all the while, he was in a kind of fever (Epialis the Phyſicians call it) wherein men be cold without, but hot as fire within. And the like we may judg of Philip the ſecond King of Spaine, who is ſaid to have born the loſſe of his invincible Armado that had been three years a rigging, with much patience, giving, and commanding to be given all over Spain, thanks to God and the Saints, that it was no more grievous. This was but a fained and a forced patience:Camd. Eliſ. 371. it was rather pertinacy then patience, it was an obſtinate ſtiffeneſſe of mind &c. Ye have heard of the patience of Job; and what was the ground of it? he beheld God in all, the Lord hath taken away; ſaith he: not a word of the Caldean and Sabean plunderers, not a tittle againſt the divel who had employed them: and why? Job eaſily diſcerned Gods arrowes in Satans hand, and Gods hand on the arms of thoſe that had robbed him, and wronged him: hence Taceo, Fero, Spero, was his motto. It is the Lord, ſaid Eli, when threatned with the loſſe of all. I was dumb (ſaith David) becauſe it was thy doing. So was Jacob for the ſame reaſon,1 Sam. 3.18. Pſal. 39. Gen. 34.5. in the rape of Dinah his only daughter, afterwards married to Job, ſay the Jew-Doctors. So was Aaron in the untimely end of his untowardly children, Lev. 10.3. So was Mauricius the good Emperour, when he ſaw his wife and children ſlain before his eyes by the traitor Phocas. And ſo was laſtly, that noble Lord of Pleſſis, who when he had loſt his only ſon (a Gentleman of marvellous great hope) in the Low-Countries, and ſhortly after, his Lady died of that griefe, hee took up thoſe words of David; See his life. I was ſilent, and ſaid no word, becauſe thou Lord hadſt done it.

Bleſſed be the Name of the Lord] As well for taking away, as for giving: This was a rare bird, that would thus ſing in winter. It is eaſie to ſwim in a warm bath, and every bird can ſing in a warm ſun-ſhine: but to bleſſe God heartily, when afflicted moſt heavily; this, this is the breathing of an excellent ſpirit: In every thing to give thanks, ô quam hoc non eſt omnìum! In this theme of bleſſing God for afflictions, alſo Baſil ſpendeth all his Sermon which he entitleth, Giving of thanks in all things; Chriſtianorum propria virtus eſt, ſaith Hierome, it is a vertue proper to true Chriſtians,Hicr. in Eph. 5. heartily, and not hollowly to give God thanks for croſſes, for it proceeds from the joy of faith, and ſome taſte of Gods fatherly care of us in our corrections. If good things befall thee, bleſſe God, and they ſhall be increaſed; if evill things, bleſſe God, and they ſhall be removed, ſaith Austin; of whom alſo it is reported, that he had alwaies in his mouth Deo gratias, Thanks be to God for whatſoever befalleth us. Si bona ded[illegible: 1 letter]rit D[illegible: 1 letter]us, grattas agi[illegible: 1 letter], & augebuntur &c. The Prophet, Pſalm 89.38. to 52. lamentably complaineth of the Churches miſeries, and yet concludeth, Bleſſed be the Lord for evermore: and this he doth, not formally and ſightly, but earneſtly, and with much affection. Lo, this is the guiſe of thoſe that be gracious. But how blank (think we) was the Divel, when hoping to heare Job blaſpheme God, he heareth him bleſſing Gods Name in this ſort, The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: [non-Latin text not transcribed] Sept. bleſſed be the Name of the Lord? The Greek and Latine tranſlations inſert here another ſentence that is not found in the Hebrew verity; viz. even as it pleaſeth the Lord, ſo come things to paſſe. Our late Common-prayer-book alſo hath the ſame words in the form for Burial of the dead.