John Trapp on Job 32:8

Verſe 8. But there is a ſpirit in man, and the inſpiration of the Almighty] Or, Surely there is a ſpirit in man, but the inſpiration, &c. Man hath a reaſonable ſoul, and a natural judgement, whereby he differeth from bruit beaſts: And not only ſo, but ſome there are that do animam excolere, as Tully and Ariſtotle; they improve their natural abilities by art, and ſo go far beyond others in worth; differing from the unlearned as much almoſt, as a man doth from a beaſt. Lo, ſuch a ſpirit there is in ſome men: which yet amounteth not to wiſdom, without the concurrence of Gods good ſpirit to ſanctifie all, as the altar ſanctifieth the gold of the altar. If this be not attained unto, the wiſer any man is, the vainer he proveth, Rom. 1.22. The Lord knoweth the thoughts of thoſe wiſe (even of the choiceſt and moſt pickt men amongſt them) that they are vain, 1 Cor. 3.20. And to ſuch we may ſay, as Auſtin once wrote to a man of great parts, Ornari abs te diabolus quarit, the Devil deſireth to be tricked up by thee.

And the inſpiration of the almighty giveth them underſtanding] He is the wiſe man, when all's done, whom (whether old or young) the ſpirit of God, who acteth moſt freely, is pleaſed to imbreath. And although Arts and Age be good helps to knowledge; yet they muſt be all taught of God that ſhall be wiſe unto ſalvation: and ſuch as theſe, the elder they grow, the wiſer they are, for moſt part; and if young ſaints, they become, old angels. True it is, that God is debter to none: neither doth a longer life, of it ſelf, deſerve any thing at Gods hands: becauſe the longer they live, the more ſins they commit. But yet the promiſe is, that to him that hath ſhall be given, and he ſhall abound. The righteous alſo ſhall hold on his way; and he that hath clean hands, ſhall be ſtronger and ſtronger, Job 17.9. Howbeit, ſome good mens firſt dayes, have been their beſt dayes: and they have ſuffered no ſmall decayes in their ſpiritual-intellectuals: as did Solomon, Aſa, Joaſh, and perhaps theſe three friends of Job, to whom this ſpeech is directed. Certain it is, that he is a rare and a happy man, of whom it may be ſaid in a ſpiritual ſenſe (as it was ſaid of Moſes) that after long profeſſion of Religion, his ſight [illegible: 1 word] waxed dim, nor his holy heat abated. The Heathen Sages have cauſe to admoniſh us, to take heed of old age: as that which cometh not alone, but is it ſelf a diſeaſe, and ever accompanied with many maladies, both of body and mind. Elihu ſeemeth to take this here for granted (experience ſealing to it) that true wiſdom dependeth not upon any mans authority; power, learning, experience, or old age: but upon the inſpiration of the Almighty. And therefore they holy Scriptures muſt needs be the ſtore-houſe of wiſdom,2. Pet. 1.21. 2 Tim. 3.16. the Statute-book of Heaven, as being [non-Latin text not transcribed], imbreathed by God, as Paul ſpeaketh; the very heart and ſoul of God, as Gregory.