John Trapp on Job 4:16

Verſe 16. It ſtood ſtill] As now ready to ſpeak: an ambulatory voice is hardly heard: The Heavens indeed, are walking preachers, but then they utter but theſe three words,Lib. 2. de Arca, cap. 3. ſaith Hugo, in all Languages, Accipe, Redde, Fuge; that is, Receive mercies, Return duties, Fly offences, and their juſt puniſhments.

But I could not diſcern the form thereof] Heb. The aspect or countenance. Hee was ſo frighted, that his eye could not do its office diſtinctly, to diſcern the thing that was juſt before it. It is naturall to a man to fear at the ſight of an Angel; what then will wicked men do at the laſt day, when the Son of man ſhall bring all his Angels, not leaving one behind him in heaven? Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we perſwade men: and oh that we could perſwade them!

An image was before mine eyes] But I could not tell what to make of it. It is not the will of God that man ſhould repreſent him by an image. The Jewes, after the captivity,Deut. 4.15, 16 were ſo farre from idolatry, that they would not admit a Carver or Painter into their City. The Turks will not endure any image, no, not upon their coines, becauſe of the ſecond Commandment. Varro ſaith, he that firſt brought in Imagery (and that is thought to be Ninus King of Babylon) ſuperstitionem auxit, metum dempſit, increaſed ſuperſtition, and tooke away feare. The wiſer heathers held, that God was too ſubtle for ſinew or fight to ſeize upon: and the Greeke Painters, when they would draw the image of their Jupiter in a Table, they were ſtill mending it, but never ending it; ſaying, that herein they ſhewed him to be a god; for that they might begin to paint, but could not perfect him.

There was ſilence, and I heard a voice] It was fit there ſhould be ſilence and ſedateneſſe of ſpirit, when a divine voice was to be heard. Let all the earth keepe ſilence before God, Hab. 2.20. When the ſeventh ſeale was opened, there was half an houres ſilence in heaven, Rev. 8.1. What a noiſe is there in many mens hearts even whiles they are hearing what the Lord God ſpeaketh unto them? what bargaining, lawing, projecting, running into another world (as men in dreams do) ſo that they can tell no more what the preacher ſaid, then the man in the moon can! Silence is a good preparative to audience; ſpeak Lord, for thy ſervant heareth: Let the woman (and ſo the man too) learn in ſilence. Let by-thoughts, ſwarming and humming in our hearts, like the flies of Aegypt, be barred out: let the divel, interrupting us with his ſuggeſtions, as the Pythoniſſe did Paul and his companions, be haltred up. Let even good thoughts, if unſeaſonable and heterogeneall to the work in hand, be turned out of doores; let us ſay to them, as Huſhai did to Achitophel, thy counſel is good, but not now; how ſhall we elſe hear with attention and affection? how ſhall we liſten as for life, and hearken diligently with much heed? Iſa. 21.7.