Ver. 5. S/tall not the light of the wicked be put out, and the /lame of his fire cease to shine?
8. If he says this in describing the present life, he is mis- vii. taken; in that very often both the light of prosperity is seen in the ungodly, and the darkness of ignominy and poverty envelopes the godly. But if his discourse points to this, viz. to shew what the ungodly meet with in their end, it is said with truth, Shall not the light of the wicked be put out, and the flame of his fire cease to shine? Which if it might have been rightly spoken in regard to an ungodly man, ought never to have been delivered against a holy man set fast in the midst of scourges. But let us, considering well the powers of his arm in delivering sentences, reflect how strongly he hurls the darts, and let us cease to look at him w^liom, while so hurling them, he aims to hit, knowing surely that he strikes a stone with foiled blows. So let him say; Shall not the light of the wicked be put out? For even the un- godly have their ' light,' i. e. the good fortune of the present 122 Light of the wicked to be quenched at last.
Job 18, life. ]5ut * the light of the wicked shall be put out/ in that 1^ — '- — this present life's good fortune is speedily terminated along with life itself. Whence it is fitly added; and the flame of his fire shall tiot shine* 9. For every ungodly man has a ' flame of his own fire,' which he kindles in his heart from the heat of temporal desires, whilst he burns now with these now with those lusts, and fans his thoughts into a bigger flame by the diverse flatteries of the world. But if a fire has no flame, it does not shine by shedding any light. And so the flame of the fire is his outward beauty or power, which comes from his burn- ing within. For what he anxiously desires to get, he very often wins, to the heaping up of his own ruin; and whether in the power of the loftiest pitch, or in the wealth of multi- plied increase, he as it were shines in external glory. But ' the flame of his fire shall not shine,' in that, in the day of his departure hence, all the fair shew without is removed, and he is consumed by his own burning within alone. And ' so the flame' is removed from the ' fire,' when his exterior glory is separated from his interior burning. Even the righteous too have a flame of their fire, but one doubtless to shine bright, in this respect, that their desires give light in good works. But the light of the wicked does not shine in the least, in that hereby, viz. that they aim at what is evil, they are forced to darkness. And hence it follows; Ver. 6. The light shall he dark in his tabernacle. viii. 10. If we very frequently take darkness for sorrow, we ought without unfairness to take light for joy. And so ^ the light is dark in his tabernacle,' in that in his conscience, which he inhabits in wickedness, the joy which he had from things temporal is brought to an end. Whence too it is fitly added; And the candle that is over him shall be put out. For to speak in language grounded on the usage of man 3^, Mucernaa ' candle ^' is a light in an earthen vessel, but a light in an earthen vessel, is delight in the flesh. And so ' the candle that is over him is put out,' in that when the recompensing of his wickednesses comes upon the ungodly man, carnal delight is brought to nought in his heart. Now it is well that it is not said of this candle, ' which is by him,' but The Wicked work their own confusion. 123 ' which is over him,' in that earthly enjoyments possess the Book mind of the bad, and so swallow it up in delight, that they -- are * over' it, and not ' by' it. But the righteous even when they have the good fortune of the present life, are taught to force it to bow beneath them, that this, viz. that they are made glad in themselves with good things, they may get above by the counsel of a steadied mind, and surmount by the control of virtue. And so ' the candle' of the wicked man, ' which is over him, is put out,' in that his joy is quickly brought to an end, which possessed him wholly in this life, and the man, who now wickedly lets himself out at large in pleasures, punishment hereafter closely encompasses round about in w^oe. Whence it is yet further added; Ver. 7. The steps of his strength shall be straitened.
11. For now as it were he puts forth * the steps of his ix. strength,' as often as he executes the violent acts of his power. But ' the steps of his strength shall be straitened,' in that the resources of his wickedness, which he now dis- plays in his own gratification, punishment hereafter binds fast. It goes on; And his own counsel shall cast him down.
12. Every bad man makes it his counsel now to aim at x. present things, to abandon the things of eternity, to do what is unjust, to sneer at what is just; but when the Judge of the just and unjust shall come, every ungodly person is ' cast down by his counsel,' in that for this that he chose to go after here with bad intent, he is drowned in the darkness of eternal woe. For that man whom temporal glory uplifts here, punishment without end there sinks down. He who here revels in self-gratification, is there tortured with ever- lasting vengeance. And it often happens that the very prosperity of this life, which is so eagerly hankered after by the ungodly, so clogs their steps, that even when they have the mind to return to good works, they are scarcely able: in that they have not the power to do what is right, while they fear to displease the lovers of this world. Whence it is brought to pass, that through that glory which the ungodly man derives from sin, his sins are yet further doubled and redoubled. Which Bildad rightly sets forth, when he adds; 1*24 Sin entanr/les in sin. Satan'' s thirst J'or man's ruin.
Job 18, Ver. 8. Fo7 he hath put his own foot into the net, and he ' * walketh in the ^ meshes of it.
^maculis xi. 13. lie, who ' puts his feet into a net,' cannot get them Moral. out, when he has a mind; so he that lets himself down into habits of sin, cannot rise up the moment he wishes it; and he ' that walketh in the meshes of a net,' entangles his steps in walking, and when he tries to extricate himself to walk, he is tied and bound that he cannot. ' For it very often happens that a man, beguiled by the delightfulness of this world, reaches after the gloriousness of the honour thereof, that he attains to the effecting of his desires, and rejoices to have attained the object which he sought after; but seeing that the good things of this world, when not possessed, are objects of love, and very often, when possessed, grow worth- less, he learns by the act of obtaining how worthless that is which he sought after. Whence being brought back to him- self, he looks out how without sin to get quit of that which he sees himself to have gotten with sin; but the very same dignity which entangled him, holds him fast, and he cannot without further sins flee from thence, whereunto he came not without sin. And so he has ' put his feet into the net, and walketh in the meshes thereof,' in that when he strives to get quit, he then sees in a true light with what hard knots he is held bound. For we do not even know of our binding in a true sense, save when in striving to get free, we as it were try to lift our feet. And hence he makes known this same binding, by adding, Ver. 9. The gin shall take him by the heel; in that the end shall be made fast in sin. And because the enemy of mankind, when he binds up in sin the life of each individual, eagerly pants after his death, it is rightly added; And thirst shall burn furiously against him. ^11' 14. For our old enemy, when he ensnares the life in sin, thirsts that he may drink the death of the sinner. Which however may also be understood in another sense. For the evil mind when it sees that it has been brought into sin, seeks with a certain superficialness of thought to escape out of the snares of sin; but fearing either the threats or refl Greediness like the dropsy. Hidden snares. 195 proaches of men, it chooses rather to die for ever, than Book to undergo a little of adversity for a season, whence it - abandons itself wholly to evil ways, in which it perceives itself to be already once bound. And so he whose life is bound fast in sin even to the end, has his * heel held by the gin.' But forasmuch as in the same degree that he minds that he is tied and bound with evil habits, he is in despair of his return, by that very despairing he henceforth kindles more fiercely to the lusts of this world, the heat of desire arises within him, and the mind having been ensnared by previous sins, is inflamed to even worse transgressions. And hence it is added; And thirst shall hum furiously against him. For in his mind there is a * thirst that burns out against him,' in that in proportion as he is used to do wicked things, he is the more vehemently on fire to drink down evil. Since for the ungodly man to ' thirst' is to lust after the good things of this world. And hence our Redeemer cures th(f man with the dropsy before the Pharisee's house, and when he was ai'guing against avarice, it is written, And the Pharisees also Lukeie, who were covetous heard all things; and they derided Him. ' What does it mean then that the man with the dropsy is cured before the house of the Pharisee, but that by the sickness of one man's body the sickness of heart in another is represented? For one sick of a dropsy, the more he drinks, thirsts the more, and every covetous person redoubles his thirst by drinking, in that when he has got the things he desires, he pants the more in desiring others. For he that by getting is made to long for more, has his thirst increased by drinking. It goes on; Ver. 10. His snare is buried in the earthy and his trap upon the way.
15. His ^ snare is buried in the earth,' when sin is hidden xiii. under earthly interests. For our enemy in executing his plots shews to the human mind something to long after in earthly gain, and hides the snare of sin, that it may bind his soul tight, so that he should see indeed what he might set his heart on, and yet never see in what a snare of sin he is putting his foot. Now a trap^ has its name from entrapping, i deci- And ' a trap is' then ' placed' by our old enemy ^ upon the P^^^ way,' when in the course of this world's practice, which the 1 26 Satan sets traps in the path of each man^s temper. Job 18, mind is bent to follow, the snare of sin is prepared, which MonAL.
same would not so easily entrap, if it were possible to be seen.
For a trap is so set, that, while the meat is displayed, it is not itself seen by the passers by. For like to meat in a trap is gain with sin, and the prosperity of this world with wicked- ness; and so when gain is sought after by one with a covet- ous view, it is as if the trap which is not seen laid hold of the foot of the mind. Thus there are often set before the mind along with sin, honours, riches, health, and temporal life, which, while the weak mind sees like food, and does not see the trap, by the meat, which on seeing it longs after, it is caught fast in the sin, which is not seen. For there are kinds of tempers which border upon certain bad qualities. Thus harsh tempers are usually found to be united either to cruelty or to pride; but tempers that are soft, and joyous beyond what is becoming, are sometimes allied to lust and dissoluteness. Therefore the enemy of mankind surveys the tempers of each individual, to see what bad quality they are allied to, and he sets those objects before the face, which he sees the mind is most readily inclined to, so thiit to the soft and joyous tempers he often proposes dissoluteness, and sometimes vainglory, but to harsh dispositions he proposes pride or cruelty, and so there he sets a trap, where he sees the path of the mind to be, in that he there introduces peril by deception, where he has found that there is the ' way' of a kindred turn of thought. And, whereas all that the bad man does, he fears to undergo too, and reckons that to be doing by all others toward himself, which he himself prepares for all others, whom he is able, it rightly follows; Ver. 1 1. Terrors shall make him afraid o?i every side. xiv. 16. For he imagines all men to be such toward himself, as he himself strives to be towards all. And what effect these same terrors have in his conduct, is brought in, when it is said; And shall entangle his feet.
For if ' the feet be entangled,' they cannot have free steps, and are not able to accomplish any journey; in that their own entanglements hold them fast. Therefore bad desires force into vilest practice, and vilest practice holds fast in terror; which same terror entangles the feet, that they should have no Past sin holds man ensnared. His ' strength hungerbitten.'' 127 power to step out into right practice. And it often happens Book that a person for this reason fears to be good, that he may not — '- himself suffer that at the hands of the wicked, which he remem- bers himself to have done to the good; and whereas he dreads to undergo that thing which he has himself done, on every side affrighted, on every side full of misgiving, he as it were has his feet entangled, who is ensnared by fear; he is able to do nothing freely; in that he has in a manner lost his going in good practice by the same act, whereby he stepped out of the line into the evil which he set his heart on. It goes on; Ver. 12. Let his strength he hungerhiiten, and starvation invade his ribs.
17. After the manner of Holy Scripture, he has the ap- xv. pearance of wishing that which he foresees will be, not surely in the spirit of one uttering curses, but of one pronouncing- prophecies. Thus every man, in that he consists of soul and flesh, is as it were made up of strength and weakness. For by virtue of that part, by which he was created a reasoning spirit, he is not improperly called ' strong,' but in respect of that, by which he is of a fleshly substance, he is weak. And so ' the strength' of man is the reasoning soul, which is able to resist by reason the tendencies to evil that assail it. And hence it is said again by blessed Job, Thou hast strengthened ^oh 14^ him for a white, that he migfit pass through for evermore. Since from a reasoning soul man derives it, that he should live for evermore. And so this wicked man's * strength is hungerbitten,' in that his soul is not fed by any refreshment of the interior food. Of which same hunger God saith by the Prophet; / loill send a famine in the hind, not a famine ^^os 8, of bread nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the word of the Lord.
18. And it is well added. And starvation invade his ribs. For the ribs lace in the bowels, that lying out of sight within they should be fortified by their solidity. And so the * ribs' of every one are the senses' of the mind, which fence the hidden i Vide thoudits. Therefore ' starvation invades the ribs,' when all^. ^''f' spiritual refreshment being removed, the senses of the mind fail, and cannot either rule or guard their thoughts. * Starv- ation invades the ribs' of the wicked man, in that the interior hunger debilitates the senses of the mind, that they may not 128 Prlde^ ' the firathorn of death ^ consumes the. Wicked^ Job 18, rule their thoughts at all. For when the senses of the mind ^-^^are dulled, the thouorhts issue forth to things without, and.
as it were, the ribs being weak, the bowels which might have lain in secret in a sound state, are poured forth without. Hence it comes that when the thoughts are spread abroad without, the mind being deceived goes after the image of ex- terior glory, and is pleased with nothing save what it beholds beautiful without; against whom the words yet further sub- joined are fitly directed; Ver. 13. Let it devour the beauty of his skin; and let the firstborn death consume his arms. xvi. 19. ' The beauty of his skin' is temporal glory, which whereas it is coveted as an object without us, is retained as a beauty on the skin. But by the title of arms' works are not unfitly set forth, in that the work of the bodj' is done by the arms. And what is death but sin, which kills the soul Rev. 20, to the interior life } Whence it is written; Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the jirst resurrection^ in that he shall hereafter rise again joyfully in the flesh, who whilst set in this life has risen again from the death of his soul. If then sin is death, ' the firstborn death' may not unsuitably Ecclus. be taken for pride; in that it is written, Pride is the beyin- ^^' ^^' ning of all sin. And so ' the beauty of his skin and his arms the firstborn death devoureth,"* in that the glory or the practice of the bad man is overthrown by pride. For he might have been glorious even in this life without sin, if he bad not been proud. He might in the judgment of His Creator have been commended for some works, if before His eyes pride had not overturned those very works. Thus we often see rich people, who might have had wealth and glory without guilt, if they w^ould have had them with humility. But they are uplifted by possessions, they are flushed with honours, they disdain the rest of the world, and place their life's whole hope and trust in the mere abundance of good Lukei2, things alone. Hence a certain rich man said. Soul, thou ^^' hast much good laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. Which thoughts of their hearts when the Judge above beholds. He plucks them away for this very confidence of theirs by itself. Hence in this place too it is fitly added; 1 Satafi shall trample on those in whom sin reigns. 129 Ver. 14. Let his confidence he rooted out of his taher- Book Tiacle, and let death as a king trample on him. - 20. In this place by the title of ' death' we have denoted xvii. the enemy of the human race himself, who brought in death, who is set forth by a particular minister of his, of whom it is said to John, And his name was Death. And so this Rev. 6, * death,' in the day of departure hence, * tramples upon the wicked man as a king,' in that him, whom he before deceived by soft persuasions, at the last he carries off to punishment in bonds of violence, and forces him down the more cruelly, in proportion as he ties him the stronger in bad deeds. And here too while he possesses the heart of the lost sinner, he ' tramples' upon it, in that as often as he pressed it with feelings of delight, he as it were set upon it the feet of his tvrannical dominion.
21. But if by the title of ' death,' we are to understand not the devil explicitly, but sin, in consequence of which the lost meet with the doom to be dragged to death, then indeed such ' death tramples on the mind like a king,' when it pos- sesses the same making no resistance. For temptation to sin cannot be away from man whilst set in this life. But it is one thing to resist sin tempting us, and another to be enthralled by it tyrannizing over us. And so the wicked man, because he is not taught to resist the persuasions of sin, and is not afraid to be subdued to its dominion, has it rightly said of him, Death as a king shall trample on him. For it was the reign of this death that Paul was keeping off from the hearts of his disciples, when he said. Let not sin there- Rom. 6, 12 fore reign in your mortal body. Since he does not say, * let it not be,' but, let it not reign, in that it cannot help but be, but reign it may not, in the hearts of the good. And so whereas, when a sin strikes the heart of the bad man, it does not find it resist, but bows it under its dominion, let it rightly be said, Let his confidence he rooted out of his tabernacle^ and let death as a king trample on him. And so ' his confidence is rooted out of the earth,' when the bad man, who in this life had provided for himself many goods after his mind, is brought to nought by death in an instant. And ^ death as a king tramples on him,' in that he is either pressed upon here by evil habits, or at the time VOL. II. K 130 Tabernacle of a wicked soul haiinied by devilisk thoughts.
Job 18, of his death, hereby, viz. that he is carried off to punish- ment, he is brouglit under to the power of the devil. Which IS thus done m the minds ot the wicked on this account; because, even when the opportunity of committing sin is lacking, the suggestions of the desire are not in the least lacking to their minds. And whereas they do always follow the devil in practice, yet do they doubly bind themselves fast to him in thought. And so there is first sin in thought, and afterwards in act. Whence it is said to the daughter of Is. 47,1. Babylon, Come down and sit in the dust, O Virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the earth. For whereas dust is always earth, earth is not always dust. What then are we to under- stand by dust but thoughts, which, while they perseveringly and silently fly up in the mind, blind its eyes? And what is denoted by * the earth,' but an earthly way of acting? And whereas the mind of the lost sinner is first cast down to imagine wicked things, and afterwards to do them, to the daughter of Babylon, who came down from the judgment of interior uprightness, it is rightly said in a wounding sentence, that first she should ' sit in the dust,' and afterwards ' in the earth,' in that except she had lowered herself in thought, she would never have settled fast in bad practice. It goes on; Let his fellows dwell in his tabernacle, because he is not.
xviii. 22. i. e. In his mind apostate angels shall have their haunt by vilest thoughts, they being ' his fellows,' who for this reason no longer ' is,' because he has departed from the Supreme Essence, and for this is, by a daily augmented declension, as it were tending ' not to be,' in that he has once fallen from Him Who truly is; who moreover is rightly said * not to be,' in that he has lost well-being, though he has not lost natural being. Still, yet further set- ting forth these thoughts of the bad man with more minute- ness, he subjoins, saying.
Let brimstone be scattered upon his habitation. xix. 23. What is ' brimstone' but the fuel of fire, which, how- ever, so cherishes the fire, that it sends out the very foulest stench. What then do we understand by ' brimstone,' but carnal sin, which, while it fills the mind with wicked thoughts like a kind of ill savours, is kindling everlasting fires for it; and whilst it spreads the cloud of its stench in the lost soul, II Brimsto7ietypifiesunclea7ivess. Thought theroot oftvorks. 131 it is as it were providing against it fuel for the flames to Book come after. For that the ill savour of the flesh is understood '- by brimstone, the mere history of Holy Writ by itself bears record, which relates that the Lord * rained down fire and Gen. 19, 24 brimstone upon Sodom.' Who, when He had determined to punish her carnal wickednesses, by the very character of the punishment marked out the stain of her guilt: since * brimstone' hath stench, and fire burning; and so, forasmuch as they had been kindled to bad desires in the ill savour of the flesh, it was meet that they should perish by fire and brimstone com- bined; that by their just punishment they might be taught what they had done in unjust desire. And so this ' sulphur is scattered upon the habitation' of the wicked man, as often as the corrupt indulgence of the flesh exercises dominion within him; and whereas bad thoughts unceasingly occupy him, and forbid his bringing forth the fruit of good practice, it is rightly added; Ver. 16. Let his roots be dried up beneath, and above let his crop be spoiled, 24. For what do we understand by the title of ' roots,' xx. which are set out of sight, and bring forth a shoot into open view, but the thoughts, which, while they are not seen in the heart, produce visible works? And hence by the title of a ' crop' there is denoted the same visible practice, which is thus produced from a hidden root. And whereas every bad man first dries up in the imaginings of temptation and after- wards dies off* from good deeds, it is rightly said by Bildad, Let his roots be dried up beneath, and above let his crop be spoiled, in that, whereas the wicked man sets his thoughts in things below, and neglects to seek the delights of everlasting greenness, what is this but that he lets his ' roots be dried beneath?' Whose ' crop too is spoiled above,' in that all his practice is counted as nothing in the view of the judgment above, even if it seem good in the eyes of man. Thus the ' roots' are at the bottom, and the * crop' above, in that we first send out good thoughts here, that we may one day deserve to receive the fruit of our good works in eternal recompensing; but every wicked person when he abandons good thoughts, and pours himself forth upon the things that are without,