Ver. 19. They that tcere once my counsellors abhorred me, and he whom I loved most turned aivay from me. xlviii. bQ. It is plain to all people, that God does not stand in need of counsellors, Who to man's very counsellors them- Hom.xi. selves too vouchsafes the counsel of wisdom. Of whom Is. 40 moreover it is written, Who hath known the mind of the 12- Lord, or who hatli been His counsellor? but as when bread or clothing is bestowed on one that lacks them, the Lord bears witness that He Himself has received them; so when right counsel is given to one that is ignorant of it, He Himself receives it, of Whom that man is a member, who is so instructed; for all we, that are of the number of the faithful, are members of our Redeemer; and as He Himself is fed in our persons by the pitying of liberality, so He is Himself aided in our persons by the counselling of instruc- tion; and so the scribes and doctors of the Law who used to instruct the people with respect to life, what else were they but * counsellors' of the Redeemer, Who was to come? Who, nevertheless, when they beheld the Lord become Incarnate, separated numbers from faith in Him by their counsels, though before they had seemed to teach numbers by the words of the Prophets to believe the mystery of His Incarnation; and because with God he is more in His love.
who draws tlie o;reatest number to the love of Hiin, it is Book i'urther added of that same order of the doctors of the Law - and the Pharisees; and he ivhom J loved most^ turned away from Die, For that very order, through the prompting of unbelief, was turned aside from iaith in the truth, which before, while serving in the labours of preaching, was most beloved, which same not only to the extent of not believing the Lord, but even of persecuting Him as well, the rabble of the common people followed, and was kindled with the firebrands of cruelty to the very deed of His Passion; in which very Passion too the hearts of the disciples were troubled; whence also it is here added; Ver. 20. My hone cleaveth to my skin, throiiyh viy Jiesh being uasted.
57. By ' bone' we have strength, and by flesh weakness xlix. of the body denoted; therefore, whereas Christ and the Church are one person, what is signified by the ' bone' but the Lord Himself? what by the ^ flesh' save the disciples, who in the hour of His Passion were weakly disposed? but by the ' skin,' which in the body remains more outward than the flesh, what is represented but those holy women, who with the view to furnish the stays of the body, served the Lord by outward offices of ministration? for when His disciples, though not yet firm, were preaching faith to the people, the flesh kept close to its bone; and when the holy women prepared the outward things that were necessary, they as it were like ' a skin' remained on the body outwards; but when it came to the hour of the Cross, exceeding great fear, caused by the persecution of the Jews, took possession of His disciples: they severally fled, the women ' stuck close,' and so, the ' flesh,' as it were, ' being consumed,' ' the bone of the Lord clave to its skin,' in that His strength, when the disciples fled in the hour of the Passion, had the women close beside it. Peter indeed stood for some time, but yet afterwards being affrighted he denied Him. John too stood, to whom at the very time of the Cross it was said, Be/io/d John 19^ thy motJier. But he could not persevere; since it is also" written concerning him% And there followed Him a certain '^l^rV =» See the Life of St. John by Cave, but either opinion can be only a con- /)2. who says, that ' the ancients' under- jecture. St. John was at least amongst stand it of hiui. Theophylact takes it those v^'ho foraook Han and/led. to mean James the brother of our Lord; 154 'Lips left to teeth ^ when they despaired, yet spake of Hint.
Job 19, young man^ having a linen cloth cast about his naked body, and the young men laid hold of hiim. And he left the linen Alleg.
cloth, and fled from them naked; who although afterwards, to hear the words of his Redeemer, he returned at tlie hour of the Cross, yet first he was aflrighted and fled; but the women are related not only not to have been afraid nor to have fled, but even to have stood fast even to the sepulchre; and so let him say. My bone cleaveth to my skin^ through the flesh being wasted; i. e. ' they that ought to have attached themselves closer to My strength, in the season of My Passion were consumed with dread; and those whom I set to external ministrations, in My Passion 1 found attached themselves faithfully to Me without fear.' And here it is plainly implied that these words are delivered in mystery, in that it follows; And the lips only are left about my teeth.
I- 58. For what do we have ' about our teeth,' but ' lips,' even if we suffer no scourges of affliction? but what is signified by ' the lips' but talk, what by ' teeth' but the holy Apostles? who are with this intention set in this body of the Church, that they may bite at the life of the carnal by correction, and break it in pieces from the hardness of its obstinacy; and hence it is said to that first of the Acts 10, Apostles, as being set as a tooth in His Body, Kill, and eat. But because, at the time of His Passion, these ' teeth' from fear of death lost the biting of correction, lost the assurance of strength, lost the efficiency of practice of every sort, so that two of them as they walked, after His death Luke24, g^^^j resurrection, talked by the way and said. But we trusted that it should have been he which should have redeemed Israel; it is rightly said here. And the lips only are left about my teeth. They were still conversing about Him, but now they no longer at all believed in Him; and so ' the lips only remained about His teeth,' in that they had parted with the efficiency of good practice, and only retained words of converse about Him. They had lost the bite of correction, and possessed the mooting of speech. Therefore, ' the lips only were left about the teeth,' in that to talk about Him indeed they knew still, but to preach Him now, or to bite the bad ways of unbelievers, they were afraid. Therefore these particulars being finished, which he Job beseeches, though ivronged. Persecution hoiu/rom God. 155 spoke in the voice of the Head, blessed Job is brouj^ht back Book to his own words, saying-; Hist Ver. 21. Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.
59. The mind of godly men is used to have this peculiar li- to itself, that when it suffers unjust treatment at the hands of enemies, it is not so much moved to wrath as to prayer; that if the wickedness of those persons could be made to subside to a calm, they would choose rather to beseech than to be wrolh; whence it is rightly said in this place, Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me. Observe, those by whom he sees that he is ever being treated with insults, he calls * friends,' in that to godly minds the very tijings that seem contrary are made favourable; for any that are wicked are either converted by the sweetness of the good so as to turn back, and by this alone they are friends, viz. that they are made good, or they persevere in their wickedness, and herein also even against their will they are ' friends,' in that, if there be any transgressions of the good, by their persecutions they purge them away even unknowingly. Observe too, that with these things which are done with God in secret, the words of the blessed man openly spoken are quite of a piece. Thus he had been smitten by Satan, yet he did not ascribe his being smitten to Satan, but he calls himself ' touched by the hand of God,' as Satan himself too had said; But put forth ^'^)^' thine hand now and touch, his bone and his Jlesh, and see if he bless Tliee not to Thy face. For the holy man knew that in that very thing which Satan had done towards him with an evil will, he derived his power not from himself, but from the Lord. It goes on; Ver. 22. Why do ye persecute me as God; and are filled with my flesJi?
60. It is not at variance with the style of piety that he liii. tells that he is persecuted by God. For there is a good persecutor; as when the Lord says of Himself by the lips of the Prophet, Him that privily slandereth his neiy hbour, Fs. loi, him did I persecute. But when any Saint is suffered to be^* stricken, he knows that he is undergoing persecution, sent against evil he has been guilty of, from the interior ordering.
156 Men should be sparing where God plainly chastises.
Job 19, Now the savage niinds of the persecutors, when tliey desire 1 — the power to smite, are inflamed against tlie life of the good not with the ardour of purifying, but with the firebrands of envy; and they do that indeed, which Ahnighty God allows to be done; in that while there is one cause with God transacted too by their agency, yet there is not one will maintained in that cause, since whilst Ahnighty God, in loving, is enforcing purification, the wickedness of the unjust is exercising malice in raging. This then that is said, IVhtj do ye persecute me as God? he spoke with reference to the external smiting, not to the interior intention, in that though they execute that externally which God ordained to be done, yet in their doing it they do not seek that which God does, viz. that good men should be purified by means of affliction. Which too may likewise be understood in another sense also. For Almighty God chastens the evil qualities of others so much the more justly in proportion as He has no whit of evil qualities in Himself; but men when they strike others in the course of discipline, ought so to chasten the frailty of another, that they should at the same time have learnt the habit to recall their eyes to their own frailty, so as to consider from themselves how they ought to spare in smiting others, seeing that they are not unaware that they themselves too are worthy of stripes. And so it is said in this case, Why do ye persecute me as God? As if it were expressed in plain words; ' Ye do so afflict me on the grounds of my frailties, as if ye yourselves after the manner of God owned nought of infirmity:' whence it is to be con- sidered, that if perchance there be persons that need sharp- ness of correction, hard correction is then to be used to them by us, when the hand of God ceases from using the rod; but when strokes from above are upon them, from us there is now due no longer correction but consolation, lest, while in their grief we join our reproach, we put smiting to smiting.
61. Now it is well added, And are filled with my flesh '? The mind which hungers for the punishing of a neighbour, surely seeks to be ' filled with the flesh* of another. More- over it is necessary to be known, that those also who feed on the slander of another's life, are as surely ' filled with tlic Slafufer is (he devouring of others' Jieslt. 157 flesh' of another. Whence it is said bv Solomon: Be not Book in the feast ings of ivinebibbers; nor eat with those, who ' bring together flesh to eat. For to ' bring together flesh to 23 20. eat,' is, in the parlance of disparagement to tell by turns the bad qualities of neighbours; concerning whose punishment it is directly added there, they that are given to cups, and\h. 21. that give a contribution, shall be consumed, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. They are ' given to cups' who make themselves drunk ^ with slander of another's life;'se de- but to ' give a contribution-,' is in the same way that eachs^ymbo- individual is used to contribute provisions for his share to be^""^- eaten, so in the parlance of slander to contribute words. But ' they that are given to cups and that give a contribu- tion shall be consumed,' in that as it is written, EveryBQ\\.l£.6. slanderer shall be rooted out; but ' drowsiness shall cover a^r!^®^^ ^^ Frov.
Frov.
man with rags,' in that his death finds him an object of con- 15, 5. tempt and empty of all good works, whom the sickly habit^Pg'^^foi^ of detraction took possession of here for the raking out the^- misdemeanours of another man's life. But all those hardships which blessed Job undergoes it is not meet should be let pass in silence, and that the obscurity of ignorance should cover them from man's knowledge; for so many may be edified for the preserving of patience, as they who, by grace from above replenishing them, may be made ac- quainted with the achievements of his patience. And hence the same blessed Job would have the strokes which he feels carried into an example, in that he immediately adds, saying; Ver. 23, 24. 0 that my loords were now written! O that they were graven in a book with an iron pen.^ and a plate of lead, or surely that they were hewed in the flint!
62. Whereas all that blessed Job underwent, that heavy Yy^\ Jewish people, being instructed by the strong declaration of the Fathers, was brought to know, they were written with * an iron pen' and ' a plate of lead;' but wdiereas the hard hearts of the Gentiles also were made acquainted with them, what is this but that we see them Mievvn in the flint.?' And observe, that what is written on lead, by the mere softness of the metal, is quickly obliterated; but upon the flint letters may be more slowly stamped indeed, but more hardly obli- 158 Lead is heavy ^ but fakes no abiding marks.
Job 19, terated. Therefore it is not unsuitably that by ' the plate of -r-^ — - lead' Juda3a is represented, whieh at once received the pre- cepts of God without labour, and lost them with speed; and rightly by ' the flint' the Gentile world is represented, which could with difficulty receive the words of sacred revelation to keep, but kept them when received fixedly. Now by the ' iron pen"* what else is denoted save the strong sentence of Jer. 17, God? Whence too it is said by the Prophet, The sin of "unffue J'^dah is written with a pen of iron on a diamond nait^. The end of the body is in the nail, and a diamond is so hard a stone, that it cannot be cut with iron. Now by ' an iron pen' there 'is denoted a strong sentence, but by a ' diamond nair the eternal end; so the sin of Judah is said to be written with a * pen of iron upon a diamond nail,' in that the guilt of the Jews is reserved by the strong sentence of God for an end that is endless.
63. Rightly too by ' a plate of lead' we understand those, whom the load of avarice weighs down, to whom it is said by the Prophet with upbraiding, O ye sons of men, how long heavy in heart 1 For by lead, the nature whereof is of a heavy weight, the sin of avarice is in a special manner denoted, which renders the mind it has infected so heavy, that it can never be raised to aim at things on high. Hence Zech. 5, it is written in Zechariah, Lift up now thine eyes, and see ^~^' what is this that goeth forth. And I said, What is it? And 2 Lat. he said, This is an ephah^ that goeth forth. He said more- ra over. This is their eye throughout all the earth. And behold there was lifted up a talent of lead, and, lo, one woman sit- ting hi the midst of the ephah. And he said, This is wickedness; and he cast her into the midst of the ephah, ^ ox into and he cast the weight of lead on her face^. And with mouth reference to this vision of ' the ephah,' and ' the woman,' thereof, ^nd ' the lead,' that he might shew more fully what he had V. 9-11. been made to know, he yet further added going on. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and behold there came out two women, and a spirit was in their wings, for they had wings like the wings of a kite, and they lifted up the epjhah between the earth and the heaven. Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? And he said, To build it a7i house in the land of Covet ousnefis, the chief wicked nesR^ hears down evil 7neu. 159 Shinar, Which testimony of the Prophet wc have brought Book forward as a proof of the lead to no purpose, if we do not ~ - also explain it going over it again. Thus he says, Lift up novo thine eyes^ and see what is this that goeth forth; and I said^ What is this? And he said. It is an ephah that goeth forth. God desiring to shew to the Prophet, by what sin above all others the human race fell away from Him, by the figure of an ephah as it were denoted the wide-opened mouth of avarice. For avarice is like an ephah, in that it keeps the mouth of the heart open and agape on the stretch^ ''inam- And he said. This is their eye through all the world. We ^*^" see many men of dull sense, and yet we see them sharp in bad practices, as the Prophet too testifies, who saith. They Jer. 4, are wise to do evil; but to do good they have no knowledge. ' And so these are dull in sense, but in those things which ihey desire, they are urged on by the goads of avarice; and they that are blind to see good, under the incitements of rewards are quick-eyed to the doing evil things. Hence it is rightly said of this same avarice. This is their eye in all the world. And behold there ivas lifted up a talent of lead. What is ^ a talent of lead' but the weight of sin from that very avarice. And, lo, one woman sitting in the midst of the ej)hah. Which same woman, lest perchance we should doubt who she was, the Angel thereupon made known; for it follows there immediately, And he said, This is impiety; and he cast her into the midst of the ephah. Impiety is * cast into the midst of the ephah,' in that in avarice there is always impiety taken in. And he cast the weight of lead on her face. The mass of lead is cast on the woman's face, in that the impiety of avarice is borne down by the very weight of its own sin; for if it did not reach after things that are below, it would never prove impious towards God and our neighbour QA. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and behold there came out two women, and a spirit was in their wings. What do we understand by these ' two women' but the two principal vices, i. e. pride and vain glory, which are without any doubt united to impiety? Which two are described as having ' a spirit in their wings;' in that they are subservient to the will of Satan in their actions; for the Prophet calls 160 Prida njid vain f/lorfi hear men off earth and below heaven.
Job h), that one ^ a spirit,' concerning whom Solomon saith, If the —^ — '- spirit rf him l/ial hath power rise above thee., leave not thy ]0, 4. place; and of whom the Lord saith in the Gospel; Wlien Mat.i2, ^^^ y^rjiQlQan spirit is gone out of a man, he vjalketh through dry places, ' A spirit is in their wings,' in that in whatsoever they do, pride and vain glory render obedience to the will of Satan. And they had wings like the wings of a kite. Now the kite is always busied in plotting against the chicken kind. So these women have ' wings like the wings of a kite,' in that surely their doings are like the devil, who is always plotting against the life of the little ones. And they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. Pride and vain glory have this peculiar to them, that whosoever is infected by them, they lift up in his own conceit above the rest of his fellow creatures: at one time by pursuit of the gifts of fortune, at another time by the desire of dignities, the man whom they have once gotten captive, they, as it were, lift up into the height of honour. And he that is between the earth and the heaven, at once leaves things below, and fails altogether to attain the things on high.
6b. These women, then, ' lift up the ephah between the earth and the heaven,' in that pride and vain glory so exalt the mind taken captive through greediness of honour, that looking down upon all their neighbours, men do, as it were, leave things below, and in proud boasting seek high things. But all such persons, while they give themselves up to pride, at once in imagination mount above those, with whom they are placed, and are far from ever being united to the citizens above. Thus the ephah is said to be ' lifted up between earth and heaven,' in that all covetous persons through pride and vain glory at once despise their neighbours at their side, and never lay hold of the things above, which are beyond them; and so they are carried ' between the earth and the heaven,' in that they neither keep equality of brother- hood in this lower world by charity, nor yet are able to attain the world above by setting themselves up. And I said to the Angel that talked tvith me^ Whither do these bear the ephah? and he said, To build it an house in the land of Shin ar. That same ephah has a * house built it in the land of Shinar,' for ^ Shinar' is rendered ' their ill savour;' Truth It' ri lien (is on lead andji'mt. Job's clear prophecy.!(> 1 and as there is a sweet savour from virtue, as Paul bears Book X TV Witness, who sailh: and maketh manifefit the savour of His—.'_ knowledge by us in every place; For we are unto God a u, ' ' sweet savour of Christ; so reversely there is an ill savour from vice. For covetousness is the root of all evil. And iTim.G, whereas every thing evil is engendered by avarice, it is meet that the house of avarice should be erected in ' ill savour.' Moreover it is necessary to be known that ' Shinar' is a very wide valley, wherein the tower was begun to be built by men giving themselves to pride, which, when the diversity of tongues was brought to pass, came to destruction; which same tower was called Babylon, forsooth on account of that very confusion of minds and tongues: nor is it inappropriately that the ' ephah' of avarice is placed there, where ' Babylon,' i. e. • confusion,' is building, in that whereas it is certain that from avarice and impiety all things bad have their origin, this same avarice and impiety are rightly described as dwell- ing in confusion.
(iQ. We have said these things in few words out of course, that we might shew that the weight of sin is set forth by the ' plate of lead.' Yet these very words of blessed Job are also applicable to Holy Church, who while keeping the two testaments of sacred revelation, as it were begs a second time that her words should be written, saying, OJi! that my words were now written! Oh! that they were pi'inted in a book! Which same, in that she speaks with a strong sentence at one time to hearts heavy from the weight of avarice, at another time to hardened hearts, * writes with a pen of iron upon a plate of lead,' or, surely, ' upon the flint.' Now we say with justice that blessed Job uses the accents of our Redeemer and His Church, if we find any thing that he says explicitly of that same Redeemer of us men; for how is it to be believed that he teaches us any thing connected with Him in a figure, if he does not point Him out to us in express words } But now let him disclose to us what he is sensible of concerning Him, and let him take away from us all misgivings in our thoughts. It goes on; Ver. 25. For I know that my Redeemer liveth.
67. For he who does not say, ' Creator,' but ' Redeemer,' liv. expressly tells of Him, Who after He created all things, I 162 Job believed our Lord's Resurrection^ and his own.
Job 19, appeared Incarnate amongst us, that He might redeem us from a state of bondage, and by His Passion set us free from death everlasting; and mark with what sure faith he makes himself secure in the power of His Divine Nature, of Whom 2 Cor. it ig said by Paul, For though He was crucijied through ' ' weakness, yet He liveth by the power of God. For he says, For I know that my Redeemer liveth. As if he said in express terms; ' The unbelievers may know that He "was scourged, mocked, struck with the palms of the hand, covered with a crown of thorns, besmeared with spittings, crucified, dead: I, with sure faith, believe Him to live after death; I confess with unreserved voice, ' that my Redeemer liveth,' Who died by the hands of wicked men.' And how, O blessed Job, through His Resurrection, thou trustest to the resurrection of thine own flesh, declare, I pray, in open speech. It goes on; And that 1 shall rise at the last day from the earth. Iv. 68. That is, because the resurrection which He manifested in His own Person, He will one day bring to pass in our- selves as well; for the resurrection, which He exhibited in Himself, He pledged to us; seeing that the members follow the glory of their Head. Thus our Redeemer underwent death, that we might not fear to die; He manifested the resurrection, that we might have a sure hope that we are capable of rising again. And hence He would not have that death to be of more than three days' duration, lest if the resurrection were deferred in Plim, it should be altogether despaired of in ourselves; and this is rightly said of Him by Ps. no, the Prophet; He shall drink of the brook in the way; there- fore shall lie lift up the head. For He in a manner conde- scended to drink of that current as it were of our suffering, not in an abiding place, but ' in the way,' in that He met death in a transitory way, i. e. for three days, and in that death which He met He did not, like ourselves, remain unto the end of the world. And so, whereas He rose again on the third day, what then is to come after in His body, i. e. in the Church, He makes appear; for He shewed in example, what He promised in reward, that as believers knew and owned that He had Himself risen again, so they might hope for the rewards of the resurrection in themselves at the end of the