death is said to lie in the ' sucking of the head,' but to the viper * in the tongue,' in that a sudden temptation often as soon as it arises kills the soul off its guard, but a length- ened temptation, because it is longer recommending evil things by the suggesting of them, kills as does a viper with its tongue. And because every hypocrite, being penetrated with the suggestion of evil spirits, as with the poison of serpents, never considers what are the gifts from above of the Holy Spirit, while he spreads abroad the bent of the heart in golden opinions without, it is rightly added; Ver. 17. He shall not see the streamlets of the torrent river of honey and butter. xvi 20. The Lord saith in the Gospel; He that believeth in John 7, Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. Where the Evangelist subjoins, saying, But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive. And so ' the streamlets of «* ' Regulus,* which is a translation of the Greek BecffiklffKtf. see Plin. viii. 21.
Sireavilets oj' the river of God unseefi by the wicked, 185 the liver' are the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Charity is ' a Book streamlet of the river,' faith is * a streamlet of the river,' hope is * a streamlet of the river.' But because no hypocrite ever loves either God or his neighbour, when he makes the tran- sitory glory of the world his aim, he does not see the stream- lets of the river, in that he is not watered with the over- flowing of charity. Whereas the hypocrite goes after present gains, he disregards future blessings, and not having faith, he sees not in the mind ' the streamlet of the river,' inasmuch d,^ faith is the evidence of things not seen. AndHeb.ii, while the hypocrite clings to the things that are seen, he makes light of those, which are not seen, therefore he does not see the ' streamlets of the river' in desire, in that he is taken up with visible thinos alone. And it is written, For Rom. 5, ichat a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? He then would have seen ' streamlets of the river' if he had shut his eyes to the glory of this world, and opened them to the love of the heavenly country. And observe that he does not say * streams,' but ' streamlets.' For the ' streamlets of the river' may be taken for those spiritual gifts, which trickle in such fine streams from heavenly sources into the soul of him that loveth, that they can never be compassed* by the mouth of the flesh. For it is often the case that the spirit of him that loves is filled with such a mighty gift of contemplation, that it has power to see what it has not power to utter. Now the * torrent river' is the inundation of the Holy Spirit itself, which in exuberant outpouring is gathered in the soul of him in contemplation, when his mind is full beyond what he is able to comprehend. And it is necessary to be known, that when the grace of the Holy Spirit bathes us, it fills us with ' honey and butter' equally. For ' honey' falls from above, but ' butter' is drawn from the milk of animals, and so ' honey' is from the air, * butter' from the flesh. But the Only-begotten Son of the Most High Father, while He is God above all things, was made Man one among all things. Who when he replenished us with the sweetness of His Divine Nature and the mystery of His Incarnation, satisfied us with ' honey and butter' at once. And so seeing that the Holy Spirit rejoices the soul It has filled, at once with the • ' Expieri.' K. ' ut per eos Carnis them the desires of the flesh cannot be desideria expleri nequeant;' ' that by satisfied.'
186 An ever-iiviiiy death pays for a dead life Job 20, sweetness of His divinity and the belief of His Incar- * - nation, these are described as * the streamlets of the torrent Myst.
' river of honey and butter' together, in that they both refresh the soul with sweetness by the exalted knowledge of God, ' < Cha- and anoint it with the mystery of the Benefit* by the grace nsma- q{ \\yq Incarnation. But whereas this hypocrite, being dissi- pated in outward regards, does not taste these interior gifts, he adjoins to what after punishments he is tending, in that it is added; Ver. 18. He shall pay for all the thinys that he hath done, nor yet shall he be consumed. xvii. 21. For he * pays' in torment for those desires, which he retained here contrary to right, and being consigned to avenging flames, he is always dying, in that he is always kept alive in death. For he is never consumed in death, in that if his life in dying were consumed, his punishment like- wise would be brought to an end together with his life; but that he may be tormented without end, he is forced to live on without end in punishment, that he whose life here was dead in sin, may have his death there living in punishment. Let him say then; He shall pay for all the things that he hath done, nor yet shall he be consumed, forasmuch as he is tormented, and not put out, he dies and lives, he is falling away and holding on, always finishing, without being finished. These things are very terrible in the hearing of the ear only, how infinitely more terrible in the enduring of them! Now because the multiplicity of his wickedness demands that he should never be without punishment, it is fitly added; According to the midtitude of his inventions shall he also suffer. ^viii. 22. For whereas he found out many things in order to sin, he is tormented with new inventions in punishment. Since what he could not have suspected here, he is made sensible of there, when he is given over to vengeance. For as the Elect in exercising themselves in good works, sometimes set them- selves to do more than the Lord thought fit to bid them, (for virginity of the flesh is no where commanded, but only com- mended; since if it were commanded, then it would follow that wedlock must henceforth be deemed sin, and yet there are many strong in the virtue of virginity, so as to render ]f omissions condemn, much more inventions in sin. 187 more in service than they received in command,) so very Book commonly the wicked are each practised in bad ways, so that they find out in evil doing more for them to do than by the practice of the lost they received examples of wickedness. And hence they are stricken with the tor- ments of an ampler retribution, in that they too of their own heads invented practices on an ampler scale, which they deserve to be stricken for. And so it is well said, According to the mullitude of his inventions shall he also suffer. For he would not find out new wickedness, except he also sought it; and he would not seek it, except he was eager to do it of set purpose. Therefore in his torment- ing the excessiveness of evil devising is taken into account, and he receives the pain of a worthy recompense. And although the woe of all the damned is infinite, yet they have worse torments inflicted upon them, who invented many things in wicked ways by their desires as well. Now since Zophar has brought in the punishment of this hypocrite, he immediately adds his sin, nor does he describe any one in particular, but that from which all sins have their origin. For it is written, Covetousness is the root of all evil. He i Tim. then, whom covetousness is described as having dominion ' ' over, surely is proved to be subject to all evil propensities. Thus he subjoins, Ver. 19, 20. Because he hath broken down and laid bare the house of the poor, because he hath violently taken it away and not builded it, neither is he satisfied in his belly.
23. He * breaks in pieces and lays bare the house of the xix. poor,' who is not ashamed as well to rob out of avarice him whom he crushes by power. * He violently taketh it away and doth not build it.' As if it were expressed in plain words; ' He that ought to have builded it, he over and above takes it away.' For the Lord Who is to come in judgment, shall say to the reprobate, For I was an hunyred, Mat.25, and ye yave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no ^^' drink: I teas a stranger, and ye took 3Ie tiot in; naked, and ye covered Me not, 8fc. as the consequence of which sin it is added, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, \. ■i\. prepared for the devil and his angels. If then he is sentenced to so great a penalty, who is convicted merely of not having 188 Mail's greediness most piuiished when mosijilled.
Job 20, given away his own, with what punishment does not that man ?^l^j.. deserve to be stricken, who is proved to have taken the things of others also? And so he * took it away and did not build it up,' in that he not only never gave any thing of his own, but also took away what was another's. Now it is well added; Surely his helly shall not he satisfied. For the ' belly' of the wicked man is avarice, in that there is collected together in it whatsoever is swallowed with wrong desire. But it is plain that avarice is not extinguished, but increased by the objects desired. For like fire, when it has got fuel to feed on, it increases; and from the same cause that the flame appears to be restrained for a moment, it is seen a little while after to spread itself out. And it often happens that when Almighty God is greatly wroth with the covetous soul, He first lets all things accrue to it according to its wish, and afterwards takes it away in vengeance, that it may undergo eternal punishments on account of them. And hence it is added; And when lie shall have that which he desired, he shall not he ahle to possess it. XX. 24. For it is a mark of greater indignation, when that thing is given which is desired amiss, and therefrom there ensues sudden retribution, because he got that likewise, which he went after when God was wroth the while. And hence it is said by the Psalmist, where the people are de- scribed as having lusted after flesh for food in a wrong way; Ps. 78, But while their meat was yet in their mouths, the wrath of * * God came upon them, and slew the most of them. For the judgments of God are used to be slower in appearing, when wrong wishes are hindered that they should not be put in execution. For the quicker that a bad wish is suffered to be fulfilled, it is usually punished the more speedily in propor- tion. And so by the very act, whereby the hypocrite is aggrandized in haste to become powerful, it is brought to pass with proportionate rapidity, that he should not be. For the trees too that grow slower, last to number many years, and those which make way in a short space of time, wither the sooner, and in a manner, whilst they are hasting to be, they are going the way not to be. It goes on; Ver. 21. There shall none of his meat he left.
Sinful desire siraite/ts itself in its otvn fulness. 189 25. ^ His meat' is all that he coveted with wrong desire; Book but when the hypocrite is struck, * there is none of his meat -'— left,' in that when he is himselt'carried to eternal punishments, he is parted from all the good things that he had gotten here. And hence it is yet further added; Therefore shall nought remain from his goods.
For if * aught did remain of his goods,' he would take along with him the things that he had possession of. But because while going after every thing, he would not fear the Judge, upon being removed out of this life, he goes naked to the Judge. To which same wicked man, it is but little for his recompensing that he is tormented in after punishment, if only in this life he is let to go free. But there is no liberty in sin, seeing that it is written; where the Spirit of 2 Cor. 3, the Lord is, there is liberty; and to the wicked soul usually its very own sin becomes its own punishment. And hence it is rightly added; In the fulness of his sufficiency, he shall be in straits.
26. For first from avarice he pants to heap together things xxii. he covets, and when he has gathered together a great multi- tude as it were in a kind of belly of avarice, ' in the fulness of his sufficiency, he is in straits,' in that whilst he is full of anxiety how he may keep the things he has gotten, his own fulness itself straitens him. For the field of a certain rich man had brought abundant fruits, but because he had not where to lay up such stores, he said. What shall I do, Lukei2, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said. This will I do; T will pull down my barns, and build greater. He then who from being straitened by his abun- dance said, What shall I do? was in a fever as if oppressed with a quantity of food. Let us consider with what longings he desired his land might produce abundant crops. Behold now his wishes are completed, seeing that the land did bring him abundant fruits. But forasmuch as there are not places enough to stowit away, the rich manbeing greatly aggrandized knows not what he should do. O straitness caused by ' ful- ness of sufficiency 1' By the abundance of his land the mind of the covetous man is straitened. For when he says. What shall I do? he clearly shews that, surcharged with the en- 190 Miaeriea of sinful aima here and hereafter.
Job 20,gTossraents of his desires, he went heavily under a kind of -— — 1 bundle of stores; and so it is well said, In thefulnesa of his sufficiency he shall be in straits. Since the mind of the covetous man, which had before looked for rest from plenty, was afterwards put to worse trouble for the keeping thereof. And hence it is also yet further added; He shall burn ivith heat, and every woe shall come down upon him. xxiii. 27. For first he had sorrow in the mere wearying of his own concupiscence how to snatch hold of the things coveted, how to secure one sort by arts of flattery, another sort by means of threats; but after that having possessed himself of the gifts of fortune he has attained his desire, another annoyance wears him down, viz. that it is with fear and anxiety he keeps safe that which he remembers it cost him infinite trouble to acquire. On every side he dreads con- spirators, and fears to be himself subjected to the very thing that he has done to others. One more powerful he is afraid of, lest he be exposed to violence from him; a poor man, when he sees one, he looks on as a thief. The things them- selves which he has hoarded up, he is at great pains about, lest by the failure of their ow^i inherent nature they be con- sumed by neglect. In all these particulars then, because fear by itself is punishment, the unhappy wretch suffers things as great as he fears to suffer. And after this he is yet further brought to hell, and given over to eternal torments. There- fore * every woe cometh down upon him,' who is at once consumed first here by the punishment of coveting, afterwards by the trouble of safe keeping, and There at some future time by the punishment of retributive wrath.
28. But it is wonderful security of the heart, not to seek what does not belong to us, but to rest content with each day's sustenance day by day. From which same security it is that the Rest everlasting also arises, seeing that from a good and quiet frame we pass to eternal delights. Contrari- wise lost sinners are at once worn down here in desires, and there in torments. And from the labour of taking thought there arises to them the labour of pain, in that by the fever of avarice they are drawn into the fire of hell. And because, p How God rains down wrath. Two sources of avarice. 191 as we have already often said, it often happens that the Book wicked man, the sooner he attains his object, is the more '— easily carried off to torment, it is added in the form of a wish; Ver. 23. Would that his helly miyJtt he filled.^ that God might cast the fury of His wrath upon him, and rain His war upon him.
29. The Lord ' rains His war' npon this hypocrite, when xxiv. he smites his deeds with the swords of His judgments. Thus for God to * rain war,' is His pressing hard to destruc- tion the life of the wicked man by His strict sentences from on high. God ' raining war' is His smiting the hearts that are lifted up against Himself, and His wounding the blasted soul with the darts of His judgments, as with a kind of thickening drops of rain, that when he is now carried off to judgment, one while he should remind himself how he coveted wickedly, and more wickedly set himself to heap together the things he coveted, at another time grieve that he is parted from the things thus heaped together, and one day feel the very fire of retribution, which, that he might not live well, he was too indifferent to foresee. It goes on; Ver. 24. He shall flee from the iron weapons; and rush iipon the how of brass.
30. We ought to know, that avarice sometimes steals upon xxr. men from pride, and sometimes from apprehension. Thus there are some who whilst they aim to appear with greater power, are kindled to the going after the things of others; and there are some, who while they arc afraid lest the necessaries of the aids of life should be wanting to them, freely give their minds to covetousness, and go after the things of others when they fancy that their own may not be enough for themj Now all necessity is not unaptly termed ' iron,' in that it pains the life of him that wants with the wound of grief, as it is likewise expressed concerning the necessities of him, who, being sold by his brethren, led an afflicted life; The iroii^a. 105, entered into his soid. What then are * the iron weapons' but necessities of the present life, which press hard upon, and push to extremity, the life of the needy ^ Since iron is consumed by rust, but brass is naturally more difficult to be consumed by it. Therefore by * iron' there is represented 192 Mart, draivn by Satcnt, y el freely chooses evil.
Job 20, present necessity which is transient, but by * brass' the -j--^ — eternal doom. And whereas the judgment Above is not heeded by tlie mind of the wicked man, it is justly likened to a ' bow,' since it strikes as it were out of ambush, whilst the person that is struck does not observe it. And thus, He shall flee from the iron weapons, and rush upon the bow of brass; in that whilst from dreading present necessities, he seizes things without number, through avariciousness he is exposing himself before the severe strokes of the final judgment; and, while he ' fleeth the weapons of iron,' he is encountered by the arrows from the bow of brass, in that, while foolishly providing against the ills of time, he is struck by eternal doom. For whosoever with guilt fleeth the hard- ness of need here, meets there an everlasting duration of just retribution. But before the time that he is hurried off to judgment, what are the things which this wicked man is busied in here, he yet further informs us. It goes on; Ver. 25. He is drawn and cometh out of his sheath, yea, lightening in his bitterness, xxvi.,S1. This wicked man lays plots in arts of robbery on his neighbours. And whilst he is plotting mischief in the thoughts of his heart, it is as if ' the sword were still in its sheath;' but when he wickedly executes the mischief, which he has contrived, he ' cometh out of his sheath,' in that he is brought out to vievv, from the secresy of his thoughts, in the wickedness of evil doing. He is shewn to light in the deed, such as he was, hidden from view, in the thought. And observe that he says, drawn and cometh out; i. e. ' drawn' by the deceiver, but * coming out' by the act of his own free will. For he that is ' drawn' unquestionably follows one that draws him. But he that ' cometh forth,' seems to act according to his own will. That man, then, who is at once drawn to the several wicked practices by our old enemy, and yet fast bound in the desire of them by his own free will, is described as ' drawn and coming forth from his sheath,' since this thing, that he issues forth from the bad thought to the worst enacting, belongs at once to the wickedness of that spirit that prompted, and of him that consented by an act of his own will.
32. The terribleness of whose power is further shewn, Bitter end of false glory. Devils go to and fro on had men. 193 where it is immediately added, Yea, lightening in his hitter- Book ness. For when the lightning comes suddenly from above, when it shines with terribleness before our eyes, it displays shining brightness, and strikes the objects before it. Thus, thus is it with the wicked man, when he has secured to himself the glory of the present life: by the same cause by which he is shewn to view bright by power in the present world, it is brought to pass that he is blasted at the last. For the wicked man's as it were ' lightening,' is his shining in this life's honour; but whereas the splendour of that glory is consigned to the eternal w^oes of hell, it is rightly said in this place, * Yea, lightening in his bitterness.' For he that now^ seems as though he took delight in striking by terrible- ness and brightness, for this cause afterwards undergoes punishments for everlasting. And indeed it is written of a certain rich man that he ' fared splendidly' every day. Now it is one thing to shew ^ splendidly,' and another to ' lighten;' for sometimes there is splendour without striking, but splen- dour with striking is described by the title of ' lightning.' He then who being placed in power does injury to others, is not unaptly entitled * lightening,' in that from the same means whereby he is himself exalted against the good, as it were by the light of glory, the life of the good is made to feel torture. It goes on; Terrible ones shall come and go over him,.
33. Who are here called ' terrible ones' except evil spirits, xxvii. who are to be feared and avoided by godly minds? And whereas those same evil spirits are to be believed to attach themselves severally to certain particular vices, when this wicked man seems to quit for a moment one set of faults, and begins to commit another, then surely ' the terrible ones come and go over him,** in that the soul of the bad man though one set of bad habits abandons, yet another takes possession of it. For you may often see the bad man, who is set in earthly power, agitated with furious passion, and executing all that his rage suggests; and when his fury is gone, then directly lust ravages his soul; when lust is stopped for a time, self-exaltation as on the ground of continency is immediately made to take its place in his heart, and that he may be feared by others, he aims to shew himself as an object of terror. But when the VOL. II. o 1 94 All evil at once in a bad soul. Everlasting Fire.
Job 20, occasion requires that he should say any thing with double- — — — dealing, laying aside in a certain sort the terribleness of pride, he flatters with an easy address, and when he ceases to shew himself proud, he does not dread to turn double-deahng. And so it is rightly said of him, in whose mind one vice continually takes the place of another. Terrible ones come and go upon him; since for all the evil habits that he is borne down with departing and taking each other's place, his soul is as it were overrun by as many evil spirits going and returning. But it is these things which he does in act, that issue outwardly by parts and pieces, for on his soul he has all things bad tied fast at once and together. Hence it is added; Ver. 26. All darkness is hid in his secret places.
xxviii. 34. For though the hypocrite exhibits good actions on the surface, yet a certain ' darkness' of evil deeds appears in him; yet it less comes forth in act, than lies buried in his secret thought. For he who does not fulfil all things at once in execution, does in his heart in silence hold all things that may do mischief. Thus ' all darkness' is said to be * hid in his secret places,' in that though he does not exhibit to view all things evil in himself, yet he aims to bring down all upon his fellow-creatures. Now let him add the retribution, which this soul so reprobate shall be visited with. It goes on; A fire that is not kindled shall consume him.
xxix. 35. Most wonderfully in these few words is the fire of hell set forth! For bodily fire, in order to become fire, stands in need of bodily fuel; and when it is necessary for it to be preserved, as we well know, it is nourished by wood heaped upon it, neither can it be, except by being kindled, nor live, save by being cherished. But contrarily the fire of hell, whilst it is a bodily fire, and bodily consumes the children of perdition that are cast into it, is neither kindled by human efibrt, nor kept alive by wood, but being once made to be, it lasts unextinguishable: at one and the same time it needs no kindling, and lacks not heat. And so it is well said of this wicked one; A fire not kindled shall consume him; in that the justice of the Almighty, foreseeing future events, did from the very beginning of the world create the fire of hell, which should once begin in the punishment of the wicked, but never end its heat even without fuel. But it is necessary to The restored Jlesh a misery to the wicked. 195 know, that all the children of perdition, as they sinned in Book spirit and flesh conjointly, are there tormented in spirit and — flesh alike. Hence it is said by the Psalmist, Thou shall ^^•^^,^' make them as afiertj oven in the time of Thiiie anger. The hard shall confound them in His wrath^ and the fire shall devour them. For an ' oven' is heated within; but he who is * devoured by fire' begins to be consumed from the outside. Thus that holy Scripture might shew that the lost burn both within and without, it testifies that they are at once * devoured by fire,' and ' made as a fiery oven,' that by fire they should be tormented in the body, and by grief burn in spirit. Hence in this place too, when it is declared of the ungodly man that afire that is not kindled shall consume him^ it is forth- with added concerning his spirit; Being left in his tabernacle, it shall go ill with him.