was its wont, ' the earth is overturned,' in that the part is put down, which before reared itself on high, and the face is lifted upwards, which was before weighed down deeply below.
16. It seems well in illustration of this point to bring forward Paul as one among many. Who when he was on his way to Damascus armed with letters against Christ, being Acts a, on his journey watered with the grace of the Holy Spirit, * was changed on the spot from that bloodthirsty purpose which he had, and afterwards received those strokes in Christ's behalf, which he was journeying with the intention of in- flicting upon Christians; and he who before, when living after the flesh, strove to deliver the Saints of the Lord over to death, is afterwards rejoiced to offer the sacrifice of his flesh for the life of the Saints. Those cold-blooded ])arposes of cruelty are turned into the warmth of pity; and he that i Tim. aforetime was a blasphemer and a persecutor, afterwards ' 12 Conversion of St. Paul. Ephrairn a ^ cake unturned.''
Job 12, becomes a huniblc and compassionate preacher. He, who ' — accounted it great gain to him to slay Chiist in His Disciples, Acts 9, now holds ' Christ to be his life, and to die gain;' and so when Phil 1 ^^^ ' sendeth out the waters, the earth is overturned,' in that 21. the mind of Paul, the moment he received the grace of the Holy Spirit, altered the fixture of his stubbornness and cruelty.
Contrary to which the Lord utters the complaint against Hosea Ephraim, by the Prophet, saying, Ephraim is a cake under » V.so. the ashes'^ not turned. For a cake under the ashes, that hath ashes upon it, lays the cleaner side flat to the ground, and has the upper side the fouler, in proportion as it carries the ashes upon it. And so with the mind that harbours earthly thoughts, what else does it carry upon itself but a load of ashes? But if it will be ' turned,' the clean surface, which it had kept downwards, it brings back to the top, when it has shaken off the ashes that it had upon it. If therefore we shake off from the mind the ashes of earthly thoughts, as it were we ' turn the cake under the ashes,' that that bent of our mind may henceforth go to the rear, which the ashes of grovelling thought before overlaid, and the clean face come to the top, that our right bent of mind may not henceforth be surcharged with the weight of earthly desire. Which we can never do, except we be bedewed with the grace of the Holy Spirit, in that when Almighty God * sendeth out the waters, they will overturn the earth.' It proceeds; Ver. 16. With Him is strength and wisdom.
^^* 17. A little above it had been said. With Him is imsdom and strength; but now it is said. With Him is strength and wisdom. For because Almighty God, when in the mysteiy of pitifulness He was made Man, first gave the lesson of mildness, and afterwards at the Judgment He shews what strength He is of; it is rightly done that in the place above Wisdom is mentioned before Strength, when the thing is spoken of the Only Begotten Son of the Father, With Him is Wisdom and Strength. But forasmuch as when He cometh to judge. He will appear in the terribleness of His power, and the damned being cast off, will manifest to His Elect in His everlasting kingdom, how He is ^ the Wisdom' of the Father, it is rightly said in the subsequent sentence, that with Him is first * strength' and then ^wisdom.' Thus in tlie Wisdom before Strength now^ Strength before Wisdom at last. 13 first words wherein he saith, With Him is wisdom and Book XI.
strength; he plainly shews, that what He taught in mildness how to believe, in the power of the Judgment He will exhibit in terribleness. But in the subsequent words, wherein He saith, With Him is strength and wisdom; He makes it clearer than the day, that He first destroys reprobate men in the Judgment by dint of power, and afterwards shines into the souls of the Elect with the perfect light of the eternal kingdom. But because before the day of final Judgment, He never ceases daily to judge the deeds of mortal men by His secret awards. He comes back to that which is done in this present time, where it is added; Ver. 16, 17. He kno teeth both the deceiver and deceived, He bringeth counsellors to a foolish end, and the judges to dulness.
18. Whereas every man that strives to deceive his neigh- xii. hour is wicked, and ' Truth' saith to the wicked, / never M.3itt. 7, 23 Anew yoii, depart fro fn 3Ie ye that work iniquity; in what sense is it said here, that ' the Lord knoweth the deceiver?' But forasmuch as God's ' knowing' sometimes means His taking cognizance, sometimes His approving. He at once knows a wicked man, in that in taking cognizance He judges him, (for He would never judge any wicked man, if He did not take cognizance of him,) and yet He does not know a wicked person, in that He does not approve his doings. And so He both knows him, in that He finds him out, and knows him not, in that He doth not acknowledge him in a likeness to His own Wisdom. As it is said of any truthful man, that he does not know falsehood, not because, when any thing false is said even by others, he is too blind to find fault with it, but this very falsehood he at once knows in the tracing out, and knows not in the affection of the heart, so as not to do that himself, which he condemns the doing of in others. And it may often happen that persons, busy in artful contrivances, spread the nets of their wicked- ness for another's lift', and when he, in ignorance of it, is seen to be taken by the snares, perchance it is questioned whether such things are seen from above, and men wonder, why it is, if God does see them, that He suffers them to be done. But He knoweth the deceiver and the deceived. For 14 Open Judf/ment deferred, Counsellors turned to fill?/.
Job 12,' He knou'cth the deceiver,' in that generally He sees former --— ^ — sins of his, and by a just judgment suffers him to fall into others also. ' He l<noweth the deceiver,' in that, left in the hand of his own doings, He forsaketh him, that he may be Apoc. precipitated into worse ones, as it is written. He that is ^^' ^^' unjust let him be unjust still, and he that isjilthy let him be ' Lat. filthy^ still. Moreover 'He knoweth the deceived' too, in Sr *^^* men often do evil things that they know^ and therefore they arc suffered to be ' deceived,' so as further to fall into evil things which they know not. However, this is used to be done to the deceived sometimes for their purifying, some- times as the beginning of vengeance.
19. He bringeth counsellors also to a fiolish end, when they do any thing good even, with no good purpose, but are going after the recompensing of a temporal reward. For, if the Only-begotten Son of the Most High Father, because hereby, that He was made Man, He preached eternal truths, is therefore called the Angel of great counsel, we rightly interpret ' the counsellors,' those preachers, who furnish the ' counsel' of life to their hearers. But when any preacher preaches the truths of eternity for this, that he may acquire temporal gains, assuredly he is ' brought to a foolish end,' in that he is aiming to reach that point by laborious effort, whence he ought to have fled in uprightness of mind.
20. And it is rightly added, And the judges to dubiess. For all that are set over the examination of other men's conduct, are rightly called 'judges;' but when he that has this oversight does not diligently examine the lives of those under his authority, nor acquaint himself whom he should correct, and how, ' the judge is brought to dulness,' in that he, who should have judged things that were ill done, never finds out those things which are to be judged. It proceeds; Ver. 18. He looseth the belt of kings, and girdeth their reins with a cord. xiii. 21. They that know how to regulate aright the motions of their members, are not unjustly called ' kings.' But when the mind is touched with pride on the grounds of that very continence, it very often happens that Almighty God, desert- ing its pride, suffers it to fall into uncleanness of practice. And so ' He looseth the belt of kings,' when in the case of i Gifts withdrawn to humble men. Glory and disgrace of Priests. 15 those who seemed to regulate their members aright, on Book accomit of the sin of pride he undoes the girdle of chastity. '— Now what is meant by * a cord,' but sin? As Solomon says, His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and heFrov-d, 22 shall he holden with the cords of his sins. And because fleshly gratification has its dominion in the ' reins,' the strict Judge of the conscience. Who ' looseth the belt of kings,' ' girdeth their reins with a cord,' that, when the girdle of chastity is undone, then the gratification of sin should have dominion over their members, so that those whom pride pollutes in secret, He may shew even publicly to be as abo- minable as they are. It goes on, \ev. 19. He leadeth the priests inglorious^ and over- throweth the mighty.
22. The great glory of the priest is the righteousness of xiv. those that are subject to him. Whence the excellent preacher saith well to his disciples; For what is our hope, or i Thes. Joy, or crown of rejoicing f Are not even ye in the presence ' * of our Lord? But when the priests neglect the lives of their charge, and bring no fruit from their advancement before the presence of the Lord, what else is this but that they are called ^ ^ inglorious?' Since before the strict Judge they do not then find glor}^, who do not now seek it out in the lives of those subject to their charge by urgency in preaching. And it is well said. And overthroweth the mighty. In that, when, by a righteous judgment, He forsakes the heart of those that rule, it does not look for the inward recompensing of the rev^ard, and it is overthrown in that whereby it is deceived, so as to rejoice in temporal supe- riority instead of eternal glory. Therefore ' the mighty are overthrown,' in that while they lose sight of the real rewards of the heavenly country, they are brought to the ground here in their own pleasures. It goes on, Ver. 20. Who changeth the lip of the truthfid, and taketh away the instruction of the aged.
28. When the priest does not do the good that he tells, xv. even the very word of his lips is withdrawn from him, that he may not dare to speak what he does not practise; as where it is said by the Prophet, But unto the wicked God saith, Ps. so, *» ' Dicuntur,' some Mss. read * ducuntur,' ' are led.'
10 Truth taken away from the unrighteous.
Job 12, < What hast thou to do. to declare My statutes., or that thou -=r^ — - takest My covenant in thy mouth i Whence also he beseeches, Ps. 119, saying, And take not the word of truth utterly out of my ^^' mouth. For he reflects that Almighty God gives the word of truth to those that do it, and takes it away from those that do it not. He then that prayed that he might not have it ' taken out of his mouth,' what did he else than pray for the grace of good practice? As if he said in plain words, ' Let me not go astray from good works, lest, while I lose the regularity of good living, I also part with the right rule of speaking.' And for the most part the teacher, who ventures to teach what he neglects to practise, when he ceases to speak the good which he scorned to do, begins to teach his charge the evil things that lie does, that, by the righteous judgment of the Almighty, that man may not henceforth have a tongue for a good theme, who will not have a good life; so that whilst his mind is inflamed with the love of earthly things, he should be ever speaking of earthly Mat.i2, things. Whence ' Truth' saith in the Gospel, For out of * * the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bring eth forth good things^ and an evil man out of the evil treasure bring eth iSo^mA^j'Q^tfi Q^ii things. Hence also John saith. They are of the world, therefore speak they of the world. Therefore it is well said, Who changeth the lip of the truthfid, and taketh away the instruction of the aged. In that while they, who were aforetime ' truthful' in preaching heavenly things, setting their affections on those of time, are sunk down to the same, ' the lip of the truthful is changed, and the instruction of the aged taken away;' in that being in love with temporal things, they never follow the precepts of their predecessors, so as to be occupying the place of authority as if but for the fruit of pleasure, and for no good end of labour.
Proph. 24. Which nevertheless may be understood more plainly of the Jews, who before the Lord's Incarnation were ' truth- ful,' in that they believed that He was to come, and pro- claimed the same; but when He appeared in the flesh, they denied that it was He. Therefore ' the lip of the truthful was changed,' in that Him, of Whom they had told that He was about to come, they denied when present; ' and the in in Fall of the Jews and calling of Gentiles foreshewn. 1 7 instruction of the aged was taken away,* in that they never Book fe)llo\ved in believing the things, which they remembered '— their fathers to have foretold. Whence too at the coming of Elijah it is promised, that he shall ' turn the hearts of the Mai. 4, children to their fathers;' thai * the instruction of the aged,' which is now ' taken away' from the heart of the Jews, upon the Lord taking compassion on them, may then be brought back, when the children begin to understand that concerning the Lord, which their fathers foretold. But if by ' the aged' we understand likewise those same Jews, who, by the per- suasions of unbelief, set themselves to oppose the word of * Truth,' then ' the instruction of the aged was taken away,' when the Church consisting of the Gentiles, being indeed young, received it, as she saith by the Psalmist, I under- ^^'^^^> stand nioj'e than the ancients. And because she kept this same in practising it, in what way she came to understand more than the ancients, she makes plain, whereas she adds directly, Because I keep Thy precepts. For whereas she aimed to fulfil in practising that thing which she learnt, it was vouchsafed her to understand what she might teach. Whence it is still further added with propriety, Ver. 21. He poureth contempt upon princes, and lifteth up those that were oppressed.
20. For whilst the Jewish people continued in the precept xvi. of the Law, and the whole Gentile world knew nothing of the precepts of God, both the former seemed to be as * princes' by faith, and the latter lay borne down in the depth by unbelief. But when Judaea denied the mystery of our Lord's Incarnation, and the Gentile world believed it, both * the princes' fell into contempt, and they that had been borne down in the sin of unbelief, were ' lifted up' in the liberty of true faith. But Jeremiah seeing this fall of the Israelites long before, says. The Lord is become as z7Lam.2, were an enemy; He hath swallowed up Israel; He hath^' thrown down all his palaces; He hath destroyed his bid- warks. Now * palaces' in cities are for ornaments, but the ' bulwarks' are for defence. And the gifts that keep us safe are one thing, those that ornament us are another. For pro- phetical teaching, different kinds of tongues, the power of working cures, arc a kind of ' palaces' of the mind, which c 18 Oifh firat forfmtcd^ then (jrace itself.
Jon 12, ihongh a man have not, yet he is able to stand fast defended Proph ^y '^^^^' ^^^^ righteousness, though he does not shew himself at all adorned with the towering height of the gifts of virtue; but faith, hope, and eharity, are not our ' palaces,' but our ' bulwarks,' which, if we neglect to possess ourselves of, we lie exposed to the snares of the enemy. In the case of Judaea, therefore, seeing that He took away from her pro- phecy, and teaching, and miraculous signs, * He overthrows all her palaces.' And because, for her hardness of heart. He let faith, hope, and charity, be taken away from her, lie was bent to ' destroy her bulwarks.' Now we have the right order observed, in that the * palaces' first, and then the ' bulwarks,' are described as destroyed, because, when the sinful soul is forsaken, first the gifts of miraculous powers, which were given in manifestation of the Spirit, are destroyed, and afterwards the foundations of faith, hope, and charity. All which, being taken away from the unfaithful, the Lord bestowed upon the Gentile world, and by the things, which He took from the unbelievers. He adorned the believers' Ps. 68 minds. Whence it is written. And to divide the spoils of the ^^* beauty of the house. For when He took away from the Jews the spoils of the powers of virtue. He imparted the beauty of His gifts to the house of the heart of the Gentiles, which He deigned to dwell in by faith. Which same was brought to pass, when the words of God were on the one hand inter- preted by the Jewish people after the mere ' letter,' which 2 Cor. ' killeth,' and on the other, by the converted Gentiles pene- ' * trated in the ' spirit,' which ' maketh alive.' Whence it is directly added, Ver. 22. WJio discoveretli deep things out of darkness^ and hringeth out to light the shadoia of death, xvii. 26. For when the several mystical truths are recognised in the secret words of the Prophets by them that believe, what else is it, than that ' deep things are discovered out of darkness?' Whence too ' Truth' Himself, speaking in parables Matt.^ to the disciples, saith. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light. For when by explaining we unravel the mystical knots of allegories, then we as it were ^ speak in light, what we have heard in darkness.' Now ' the shadow of death' was the hardness of the old Law, which made every Man^s pride in Go(Vs gifts brought, down. 10 one that sinned liable to be punished with the death of the Book XT body. But when our Redeemer tempered by mildness the '— harshness of the sanctions of the Law, nor any longer ordained death of the flesh to be inflicted for sin, but shewed how greatly the death of the spirit was to be dreaded, then, surely, ' He brought out to light the shadow of death.' For this death, wherein the flesh is severed from the soul, is a ' shadow' of that death, wherein the soul is severed from God, and so ' the shadow of death is brought out to light,' when, upon the death of the spirit being understood, the death of the body is no whit feared. Which may likewise be understood in another sense also. For those are not unjustly called ' princes,' who with great judiciousness of counsel rule the thoughts of their hearts at all times, and by the power of wisdom keep down all the motions of folly. But it very often happens that the mind is in secret lifted up on the grounds of its very wisdom to the topmost pitch of pride, and is brought to the ground under those evil habits, over which it was rejoicing to have gained the victory. Therefore it is well said, He poureth contempt upon princes. But be- cause it sometimes happens that they who appear to lie pro- strate in evil ways have recourse to tears of penitence, and gather themselves up against the sins, to which they were subjected, it is fitly added, And lifteth up those that were oppressed. For there are some, who, being enlightened by the gift from on high, see in what exceeding filthiness of their sinful doings they lie grovelling, wash with tears the stains of their misdeeds, and henceforth keep down beneath them the motions of the flesh, by which they were aforetime weighed to the ground.
27. Which same is brought to pass by the excellent dis- posal of Almighty God, that so in this life every thing should be accounted uncertain, and no man be set up for possessing chastity, seeing that He poureth contempt upon princes^ and no man despair from his evil habits weighing him down, seeing that He lifteth up those that were oppressed. And because, when these things are done, there is brought forth out of the secret counsels of God an open sentence upon each individual, it is rightly subjoined. And revealeth deep things out of darkness.
20 tSatan draffged to lujfd. Nations destroyed and restored.
Jovi 12, 28. For llie Lord ^ rcvcalcth deep things out of darkness/ when Pie manifests an open sentence from His secret MOKAT,.
counsels, so as to shew what Tie thinks concerning each individual. For because now the Creator seeth all things, and Himself is not seen in His counsels, it is well said of Ps. 18, Him by the Psalmist, He made darkness His secret place. But it is as if He issued out from that darkness into light, when He shews what are His thoughts conceraing the actions of each individual. And whereas when he, who was sunk down by the weight of his sins, is brought to the setting up of uprightness, he for the first time sees that very death, wherein he was going on ruining himself, and at the same time too blind to take account of it; it is rightly added. And bringeih out to light the shadow of death. For ' the shadow of death' is evil doing, which is drawn as if in bodily lineaments by a copy of our old enemy. Concerning whom Rev. 6, too, in the character of a certain one, it is said. And his name was Death. And it very often happens that his evil instiga- tion escapes the minds of men, and by this circumstance, that it is no^ known, is the more successful. And so ' the shadow of death is brought to light,' in that the evil doing of our old enemy is revealed to the minds of the Saints that it may be made an end of It goes on: Ver. 23. Who multiplieth the nations and destroyeth them, and them that are overturned He restoreth entire, xviii. 29. We may understand it, viz. that ' the Lord multiplieth ^^^' the nations and destroyeth them,' in this way, that day by day men are bom destined to die, and that ' them, that be overturned, He restoreth entire,' in that they, who were dead, shall rise again; which however we shall interpret in a better sense, if we think how it is that this is done in their souls.
Proph. For ' He increaseth the nations and destroyeth them,' in that He both enlarges them by fruitfulness of offspring, and yet leaves them in their own infidelity; but ' them, that were overturned. He restoreth entire,' in that those, whom He had left in the downfall of infidelity, He one time or another reestablishes in the seat of faith. And these being restored in a whole state of mind, that ancient People, which seemed faithful to God, being reprobate was cast away in heart, so that, being deceived by its own misbelief, it should afterwards i The Jews deceived and staggered bij our hordes Humanity. 2 1 rise up against Him, Whom it had before preached. It goes Book Ver. 24, 25. Who changeth the heart of the chief of the people of the eartlt, and deceireth them, that tJtey wander in vain where there is no way. They shall grope in the dark without any light, and He shall make them to stagger like a drunken man.
30. For ' the heart of the chief of the earth was changed,' xix. when the chief priests and ciders of the people in Jiidsea set themselv^es to withstand Him by their counsels, Whom they beforehand proclaimed, that He was to come. And when they strove to put out His Name by persecuting Him, being deceived by their own wickedness they vainly essayed to ' wander where there is no way,' because it was impossible that a ' way' could be open to their cruelty directed against the Creator of all things. They saw the miracles, they were made to fear by His power", but refusing to believe, they still sought signs, whilst they said. What sign shewest John G, Thou then, that we may see and believe Thee? Therefore ^^' it is well said, They grope in the dark without light? For he that hesitates in the midst of so many manifest miracles, as it were ' gropes in the dark,' in that he sees not what he is touching. But every man that ' staggers,' is borne now hither, now thither. And because they were shewn at one time to believe, as when they said, If this man were not of John God He could do nothing, and at another time denied that ' He was from God, as when they said contemning Flim, Is Mat.is, not this the carpenter^ s Son? Is not His mother called Mary? and His brethren, James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? it is rightly added. He maketh them to stagger like a drunken man. For they saw both that He raised the dead, and yet that He was a mortal being. Who would not believe tl^at He was God, Whom they beheld raise the dead to life.'* But on the other hand, when they saw that He was mortal, they scorned to believe that He was immortal God, and so herein, viz. that Almighty God manifested Himself such to their eyes as to be both ca])ablc of exhibiting divine signs and of ^' ' virtute tent- bantur.' A. B. C. D. M. baritur, terrebantur.' ' They wondered at and some ap. "Hen. read ' virtutes mira- His acts of power, they were terrified,' 22 Job prophesied with under staniUrKj. His humiliti/.
Job 13, undergoing hunnan sufibrings, lie 'made them to stagger ;,^— ^ — like drunken men,' that their pride, which chose rather to PUOPH. 1 spurn the mystery of the Incarnation, than to follow it, should at one and the same time lift itself up against His human nature, and wonder at the power of ilis Divine nature shining within. And because all these were made present to the eyes of blessed Job by the spirit of prophecy, it is rightly added; Chap. xiii. 1. Lo, all!
XX. 31. For what was to follow he saw as present in Him, Hist..
Whom neither things future come to, nor things past go from; but all things are present at once and together i^efore His eyes. And because the very things that were to come he saw were part in works and part in words, it is rightly said, All this mine eye hatit seen, mine ear hath heard. But words are without use, if they lack the understanding of them.
Whence it is fitly added. And I have understood every wldt.
For when any thing is shewn or heard, if the understanding of it be not bestowed, it is little of a prophecy. Thus Pharaoh saw in a dream things that were to come upon Egypt, but, because he could not understand what he saw, Dan. 5, he was no prophet. King Balthasar ' saw the fingers of the hand that wrote' upon the wall j but he was no prophet, because he did not attain to the understanding of that thing which he saw. Therefore, that blessed Job might testify that he had the spirit of prophecy, he declares not only that he had ' seen and heard,' but also that he had ' understood all this.' And that he is not elated on the grounds of such understanding, his words subjoined bear witness, when he says, Ver. 2. What ye know, the same do I know also; I am not inferior to you.
xxi. 32. By which same words he made known what exceeding humility he had, who says that he was ' not inferior' to them, whose life by holy living he very far surpassed. For he