can secure us, but through which integrity aud uprightness will pre

serve us.

VER. 1. "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job."]-Concerning Job we are here told that he was a man; therefore subject to like passions as we are. He was Ish, a worthy man, a man of note and eminence, a magistrate, a man in authority. The country he lived in was the land of Uz, in the eastern part of Arabia, which lay towards Chaldea, near Euphrates, probably not far from Ur of the Chaldees, whence Abraham was called. When God called one good man out of that country, yet he "left not himself without witness," but raised up another in it to be a preacher of righteousness." God has his remnant in all places, sealed ones out of every nation, as well as out of every tribe of Israel, Rev. vii. 9. Note the character of Job: he was perfect; this does not mean a sinless perfection, which is impossible in this life; for himself says, "What is man, that he should be clean? and, If I say I am perfect, it shall prove me perverse;" chap. ix. 20. and xv. 14. therefore we must understand it comparatively, as compared with others: or, if we understand it strictly, it must be understood of that perfection of righteousness and sanctification which Job and every christian has in Christ, in which they are complete, and constantly, as in him their surety, enjoy a full perfection of righteousness and holiness before God for ever; or it may denote his sincerity, or the reality of his love to God. The word in the Hebrew signifies soundness of heart, real sincerity, or uprightness: and God said to Abraham, Gen. xvii. 2. "Walk before me, and be thou perfect;" the word in the original signifies sound or upright before me; which may respect his walk before God and man.

Gracious habits and spiritual blessings are the choicest of all blessings. If God hath given a man grace, he hath the best and the choicest of all God's gifts. God hath given us his Son, and God hath given us his Spirit, and God hath given us the graces of his Spirit; these are the finest of the flour, and the honey out of the rock of mercy. Though you should not have sheep, camels, oxen, and asses, if you are in the first part of the description, that you have the fear of God in your inward parts, and a holy turning against every evil, your lot is fallen in a fair place, and you have a goodly heritage: they that have this need not be discontented at their own, nor envious at the condi

tion of any other; they have the one thing necessary. When God describeth a gracious man, he sets him forth in every thing that concerns his spiritual estate, "perfect and upright, fearing God and eschewing evil."

Ver. 5. "That Job sent and sanctified them."]-This is not to be understood of spiritual sanctification, which is alone the work of the Holy Ghost, but of outward sanctifi cation, or setting them apart by prayer.

"Thus did Job continually."-Observe the zeal and great regard that Job had for the good of his sons, that he offered a burnt-offering according to the number of them all." The burnt-offering in the Hebrew is called ascension, or lifted up, because it wholly ascended unto God by fire; for at that time, when the sacrifice was burning, all the people that were present did "lift up their hands and their eyes," but especially "their souls and their spirits," hea ven-wards, and poured themselves forth in prayer unto God. That of David in Psalm cxli. 2. will give some light to this; "Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice." When we meet with such expressions in the old testament concerning prayer, we must still understand them to be allusions to the sacrifices, because the sacrifices were lifted up and did ascend. It was Job that offered, and Job bad right to offer. The time wherein Job offered sacrifice doth reconcile this; it was before the giving of the law. Now in those times the father, or the elder of a family, was as a priest to the whole family: and he had the power and the right to perform all holy family duties, as the duty of sacri ficing, and the like: this you may see carried along in all the times before the law was given, in the holy stories of the patriarchs, they still offered up the sacrifice. It is true that the sacrifices in themselves were nothing, either to God or man; they could do no good, they had no power in them, either to pacify God, or to purge the souls of men. But look upon the sacrifice as it was an institution, and then God saw his Son Jesus Christ in it, and was well pleased; and likewise man beheld and believed Christ in it, and was purged. When the sacrifice was offering, man saw Christ suffering; this took away his sin, and pacified his consci ence a sacrifice in itself, as it was the killing or burning of a beast, had no virtue in it, but as it had respect unto Christ; so God saw the death of his Son, and that satisfied him; and man saw the death of his Saviour, and that was peace to his conscience.

Ver. 6." And satan came also among them."]-By the sons of God we are to understand the visible church, or the people of God, Gen. vi. 2. among whom satan is said to come, not in a visible form, but by his suggestions and temptations. Wherever the people of God are assembled together, there satan comes to prevent their comfort and consolation.

Ver. 8. "And the Lord said unto satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job?"]-The word in the original is, 'hast thou observed my servant Job, in his name, person, and character, as thou goest to and fro in the earth, to tempt, disturb, and destroy? hast thou considered his safety and security, and his uprightness?'

Ver. 9. "Doth Job fear God for nought?"]-No greater temptation can befal a child of God than to be charged with hypocrisy, and to be serving God for selfish ends. Note, It is a grief to satan to see the security of the people of God.

Ver. 11. "And he will curse thee to thy face."]-Satan has no principle of love to God, therefore he thinks that the people of God only serve him for what they enjoy from him, and he being for his pride deprived of the favour of heaven, and thereby full of sin; which sinful nature breaks forth in enmity to God, and therefore it is that satan thinks if God deprive his people of their outward blessings, their hearts will break forth in the same wicked enmity as his doth. The devil is mistaken in his apprehensions; for though they have as evil a nature as satan, and afflictions are to them grievous, yet they are kept by the power of God under all their trials, safe from making shipwreck of their faith.

Ver. 12. "All that he hath is in thy power."]Observe the permission that God gave to satan to afflict Job for the trial of his sincerity. Satan desired God to do it, "Put forth thy hand now." God allowed him to do it, "All that he hath is in thy hand," make the trial as sharp as thou canst: do thy worst at him. It is matter of wonder that God should give satan such a permission as this, should "deliver the soul of his turtle dove" into the hand of the adversary, such a lamb to such a lion; but he did it for his own glory, the honour of Job, the explanation of Providence, and the encouragement of his afflicted people in all ages; to make a case, which, being adjudged, might be a useful precedent. He suffered Job to be tried, as

he suffered Peter to be sifted, but took care "his faith should not fail," Luke xxii. 32. and then the trial of it was "found unto praise, and honour, and glory," 1 Pet. i. 7. It is matter of comfort that God has the devil" in a chain," Rev. xx. 1. He could not afflict Job without leave from God first asked and obtained; and then no farther than he had leave, "only upon himself put not forth thine hand," meddle not with his body, but only with his estate : it is a limited power that the devil hath.

Ver. 21. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."]-Afflictive providences are often the lot of the greatest favourites of heaven; they have trials upon trials, affliction upon affliction, sorrow upon sorrow, and like the billows and swelling waves of the sea, they at times sweep all the christian's com forts away. When the Lord gives such great trials, he frequently gives great submission to his will, to acknow. ledge his hand, and to adore his power. All our blessings come from God, and he has a right to demand them by what bands, and in what manner he pleaseth. We should not be surprised under great and repeated trials, as though "some strange thing had happened to us," but only look upon them as an exchange of new mercies for us; for God can bring good out of evil. The christian is blessed with great grace and strong faith, that can adore and praise God under great afflictions.

Ver. 22. "In all this Job sinned not."]-Job and the rest of the old testament saints did not live without sin; but sin seems not to have been the cause of this affliction: the meaning may be that Job through divine grace overcame satan, for he had said to God, if he touched him, that is, deprived him of all he had, that he would "sin or curse God to his face." "But in all this Job sinned not." However great the enmity of satan may be, and how various soever the afflictions wherewith he afflicts them, yet God through grace enables the christian to overcome satan's designs and temptations.

CHAPTER II.

We left Job honourably acquitted, upon a fair trial between God and satan concerning him; satan had leave to touch and take all he had, and was confident he would then curse God to his face: but on the contrary, he blessed him, and so he was proved an honest man, and satan a false accuser. Now one would have thought this had been conclusive, and that Job should never have had his reputation called in question again; but Job is known to be armour of proof, and therefore is here set up for a mark, and brought upon his trial a second time. (1.) Satan moved for another trial which should touch his bone and his flesh, ver. 1-5. (2.) God for holy ends permits it, ver. 6. (3.) Satan smites him with a very painful and loathsome disease, ver. 7, 8. (4.)* His wife tempts him to curse God, but he resists the temptation, ver. 9, 10. (5.) His friends come to condole with him, and to comfort. him, ver. 11-13. And in this he is set forth for an example of suffering affliction aud patience.

VER. 3. "Although thou movedst me against him, to destory him without cause."]-Satan is earnest and importunate in his solicitations against the church of God: and though they have a sinful nature and many transgressions that satan might accuse them of, yet as Christ has made an atonement for them, and answered all the demands of law and justice for their sins; therefore satan has no just cause to move God against his people. When satan is here said to move God, we are not to understand any change in the love of God, as though God could be moved from his designs of salvation, but it shews the strength of the enmity of satan; for the word moved signifies in the original more than a motion, or persuasion, for it carries in it a kind of vehemency and instigation by way of argument and accusation, like one pleading to obtain an end. Thus envious is satan against every true christian.

Ver. 4. "Skin for skin, yea, all that a man bath will he give for his life."]-As a natural man's life is dearer to him than all other things, so the christian's spiritual life is dearer to him than all other enjoyments: and if the natural man so love his life, and the christian his spiritual life and food of faith, that all that he hath he will give for it; then how wonderful must be the love of Christ, who gave his life and suffered death for the redemption of his church?

Ver. 6. But save his life."]-It is the Lord's pleasure sometimes to put the favourites of heaven into the hands of satan, to try their faith, hope, and love, by repeated trials and fresh afflictions; for satan is never weary of his commission to afflict the saints.