: iLmBs^iFrr BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OP THE John Elliott Fund This book was digitized by Microsoft Corporation in cooperation with Yale University Library, 2008. You may not reproduce this digitized copy of the book for any purpose other than for scholarship, research, educational, or, in limited quantity, personal use. You may not distribute or provide access to this digitized copy (or modified or partial versions of it) for commercial purposes. ANSWER T O Mr. Warburtotfs Remarks ON SEVERAL Occafional Reflexions, So far as they concern the PREFACE to a late Edition of the Book of J o b ; In which the SubjecT: and Defign of that Divine Poem Are fet in a full and clear Light, v And fome particular Passages in it Occafionally explain'd. I N A LETTER TO THE Reverend Author of the Remarks. By RICHARD GRET, D. D. ¦ ^ L O N D ON: Printed for J. Stag g, in WeJiminJier*Halh MDCCXLIV. [Price few'd Two Shillings.} " are true Hebrew and Arabic, and of xheold- " eft Stamp. Much eafier would it have been " for a Writer of the I RON Age to have expreffed " the Beauty and Weight c/>Ennius'j Z,««- " guage> than for a Hebrew returned from the " Babylonish Ex*/? / /o /&¦ Gran- " d?#r c;zi Purity, fo firongly ftampt with the " fair eft Signatures of the higheft Antiquity, u which jhine forth from this fublime Com- " pojition both for Matter and Style s. " He adds, (what I purpofely left out, left it fhould look as if it were aim'd at you) " In truth, " he who can't fee this, muft bf thought «f either a carelefs or an ignorant Judged Thefe, Sir, were my Reafons (though you thought proper to overlook them) for believing the Age of the Book, to be about a thoufand Years higher than your Hypothefis fets it ; and confequently, for dijbelieving That to be the Subject of it, which you yourfelf affirm, could not be a Queftion at any other time, than that which you have affigned for it. And unlefs you are infallibly in the right, both as to the Subject and the Circumftances, upon which you 6 Hoc qui difcernere non valet, ns ille, vel diffipate, vel im- peritejudicare cenfendus. Comment. Pr&fat. found __[ JI ] found your Opinion to the contrarry, you cer tainly beg the Queftion as much, or more than I do, by taking that for granted which yet re mains to be proved. For I doubt not, but I fhall fufficiently fhew, before I conclude, that in both thefe Points you are miftaken; that neither the great religious Principle you endea vour to evince, That the Jews were in Rea lity under an extraordinary Providence (in fuch a Senfe as will ferve your prefent Purpofe) is fo indifputable, as you feem to think it ; nor that it is as clear a Fact, that the Subject of the Book of Job is whether Good happens to the Good, and Evil to evil Men, or whether both happen not promifcuoufiy to both, as it is, that the Subject ofthe firft Book of Tufculan Que- ftions is de contemnenda morte, how confidently foever you appeal to the whole learned World for the Truth of it. But to have ftated the Mat ter exactly, you fhould have faid principal Sub ject, and always happens : For upon that, the Controverfy between us turns. I am fenfible, that, in what I have faid above for the Antiquity of the Book from the Style and Language of it, I ftill lay myfelf open to the Compliment you have more than once made me of writing after others, and refting in their Opinions. Why not, if I think them in the right, and better Judges than myfelf? But tho* too [3*1 too great a Deference cannot well be paid to the Judgment of my Commentator in this Point, [whatever elfe he may be aBAvius in, J yet it is not, I affure you, upon his Authority only that 1 reft my Belief, but upon a real and fenfible Conviction of the Truth and Juftnefs of what he has faid. At the fame Time I confefs that, unlefs I could communicate my own Taftejor the Original, in what Manner to con vince Tou of it, or any other Perfbn, I am al together at a Lofs. But to go on to other Inftances of your Man ner of returning the Civility and fair Argu^ ment of thoje fincere Inquirers after Truth, whom the World fhould fee you efieemed, rather as Friends to the Publick, than Enemies to yourfelf0. The Learned Writer (you fay) fhuts up the Argument thus : " From all this " it appears, that the perfonal Integrity of Job, ,c and not the Quefiion concerning an equal or fC unequal Providence, is the principal Subject " of the Book" (or, as I would choofe to trans late it myfelf, From all this it is evident, that the Point principally contefted in this Book is not an equal or unequal Providence, but &c.) Well, and what now fays the learned Remarker to this fhutting up of the Argument? Something, dOHbtlefs, as ufual, exceeding fharp and clean. ° Remarks, p. 4,. 'Tis [ 33 ] 'Tis this : " He had before only told us his " Opinion, and now from his Opinion, he fays, " it appears. But Appearances, we fee, are " deceitful ; as indeed they will always be, " when they arife only out of the Fancy or In- " clination, and not from the real Nature of " Things." But is it becoming, Sir, a Man of Letters, to go fo low, as to quibble upon an ambigu ous Word, on purpofe to make a Conclufion he does not like, appear ridiculous ? Could you really think that apparet was here put for videtur only ? and not for liquet, conftat, ma- nifeflum eft, &c. the very Word I had ufed immediately before ? Or is that the Jeft you aim at, — that from my Opinion only I fhould conclude the thing was evident f But if fo, with what Ingenuity could you fay, " He had " before only told us his Opinion ? " Don't I give the Reafons of that Opinion in thefe ex- prefs Words, " That this which 1 have af- "figned is the only Scope oj the Book, will, I " think, be manifeft to every one, as well from " the Beginning and the End, as from the "whole Oeconomy of it : " i. e. from the whole Conduct of the Drama, of which you allow me to have given a fair Account : And, don't I afterwards enforce thofe Reafons, when I proceed to what, with an Air of Infult, you F * call ¦t 34] call pafhing my Advantages ? Have I not done this ? or do I flout up the Argument with one or*other of thefe wife Conclufions, I think fo, becaufe I think fo — or This is my Opinion, and from my Opinion it plainly follows ? But what if by this Exprefiion, Ex his, in- quam, apparet, I only meant, that from the Reafons I had given for my Opinion, it might fairly be infer'd, that there was at leaft fome Appearance of Truth in it ? Is a Conclufion to be laugh'd at, only for the Modefty of it ? or are the Reafons that fupport it, the lefs convincing, for not being laid down in a per emptory and dogmatical manner? I might, perhaps, have efcaped this Sneer, if in the Language of more fanguine Writers, I had faid — The Proof is firiking — Our Reafon is decifive — From hence it is demonftrable, &c. But 'tis not every one, that deals in Demon- filratiori; nor is it my way to talk pofitively and arrogantly it difputable Cafes. What I offer to the Public, I leave to be determin'd by it : Not difpleafed with thofe who differ from me, nor much concerned about the Cre dit I fhall get or lofe by fpeaking diffidently in a matter that is uncertain. And, if I might give my Thoughts without Offence, on a Point which does not concern me, had you been more obfervant of Decorum in this re- fpect, [ 35 }. fpect, your uncommon Learning and Abilities would not have been the lefs generally reve renced upon that Account. But if a Writer, inftead of modeftly pro- pofing, will magifterially obtrude his new Dif- coveries upon the reft of Mankind ; or think it Reafon fufficient, to bring under his Cor rection, whoever does not immediately pay that Deference to his Opinions, which he i- magines they are intitled to ; no wonder if he finds himfelf in a State of War, even with thofe who are moft peaceably difpofed. A Conduct fo over-bearing and diftafteful will be much more likely to create a Prejudice againft the Truths he is endeavouring to evince, than to incline Mens Aflent to them : nor will the good-natur'd and difinterefted Reader obferve others treated either with Contempt or Con tumely, without feeling in himfelf a Dif- pofition to refent it, in proportion as he judges it to be undeferved. But I beg pardon for a Digreffion, which your civil Reflection upon the Modefty of my Conclufion, and your candid Infinuation of the Reafon of my dif fering from you, have unwillingly led me into. Among other imaginary Triumphs over my want of your critical Acumen, you feem par ticularly to pleafe yourfelf with the Miftakes F 2 I have I have made about the Scope and Subject of the Book. " He goes on in this Manner : For the tcfole Purpofe of the Sacred Writer ferns to C£ me to be this ; to compoje a Work, that ftoould tc remain a perpetual Document of Humility and " Patience, to all good Men in AffliSiion, from ct this two-fold Confederation ; as on one hand " of the infinite Perfection, Power, and Wif- " dom of God ; fo, en the other, of human Cor- cc ruption, Imbecillity, and Ignorance, difco- " verable even in the bed of Men. " Upon which you thus remark : " Such Talk in a tc Sermon to his Pariftj, for the fake of a mo- " ral Application, might be right : But to cc Jpeak thus to the learned World is furely out " of Seafon." To pafs over the Decency of this Lan guage, out of the Mouth of one, whofe Bu- finefs it is, as well as mine, to preach to his Parijh ; Pray, why is it fo out of Seafon to the Learned World? Becaufe " The Critic will " be apt to tell him, he has miftaken the " Actor for the Subject — And again, " Here 5- oi.t Author, by afirange Fatality," [ftrange wiucc if !^e a Fate upon him, to be per- 'undring, when he differs from your ^c ¦( -ii taking the Narrative for the itive Part, gives us the Subjedf of the /irifusn [ 37 ] u the Introduction and Conclufion for that of the « Work itfelf." Firft you fay, " I have miftaken the Actor " for the Subject ; and might upon the fame " Principle, as well conclude, that the Pur- " pofe of VirgiN Poem is not the Eftablifh- " ment of an Empire in Italy, but die perfo- " nal Piety of /Eneas. " But here I think your Acumen fails you, or that of the Critic who would be apt to tell me this : For the Purpofe of a Writer is one thing, and the Sub ject of his Book another. If by the Purpofe of a Poem you mean the thing aim'd at from the Beginning, and at laft effected, the Sub- mifiion of Job, is as properly the Purpofe of the Book, in what you call the argumentative Part of it, as the Settlement of JEneas is that of Virgil's. And from the Purpofe of the Book, I think, plainly appears what was the Purpofe of the Writer. For if the Debate is carried on, in fuch a manner, as to furnifh proper Arguments for Humility and Patience ; if this is the Point that is all along in view, to correct in Job the contrary Vices, and to reduce him to a right Temper and Knowledge of himfelf; and it appears at laft, that he is thereby fo reduced ; it may very properly be affirmed, both, that the Purpofe of the Author was to teach thofe Virtues, and that they are really taught, as well in that Part of the Book where [ 38] where they are infarced by Reafon and Argu ment, as where they are exemplified by Practice. But to give what you have remarked a more particular Examination. What I had faid concerning the Purpofe of the Author muft be allowed to extend to the Whole of his Work ; and Part of it you readily give up. cc It is " very true (fay you) that the Beginning and " End do exhibit a perpetual Document of " Humility and Patience to all good Men." So far then it feems we are agreed : " But it is f c as true, that the Body of the Work neither " does nor could exhibit any fuch Document. " Firfi, it does not, for that Humility and Pa- " tience, which Job manifefts before his enter- " ing into the Difpute, is fucceeded by Rage " and Oftentation, when he becomes heated " by unreafonable Oppofition. " Nor did the Author, in your Opinion, intend it fhould. For thus you afk me in another Place : tc If " its Defign was to give a perpetual Docu- " ment of Humility and Patience, how " comes it to pafs, that the Author, in the Exe- " cution of his Defign, reprefents Job com- " plaining, expoftulating, and indulging him- " felf in an ungovernable Grief, rafhly chal- " lenging God, and glorying in his own Inte- « grity ? " Why ? Becaufe, befides the Foun dation for it in Job's real Hiftory, the Nature of the Drama requir'd it : the Defign of which was I to .[ 39 ] to fhew the Unjuftifiablenefs of fuch Com plaints and Exceffes under the ftrongeft Tem ptations to them. But you go on : " Could Cf a Painter, think you, in order to reprejent tc the Eafe and Safety of Navigation, draw a " Veffel getting with much Pains and Dif- " ficulty into Harbour, after having loft all " her Lading, and been miferably torn, and " fhattered by a Tempeft ? and yet, you think, " a Writer, in order to give a Document of " Humility and Patience, had fufficiently dif- " charged his Plan, if he made Job conclude " refigned and fitbmifijive, tho' he had drawn " him turbulent, impatient, and almoft blaf- " phemous throughout the whole Piece. " Yes fure! I do think fo, and with a great deal of Reafon, if the greateft Part of the Piece is taken up in fuch Speeches, as, in the Nature and Defign of them are extremely proper to make him conclude fo. Such are the admirable Speeches of Elihu and God him felf; and even thofe of his Friends ; which, tho', as they carried in them either oblique or direct Reflections upon his Integrity, ferved only to provoke and inflame him, are very good Leffons to us of Patience and Humility ; as is indeed the very Arrogance and Frowardnefs of Job himfelf, confidered as giving Occafion to thofe humbling Sentiments of the Perfe ction of God, the Weaknefs and Corruption of Man, the Efficacy of Repentance and Sub- miffion towards the removing of Affliction, and the like, which are interfperfed throughout the whole, and which borrow the Help of Poetry and a dramatical Reprefentation, only to be conveyed to the Reader in a more lively and affecting manner. You feem, Sir, by this Comparifon of the Ship, to go upon this Miftake ; that a Docu ment muft neceffarily be conveyed by an Ex ample or Reprefentation of the Thing taught. But have you never heard, that it was a Pra- tice among the Spartans to make their Slaves drunk, in order to give their Children a Leffon of Sobriety ? The Parable of the Prodigal Son is, in one Part of it, a lively Reprefentation of Lewdnefs and Riot ; but the Scope of it is, doubtlefs, not only to encourage Repentance, but to recommend Virtue and Regularity. It would be an Abfurdity, to paint a Ship in a Storm, or that with Difficulty had outlived it, in order to reprefent the Eafe and Safety of Navigation ; but no Abfurdity, to paint fuch a one, as you have defcribed, by Way of Do cument to keep on Land, or as a Caution to the Spectator, — ne fragilem truci Com?nittat pelago ratem. " But, Secondly, as it does not (you fay) exhi- " bit any fuch Document, fo it could not; be- " caufe [4i ] ct caufe it is altogether argumentative ; the fub- " ject of which muft neceffarily be a Propo- " fition debated, and not a Document exem- " plified." [I have already obviated this, and what follows it, by fhewing that it is not al ways neceffary that a Document fhould be ex emplified.'] " A Precept may be convey'd " in Hiftory, but a Difputation can ex- " hibit only a debated Queftion." [How then came thofe Precepts of Submiffion and Repen tance to find their way into this Difputation, if you will call it fo, which it every where a- bounds with? Defpife not thou the chaftening of the Almighty, &c. Acquaint thyfelf now with him and be at peace, &c. If Iniquity be in thy Hand, put it far away, &c. &c. Are not thefe, Precepts convey'd in a debated Quef- tion ?] " I have fhewn what that Queftion is ; " and he, inftead of proving that I have af- " figned a wrong one, goes about to perfuade s< the Reader, that there is no ^ueftion at all*." That there is no Queftion at all, in your Senfe, that is, No Propofition logically debated with Reafoning and Arguments, 1 fhall prefently fhew 5 and then^ I hope, it will need no prov ing, that, when you affigned fuch a Queftion] for the Subject of the Difpute, you affigned a wrong one. What I went about to perfuade the Reader, in my Preface, was this : That * Remarks, p. j^. G the [4* ] the Queftion principally debated, or rather, the chief Point in Conteft, between Job and his Friends, was his Perfonal Integrity. This, I obferv'd, they had call'd in Queftion upon two Accounts : becaufe he was fo greatly afflicted, and becaufe he was then fo very impatient. They will have it that his Complaints were in decent and undutiful ; and that his Sufferings Were a manifeft Indication of his Guilt. But thefe they do not urge as a conclufive Argument, but only as aprefumptive Evidence of it ; or as a probable Reafon, which would juftify their fuf- pecting it. Surprifing therefore is your Trans lation and Perverfion of the following Paflage : Hanc enim (quodomnino objervandum eft) in du- bium vocaverant amici, non ideo tantum quod affiictus effet, fed quod affiictus impatientius fe gereret, Deique juftitice obmurmuraret ; Gf qui ftrenuus videlicet aliorum hortator fuerat adfor- titudinem & conftantiam, quum ipfe tentaretur, victus labafceret. And for this I referred to to chap. iv. i, 2, 3, 4. This Paffage, you thus accurately tranflate : For that (i. e. his perfonal Integrity) it was which bis Friends doubted of, not fo much on Account of his Affliction, as far the not bearing his Affliction with Pa tience, but complaining of the Juftice of God. And that he, who was an able Advifer of others to Fortitude and Conflancy, fhould, •when his own Trial came, Jink under the Stroke [43 ] vf his Difafters. And then immediately you afk — " Why not on account of his Afflictions ? " As if I had either faid, or infinuated, that his Afflictions were no part of the foundation of their charge again ft him. Non idco tantum quod affiictus effet, which plainly imports, that hisSufferings were thefirft or chief Carafe of their doubt concerning him, is firft of all dwindled into — Not fo much on account of his Affliction ; and immediately after into — Nothing at all. But I begin to be weary of following you through the many Paffages of your Remarks,' which I had noted, as I went along, (rather for the Manner than the Matter of them, tho' I have confider'd both;) and wherein I found myfelf difappointed of that Civility and Can dour, which I thought, if any Man had, I had reafon to expect from you. I fhall trouble the Reader with but one more, the length of which, as it is fomewhat curious, I hope he will excufe ; and fnall then proceed, by en- tring directly upon the Merits of the Caufe, to make him fome amends, for what I fear he will have hitherto thought a Lofs of his Time. "Tis the labour'd Parody you have given of what I had faid concerning the Scope of the Book. " He proceeds. For altho' in the Speeches *e that occur, there be much Talk of Reli- G 2 JC gion, [ 44 ] " gion, Virtue, and Providence, of God's " Wifdom, Juftice, and Holinefs in the Go- " vernment of the World, of one Principle " of all Things, and other moft important " Truths ; yet, that this which I have affign- (c ed is the only Scope of the Book, will ap- 11 pear manifeft to every one, as well from the " Beginning and the End, as from the Oeco- " nomy of the whole. For, to fay all in a " word, it firft prefentsjob complaining, expo- " ftulating, and indulging himfelf in an un- " governable Grief; afterwards (when, as the " Nature of the facred Drama requir'd, by " the Contradiction of his Friends, and their ,K finifter Sufpicions, he became more and tc more teized and irritated) rafhly challenging " God, and glorying in his own Integrity; " yet, at length, brought back to a due Sub- " miffion and Knowledge of himfelf " (you fhould have gone on to the End of the Sentence, when you were quoting me for the Scope of the Author) " then at laft, and not " before, receiving from God both the Re- " ward and Teftimony of his Uprightnefs k." The v- Quamvis enim in fermonibus, qui in eo habentur, de reli- gione, de virtute, de providentia, Deique in mundo gubernan- do fapientia, jullitia, fanditate, de uno rerum omnium prin- cipio, aliifque graviffimis veritatibus differtetur, hunc tamen quem dijji unicum effe libri fcopum, tam ex initio & fine, quam ex univerfacjus ceconomia cuivis, opinor, manifeftum erit. Ea [4J ] The very Quotation of this Paflage, it feems, is fufficient to fhew the Abfurdity of it. For thus you go on. " The Reader now fees " [What, already ! before you have fo much as told him what he is to fee] " that all this is juft " as pertinent, as if I fhould fay, that Mr. " Chillingworth's Book againft Knot was not " to prove the Religion of Proteftants a fafe " Way to Salvation, but to give the Pi&ure of tc an artful Caviller, and a candid Difputer. " For, although in the Arguments that occur " there be much Talk of Proteftantifm, Po- «* pery, Infallibility, a Judge of Controver- cc fies, Fundamentals of Faith, and other moft " important Matters ; yet, that this which I " have affigned is the only Scope of the Book, inafmuch as both Sides ap peal with the utmoft Afiiirance, to Experience, for the Truth of, what they refpectively main tain in Support or Abatement of the principal Point ; Job for the Profperity of the wicked, and his Friends for the contrary. There muft therefore have been many Examples (as there are now) both ofthe Punifhment and of the" Impunity of wicked Men, and confequently, Good and Evil promifcuoufly difpenfed.— — A [54] A Queftion, in which each fide is fo far from flicking firmly to the laft, as you hav?& aut u$e>, " infertque vilitatis aut imbecillitatis infimum gradum : quem ta- " men ulterius adhuc deprimit to niffay convuljum, revulfum, " eradicatum. Quid fit Nihil convulfum, melius perfentifcitur, " quam verbis exprimitur. Non videtur fublimius a liquid con- " cipi poffe ab ingenio humane, quam ut nervus, feu vigor ner- " vofifjimus, alicujus rei, appelletur lo niflay, nihil convulfum. " Jeter, proprie nervus, vires corporis & animi fignificat, ac " pr&fertim excellentiores facultates quibus tumere folent mortales, " fibiqueplaccre." There is another remarkable Paffage in this Book, where lo is ufed fubftantively, ch. xxxvii. ver. 24. lo jir'eh col hacmE leb, Nihil videt omnes fapientes cordis. Even the wifeft of Men are Nothing in his Sight. Which, as it is more fignificant, fo it agrees much better with the Context, than our Tranflation of it, He rejpedeth not any that are wife of Heart. You will give me leave to obferve, Sir, once for all, that whatever of this Kind! offer to the Reader, is intended for his Information, and not for yours. K 2 . own [68 ] own Knowledge, after a Courfe of Wickednefs and Impiety, have met with their Deferts, and had the Delay of their Punifhment abundantly made up to them in the Weight and Severity of tt, ver. 8. Whofe Deft ruction was the more remarkable ; as it was the immediate Hand of God, the vifible Effect of his Indignation, com ing upon them like a Whirlwind, ver. 9. 'Tis not the fir ft time that I have feen the proud and haughty Tyrant, the cruel and rapacious Oppref- for, together with his whole Family, who ufed to grind and devour others, fir ipt at once of their un- juft Acquifitions, the Prey they hadfeized, fnatch- edoutof their Mouths, and them f elves become the ftarving Objects of that Cruelty and Rapine, which they had excercifed towards others, ver. 10, 11. [This is not arguing, but indirectly abufing Job and his Sons, whom he characterizes un^ der the various Appellations here made ufe of for a Lion and his Whelps.] His next Bufinefs is to chaftife Job for his Pride and Prefumption, in arrogating to himfelf that Perfection, which, by his Complaints and Expoftulations with God, in the foregoing Chap ter, he feeMedto arrogate. And to introduce his Correction with more Authority, he gives it the Sanction of an extraordinary Revelation he had been lately favour d with to this Effect, " That st in the holy Angels themfefves, the pur eft and « mft, [ 69 ] " moft exaltedof God's Creatures, there was a * ' Degree of Failure and Imperfection which ren- tc der'd them unclean in his Sight: How much « ' lefs could weak and mortal Manpretend to jpot- " left Innocence, or hope to depart juftifiedfrom " the Tribunal of his Maker?" v. 12, — 19. The Opening of the Debate, you fee, is in- tirely perfonal, relating to Job's Character and Behaviour. And I have eonfider'd it more particularly, becaufe it fhews, that the Con viction of Job, here aim'd at by Eliphaz, is the very fame which is afterwards wrought in him by God himfelf; and becaufe it is of great Importance, to the rightly apprehending what the Difputants are principally debating, to obferve with Attention, how they fet out at firft. Mr. Worthington was fenfible of the Truth of this Remark, though he happens to be miftaken in applying it. " Eliphaz (fays " he) begins the Controverfy. Here, there- " fore, we may expect, he fhould lay down *' his general Thefts, as the Foundation of all " the Difputations Pro and Con that follow; " which therefore ought carefully to be attended " to. Accordingly we find, he introduces it " in a very pompous and folemn manner. For, " after ridiculing the Religion of Job, in order *' to give his own Opinion, [that is, the gene- " ral Doctrine which he maintains, and which " the [70] " the fubfequent Arguments ufed by himfelf " and Friends tend to confirm, viz. the Pre- " exiftence of Souls'] the greater Weight and " and Sanction, he pretends, or elfe perhaps " fancies, he had feen an Apparition, which " had reveal'd it to him \" But certainly, if this Author had carefully attended to the Be ginning of the Controverfy, he would have feen, that it begins a little higher ; — that here is no general Thefts laid down, nor, confequent- ly, Difputations, Pro and Con, to follow, but a perfonal Charge, brought againft Job, of Ar rogance, Impatience, and Hypocrify ; follow ed by an Endeavour in Eliphaz and his Com panions to work a Reformation in him, tho' they happen, through their uncharitable and imprudent manner of going about it, to fail of Succefs. I mention this Overfight of Mr. Worthing- ton's (and the Error it led him into about a Thefts and Difputations,) becaufe it is common to you both. You could neither of you have miftaken the chief and immediate Subject of the Controverfy, if you had more carefully at tended to the Beginning and Conclufion of it : It being difficult to conceive, how any two Men, of your Dexterity and Difcernment, fhould have hold of the Thread at both Ends, 1 Differt on Job, pag. 500, 501. without I 71 ] without being able to unravel it, or fo much as knowing the Materials it was compo- fed of. But to go on with the Argument, ch. vi. Eliphaz having, as he thought, fully convicted Job of Impiety, in expoftulating with God, by the Revelation before- mention' d, infults him in this manner : Come on, now, and make thy Ap peal once more Contend again with God, and fee if Man or Angel will undertake thy De fence. Ver. 3. He renews his perfonal Inve ctive againft Job, but ftill in the fame indirect and covert manner % — tells him, ver. 8. what he would do himfelf, were he in Job'i Condition, and gives him Hopes of being reftor'd to his for- a The rich Fool, or profperous wicked Man, whofe Fate Eliphaz here fays he had been a Spe&ator of, is Job. His Pro- fperity is reprefented under the Emblem of a Fruit-Tree, fpread- ing its Root in the Earth, and confequently in a vigorous and flourifhing Condition. I have feen the foolifh taking Root, fays he, but Ifuddenfy curfed his Habitation : I foon forefaw and foretold that his Profperity would not continue long ; but that Vengeance would overtake him and his Family, ver. 4. That his Children fhould be far from Safety, &c. This plainly points at the untimely and violent Death of Job's Sons and Daughters ; as what follows does at the Ravages of his Fortunes and Sub- ftance, when at their higheft Pitch, and in their greateft Secu rity, by the Sabeans and Chaldeans, ver. 5. whofe Harvejl {i.e. whofe autumnal Fruit, in its full Maturity and Perfection,) the hungry Wolf eateth up, and taketh it out of the Thorns, i. e. from out the Hedge, which God had fel about]ob, and his Hou/e, and all that be had, Chap. i. 10. mer [ 71 ] mer Happinefs upon his Repentance and Submif- fiion. [So far fure is perfonal.] Chap. vi. Job renews his Complaints. —Ver. 6, 7. Tells them how naufeating fuch Difcourfe was to him b. — Ver. 15. Accufes his Friends of •Falfhood.-~-Vcr. 26. Upbraids them with Cruelty in falling fo feverely upon him for a few pafifio- nate Words, that he had let fall, in the An- guifh and Bitternefs of his Soul, merely to eafe his oppreffed Heart. — Ver. 28. begs them to re- confider his Cafe, and to view ii it in a more friendly and favourable Light, affuring them, that they fhould not find him the P erf on they took him for. Chap. vii. He proceeds not arguing, but com plaining of the Shortnefs, Vanity, and Trouble- fbmenefs of humane Life in general, and of his own Condition in particular, made fiill more wretched by an additional Load of Mifery beyond that of other Men. Expoftulates with God, and wifhesfbr Death. b The Englifh Tranflation of jr 7. is hardly Senfe. The things that my Soul refufed to touch, are as my forrowful Meat. Having in the Verfe before afk'd whether that could be eaten ¦which was mfipid and without Seafoning, &f c. he goes on, anfwering himfelf, My Soul refufes to touch it (my Appetite loaths and rejects it,) it goes againjf me like corrupted Meat. There is a peculiar Sjgnificancy in the original Words tafel and rir talamut, the latter of which we tranflate the White of an Egg, but is by our Commentator render'd Saliva fomnolentite i Saliva autem fomnolentis (fays he) graviter figurare poteft je- junam futilitatem verborum fomniantis quafi. See the Notes. Chap, [73 ] Chap. viii. Bildad his fecond Friend engages him, ver. 2, i.—afks him, how long he intend-^ edtogoonfo? -Accufes him of Pride, Vehe mence, and Impiety, as if he had charged God with Unrighteoufnefs, ver. 4. Tells him, that tho' his Children had been cut off for their Sins, his own Cafe was not defperate, but that he might ftill, upon his Repentance and Prayer to God, be reftor'd. Then appeals, ver. 8. to the Experience of former Ages, that the End of Irreligion and Hypocrify is certain Mifery ; and, after reprefenting, under an agreeable Variety of" Images, the momentary Happinefs of an Hypo crite (in the Defcription of whom he all along takes care to keep his Eye fixed upon Job,) he concludes with a kind of Comfort, that had more- of Gall than Honey in it, infinuating how hap py it would be for him, though he was now reject ed by God for his Iniquities, if he would fincere- ly repent and return to his Duty : But if he fill continued in the Number of evil Doers, he muft expect neither Mercy nor Deliverance. [See the Notes upon Verfe 20.] Chap. ix. ver. 1. Job allows the Truth of what Bildad had faid. And I defire you to ob- ferve it, Sir. For if he agrees with his Friends in what they lay down for the Founda tion of their Charge againft him, and only de- L nies [7+] hies the Confequence they would draw from it, it might fairly be infer'd, that his perfonal In tegrity was not only the primary, but the file Queftion that was between them. This Ob- fervation is further confirm'd at ch. xxvii. and puts it, I think, beyond all Difpute, that you have miftaken the immediate Subject of the Controverfy.] I know, fays he, it is fo of a Truth; and I know further, that no Man can bejuftified, who contends with God : But does it follow from hence that I am an Hypocrite ? No : I could eafily make the Juftice of my Caufe ap pear, were it not for that infinite Diftance be tween God and Man, which makes it both impof- fible to contend with him, and dangerous to at tempt it. What I infift upon is, that Mifery is no certain Proof of Guilt, but happens promif- cuoufty to good and bad: Ver. 29. Verily the Scourge flayeth without Diftinction ; it laugh- eth at the Trial of the innocent c. Ver. 29. But if I muft be condemned, to what purpofe is it to go about to clear myfelf againft fo power ful an Adverfary ? If I wafh myfelf with Snow Water, &c. let me appeal never fo juftly to the Purity and Innocence of my former Con- verfation, he can plunge me in the Ditch, i. e. * Mulcationi innocentium illudit.] Flagellum infultans & fub- fannans habet cothurnum huic libro unice aptum. Not. in Loc. make [rj] make me at any time appear as black and odious as he pleafes. Ver. 32. We are by no means upon equal Terms, nor is there any one to do juftice between us. But let him once forbear the Exercife of his Power; let him take but off his Rod, and 1 could then fpeak to him without Fear. For I am not the Perfon that has caufe for it. Chap. x. has nothing of a Difputation in it, but is wholly taken up in a Vindication of his In tegrity, Expoftulations with God, and wifhes for a little Refpite from his Sufferings before Death. Chap. xi. Zophar, the third Friend, falls feverely upon the Verbofity, Arrogance, and Falfhood of ]oh's Defence. Ver. 6. Tells him, that God had exacted of him only the Intereft of his Punifhment, and not the Principal d. Ver. 13. Exhorts him to Repentance, and promifes him Happinefs upon the Condition ofit; conclu ding, as ufual, with a Sting upon Job, the fudden Revolution of whofe Fortunes is fuggefled to be the natural Confequence of his Iniquity in thefe Words: Ver. 20. But the Eyes of the wicked fhall fail e, and they fhall not efcape, ' See the Notes. c Oculi improborum confumentur.] Confumpti oculi defig- nant fruftratam & elufam fpem omnis boni, cum invidia tabida alien as felicitatis. L 2 and [76] and their Hope fhall be as the giving up of the Ghoft, or rather, as that which is bloivn away by a Puff of Breath f. Chap. xii. Job ironically expofes their vain and oftentatious Pretences to fuperior Wif- dom, and the Abfurdity of their gathering That from general and obvious Truths, the firft Principles of God's infinite Power and Wifdom, univerfally known and held, and from the remarkable Difpenfations of his Provi dence, the contrary of which he was equally able to maintain from the fame Topics ; as in Fact he does, from f 13. to the End of the Chapter. See the Argument and Notes. Chap. xiv. $ 1. All this I have feen, and heard, and confidered. I am not inferior to any of you in Knowledge : but I defire to have no more to fay to fuch Forgers of Lies; and only wifh I might be permitted to plead my Caufe with God himfelf. $ 7. He charges f Et effugium ipfum peribit ab ipfis ; fpefque eorum difflatio animae.] In formula abad manos (effugium periit) plus refidet quam negatio vel ademptio effugii. 'Of i/ft^oi' videlicet, ut turn vel maxime deperiiffe deprehendantur, quum afylum tutiffimum arcemque fecenfent tenere falutis. Difflatio animae.] Nepefxni- ma, hie pro anima oris ; mapat, difflatio, pro re quam facile di$les, vel quae contemni & difflari mereatur. Gravis & acule- ata plane claufula, qua cenforio fpiritu difflatur, ut fie dicam, Nolter ; difflantur omnes ejus fortune, praterita; non tantum, fed & future. Not. if hoc. them [77 ] them with fpeaking wickedly and deceitfully for God ; $ a. with mocking him, whilft, under the Appearance of vindicating bis Ho nour, they were venting their own Malice and Falfhood. $ 15. Infifis upon his own Juftification, even though God fhould utterly deflroy him s. — Expoftulates and complains in the moft pathetic manner. And Chap. xv. continues his Expoftulations and Complaints. Chap. xvi. Eliphaz begins again more fe ver ely than at firft. Ver. 2. &c. accufes him of Prefumption, Turbulence, and Impiety in the very Article of defending himfelf. [How you will reconcile this to the following Re mark in the Div. Leg. p. 537. I know not. "And here let us obferve that, in this lies " the Difference between Eli hw and the three " Friends. They accufe Job of preceding " Faults ; He of the prefent ; namely Impa- " tience and Impiety; confequently his " Charge was true, and theirs unjuft." You: fee here, Sir, that Eliphaz as directly accufes Job of prefent Faults as Elihu does. And fo does Zophar, ch. xi. 2, 3. and Bildad 6 The Englifh Verfion, tflhough he flay me, yet will I trufi in him) is quite wrong. The Original is, henja&eleni lo ajaSel. Ecce occidet me, nullus fperem. Verbo kaial ineft gravis fig- niiicatus exfcindendi, radicitufque fternendi arborem j lo ajatel, fine ulla fpe. chap. [ 78 ] chap. viii. 2. and again, chap, xviii. 2, 4, and Eliphaz himfelf, chap. iv. 1.] Ver. 14. Eliphaz tells him, that the beft of Men have no Pretence to injift fo ftrictly on their own In nocence, forafmuch as Corruption is intail'd upon the whole Race of Mankind. Then harangues upon the dreadful Prefages, which the wicked have of their impending Ruin, and fhe Treafures of Wrath, that are re fer ve d in flore for bold and harden 'd Sinners; directly pointing at the particular Judgments which had befallen Job and his Family. Chap. xvi. Job expreffes his Wearinefs of having the fame Things over and over again — underftands all they had been faying as levell'd at him : — tells them, that were they in his Condition, he could heap up Words againft them, and fhake his Head at them; but would take a different way of comforting them from what they had ufed towards him. — Ver. 8. Complains how hard his Cafe is, that he fhould fall not only under God's Difpleafure, but theUnmercifulnefs of Men; nay, that his Severity was the Caufe of their Cruelty, and the very thing that bore them out in their un- juft Condemnation of him h. This Behaviour of h The true rendring and meaning of ver. 8. (which we tranflate, Thou hafi filled me with Wrinkles, which is a Witnefs againft [79] if his Friends is at ver. 9, &c. defcribed in fuch Terms, as plainly difcover that it had cut him to the very Soul. He teareth me in his Wrath who hateth me ; he gnafheth up on me with his Teeth j mine Enemy fhar- pens his Eyes upon me. They have gaped upon me with their Mouth, they have fmit- ten me upon the Cheek reproachfully, they have gather'd themfelves together againft me. God hath deliver'd me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the Hands of the wicked. [Is this like maintaining a Queftion upon a cool and abftract Subject, as you call it ? Is it not evident, that what they faid of the Punifh- ment of the wicked, was only meant by them, (or, at leaft, fo nnderftood by him,) to gall and fling, Xd irritate and inflame him?] And this, as he goes on, not for any Injuftice he had been guilty of towards Men, or Want of Piety towards God, to whofe Mer cy, as a dying Man, he ftill appeals from the Infults and Barbarity of his inhuman Friends. O Earth, cover not thou my Blood, nor let it again/} me, and my Leannefs, rifing up in me, beareth witnefs to my Face) is this : That thou halt, as it were, tied me Neek and Heels, and deliver'd me up as a Malefactor, to publick Execution, is made a Proof of my Guilt, and this manifeft Wrong which my Accufers do me, like a bold and perjur'd Witnefs, ftands up, and bears Teftimony againft me to my Face. See the Notes. now L »<> J cry in vain for Vengeance. Ver. 19. Alfo now behold my Witnefs is in Heaven, and my Record is on high. My Friends fcorn me, but mine Eye poureth out Tears unto God. Ver. 2 1 . He again wifhes he might be al lowed to make his Defence before God him felf; or, if that were too much, that he might, at leaft, fame way or other, clear up his Character to Men, before he died. See the Notes. [Whether you are by this time, Sir, fatisfied or no, that the Debate between Job and his Friends is chiefly concerning his perfo nal Integrity, that it primarily and imme diately refpects himfelf, and his own Cha racter and Behaviour, you beft can tell ; but, in truth, I begin to be weary of proving fo plain a Fact, which, as I have hardly any thing more to do, than totranfcribe what lies before me, 'tis almoft an Affront to the Rea der, to imagine he can doubt of, if he takes the Book of Job into his Hands.] Chap. xvii. His Wounds bleed afrefli, and he feems like one at the Point of expiring. Ver. 1. My Spirit is broken to Pieces f~my Days are cut off; the Grave is ready for me. But the - Cruelty of his Friends is ftill up- permoft. Are there not Mockers with me ? and doth not mine Eye continue in their Provocations ? [ «i ] Provocations5? i.e. Do I not feel without Refpite their inceftdnt Contumely and Re proaches? Ver. 8. Exhorts the good, though they could not help being aftonifljed at his Cafe, yet not to be difcouragedby it. — Ver. u. Re peats his Complaints, and wift>esfor Death as his only Refuge. Chap, xviii. ver. 2, 3. Bildad reproves his Captioufnefs k and contemptuous Treatment of them. Ver. 4. Retorts what he had faid of them Chap. xvi. 9. O thou, (and notwe) that teareft thyfelf in thine Anger, fhall the Earth be forfaken for thee?, and fhall the Rock be removed out of his. Place? yea the Light of the wicked fhall be put out, &c,. Shall the eternal and unchangeable Laws of God's Juftice and Hblinefs be r ever fed or fuf- pended upon thy Account ? No : Rage arid tehr, and be as abufive as thou wilt, make a tragical Outcry of thy Sufferings, as if all the Religion and Virtue upon Earth was to dye and be buried with .thee, [fee the Notes] yet fhall it for ever abide, a firm and folid Truth, that the Honour and Happinefs of wicked Men fhall at laft be turned into Difi 1 The Word in the Original fignifies, the hitting one acrofs the Face and. Eyes, with a, Whip or Lafh; and the Eye con tinuing in it, implies the frequent or conftant Repetition of fuch Infult.: k Ver. 2. Quourque ponetis kinze le-millin captibfos Iaqueos Sermonibus \ M grace grace and Miflery. And to this purpofe he goes oh, exactly delineating ]oh's Cafe and Circumftande's, to the End of his Speech. Chap. xix. ver. 2. Job again complains of the Injuftice and Cruelty of this perfonal Abufe ; it being impoftible for him to confider it as any thing elfe. How long (fays he) will ye vex my Soul, and break me in Pieces with Words ? Thefe ten Times have ye re proached me. The whole Bent and Tenor of your Difcourfe, in defcribing the Hypocrite and his Punifhment, has been to calumniate and traduce me. Ye have impudently hard- ned yourfelves againft me. Ver. 4. Admit ting that) in the Extremity of my Grief, I have utter'd fome harfh Things^ or maintain ed my Innocence with too much Heat, and and have not yet retracted what I was to blame for faying ', is that a Reafon why you . fhould infult me, and plead againft me my Reproach ? ;. e. make the Calamities and Difgrace I fluff er a Plea to condemn me, as d Wretch doom'd to be a publick andfignal 1 Ver. 4. in omnam Jagiti ; itt-i iaiin mefugat-i, At etiarri re'vera erfaverim ; mecum pernoftet error mens: Sehfus, at etiam aliquid impatientius ex ore vi dolorum emiferim, meam- que juftitiam nimis animofe defenderim : Cemmoretur quoque etiamnum error fheus apiid me, neqtte eum correxerim. Fre- qtiens bmiffio copulas in hoe libra. Stylus fublimis dat halin i'twv^tiv & i woixt'n, in iis qux alicujus animo & adfectui altius infedere. Net. in lee. Example r*3 ] Example of the divine Juflice? Know ra ther, that it is God who deals hardly with me, and debars me of all the Means and Oppor tunities of doing myfelf right. He goes on with the moft moving Reprefentation of bis diflrefsful Circumftances, under the united Contempt and Abhorrence of his Acquainr tance, his Relations, his Family, his Wife, his dear eft and moft intimate Friends: and at laft, flpent with Grief and Vexation, he thus begs for Compaffion. Have Pity upon me, have Pity upon me, O ye myFriends, for the Hand of God hath touoh'd me. Why do ye perfecute me as God? Why will you, becaufe he is cruel to me, be fo too ? And are not fatisfied with my Flefh ? /. e. Why do you tear in pieces my Life and Ho nour, greedily feeding yourfelves with (relifh? ing and enjoying, as if you could never have ' enough of it) my Pain and Torment ? Oh that my Words were written ! Oh that they were printed in a Book, that they were graven with an Iron Pen and Lead, in the Rock for ever. Oh that what I am now going to fay might be publickly recorded, that it might he preferved, on the moft durable Materials, as an everlafling Monument of my Appeal, to the great Tribunal at the laft Day, for the Atteflation and Vindication of my Innocence. M 2 For [ 84 ] |?or I know, or rather, Even m I know (even I, the dying, wretched, p'erflecuted Job, am fully aflured) that my Redeemer liveth, and; that he fhall ftand at the latter Day upon the Earth (uapar) /. e. with Bower and Majcfty /hall triumph over the Grave, the Duft of Death n and deliver me from the Dominion of it: And after my Body has been thus mife- rably mangled and deftroyed0, yet in my Flefh fhall m There is a particular Emphafis in' the Words, Va-anija- dayti, Et ego novi (& ego, ego ille nunc tradudtus pro improbo, quem huniana ac divina tela juxtaconiigunt conficiuntque, & ego tamen, confciusmihimese integritatis, pro certo novi, &e. " Stand upon the Earth] yql vapor jakum. Super pulverem fiabit ; hanc meam carnem inde vindicaturus, carcere mortis ipoliato. Relege Cap. vii. 22. item Cap. xvii. 12, 13, &c. & non ambiges, quin ad Pulverem mortis oculos nunc reflectaj INoiter, fupr'aquem ftaturus" fit Go«/vivus: ftaturus, inquam, cum imperio, majeftate, & fuprema. poteftate, ad fuos vindicandos'. Hanc vim & generatim tenuit verbum kum, quatenus imperium & au&oritatem fignat, & fpeciatim obtinuiffe videtur cum re latione ad Vinditem prapotentem, qui eleganter ftare fupra op- preffos dici'potuit, quum adeorum viridicias fefe prefentem ex- hiberet. 0 sps-atar yor-i nikkepv. zot ; Et poftquam cutim meam per- tuderiht ad hunc rhodum." Pertudefint imperfonaliter fumen- *hrm" ] Verbum nakap ccnfignat, ex origine, contufionem & cprifraftionem a (umjndsd imuniy cum diffipatione partium fub iflibui violentis, qua: caput Xroffa ipfa comminuant. yor cutis, hie latiore ufu pro k>to corpore, ut- Cap. xviii. 13. scot ad hunc piodtnn; taliter, qualiter & nunc experior, & ulterius fum ex- perturusj fecundurri veftrasr'Cdjnmirtationes. '" Ver. 27. cjer xmi ttsceh l-i, ve-tytn-ai rau, ve-lo %ar '. Quem ego adfpiciam mihi, p£ulique mei videbunt, & 'non alienum.] Quem ego videfcp meum ; -non amp!ius mihi adverfarium, ful- minaquejaculantem, fed propuium, fed partibus a meis ftan- tem, fed fua me gratia, quin & gloria, coll uftran tern. My Cbimnenlator gives w different turn to the latter part of this Verje. Non ^ltcrius tantum hfficerunt, gaudia, fed 8c mea. Subeffe vi- u, 1 • [ 85 ] fhail I fee God ; whom I fhall fee for myfelf, and mine Eyes fhall behold, and not ano ther. Whom I fhall no longer view as an Ad- verflary, or eflranged from me, but gracious and propitious to me as a Friend and Advo cate. Tranflported with the ardent Defire and earnefi Expectation of this beatific Vifion, detur (fays he) aculeus in amicos, qui fibi ut pietatem, ita partem in Dei communione, pre Jobo aperte fatis arrogarant. This he gives as his laft Thoughts'. I confefs I incline rather to his firft Opinion. " Sufpicabar aliquando, y non alienum; nem- " pe Deum, qualem fe mihi nunc oftendit, alieniffimus a me " factus;'' * and the rather, becaufe the Wordzyc is ufedin this very Senfe, ver. 13. of this Chapter. 'Tis frequent in the facred Style, and efpecially in this Book, to augment the Signification of what goes before by a fubfequent Negative^ See ch. xxiii. 1 i'r xii. 14. The Matter would be out of all Difpute, if we either read the Words, ve-yen ai rau, by way of Parenthefis, or had any Authority, to read ve-lo without the Copula, which might arife from the Word rau before it. ' aier ani elizeh li ; ye yen-ai rau 16 ^ar. There is indeed one thing that favours m y Commentator'sOpinion, which I wonder he did notobferve, and that is, if we take zar in the Senfe I have juft mentioned (and hot barely for alter a te), the true rendring Will be, whom mine Eyes fhall fee and not the Ad- verfary; meaning his Friends, who were fo eflranged from and cruel to him. And this will greatly be confirmed by what immediately follows at 2 8, 29. with which Job's Speech con cludes. But ye fhould fay, Why perfecute we him, feeing the Root ofthe Matter is found in me? Be ye afraid of the Sword ; for Wrath bringeth the Punijhments of the Sword, that ye may know/ there is a Judgment: ' lis wretchedly tranflated ; but the Senfe is this. You will no doubt reply, In what do we perfecute you ? We are not perfecuting the innocent, but chaftifing the guilty. Be it fo; let mebe as guilty as you would make me, take care of yourfelves ; for Wrath, (Fiercenefs and Cruelty) is certainly a Crime in you, that will exelude you from God'i Favour, whatever mine may be. * Comment, p. 495. -i he i [86] he adds, My Reins are confumed within me p. q. d. My Heart longeth, yea even fainteth, for the Fruition of God ! Which now will the Reader admire moft, the Juftnefs, or the Candour of the following Remark? " Well, our Author has brought " the Patriarch thus far on his Way, to expofe " his bad Temper ; from hence he accompanies " him to his Place of Reft, which he makes the noble Declaration of his Faith and Hope -, the Anchor of his Soul in this Extremity of Diftrefs, wherein his Fortunes had been fhip- wreck'd, and his Life was threaten'd ; the Magnanimous Triumph of confcious Inno cence, traduced by Calumny and opprefled- with Sufferings, even at the Point of finking and expiring under them. So far from being 1 " I had taken it for granted that Job reafon'd to the Pur- " pofe. Rem. p. 6z. As to his being in the right, the Rea- " der, i fuppofe, will not be greatly follicitous if it be one of " the Confequences that the facred Aeafoner is in the wrohg." Ibid. p. 63. r Rem. pag. 61. an f88.] an Intimation that he expected a temporal De liverance, that they are the Words of one, who look'd upon himfelf as a dying Man r; and was, as it werej ordering his own Epitaph, which he wifhes might be ingraved in the Rock {Saxo vel Columnar Sepulchmli) for ever, {le-vad, for the Satisfaction and Information of future Ages) as a ftanding Monument bf his Appeal to God, for the Truth of that Innocence which had been fbbarbarOufly traduced, ahd which his extraor dinary Sufferings might give Pofterity, as well aS the prefent Generation 4 a Handle, to fufpect. " -In this View (as the excellent Prelate 8, to " whom I refer'd, obferves) the Images are " lively and paffionate, and the Sentiments juft " and proper ; in the other, [that is, ih yours " of a temporal Deliverance] there is neither " Force, nor Vigour, nor Propriety ; nor in- " deed, hardly any Senfe." For let us fee what Senfe you make of it, and how much 'to the Pur pofe Job reafon d, even upon your own Suppo- fition. " It fell to ' Zophdr's Part to anfwef " the Argument contain'd in the Words " in Queftion, which I underftahd to be " this: Take, fays Job, this Proof of m* " Innocence; I believe, and confidently ex- " pect, that God will vifit me again in Mer- r. Ch.vii.22. ch xviii. i, 12, 13, 14, ie, s Intent of Prophecy, pag. 266. ' Div. Leg. />.'S44. " <7, [«9 ] " cy, and reftore me to my former happy " Condition V An admirable and conclu- five Argument, and highly worthy of a facred Reafloner! They demand (according to you) a prefent Solution of their Doubts, and he fends them to a future Deliverance; fuch a one as he muff, know, that neither they, nor he himfelf, could poflibly anfwer for the Truth of, and which, he had more than once declared before them, he had no Hope or Ex pectation ofv. " Indeed (fay you) there is one way, and *' but one, to make the Appeal pertinent,; " and that is, to fuppofe our Author mifiaken, " when he faid, that the perfonal Integrity of " y°b> an0^ not tnc Queftion concerning an " equal or unequal Providence, was the main " Subject of the Book : And we may venture " to fuppofe fo without much Danger of doing " him wrong; for the Doctrine of a future ce Judgment affords a Principle whereon to ,c determine the Queftion of an equal or un- " equal Providence ; but it leaves the perfonal " Integrity of Job jufi as it found it. I allow it ; and therefore, as I faid before, it neither was, nor could be, offer'd by Job as an Ar gument or Proof of that, or any thing elfe. ¦ D. L. p. 544. I Ch. vii. 2Z- Ch. vi. 1, 12, 13, &c. N Agreeably [9°] Agreeably to which, I had in my Preface given it as the Reafon why the Friends take no notice of it, but go on in the old Strain, accufing and condemning Job, becaufe God alone could know, whether he had a juft Title to the Comfort arifing from that Doctrine, or arrogantly affumed it to himfelf without any Foundation". You do me therefore no wrong, when you proceed thus. ,c But the learned Au- " thor is fo little follicitous for the Pertinency " of (Job's) Argument, that he makes, as wc " fhall now fee, its Impertinence one of the " greateft Supports of his Syftem. For thus " he goes on : But now if the main Point of «{ the Controverfy had been this, whether or no " confiftently with God's Juft ice, good Men " could be afflicted in this Life, this Declara- " tion ought to have finifhed the Debate, &c. " This (you fay) is a very pleaflant way of " coming to the Senfe of a difputed Pafiage : Not, as of old, by fhewing it fupports the Writer's Argument, but by fhewing it fup- " ports nothing but the Critic's Hypothefis. '' The Senfe ofthe Pafiage does indeed fupport my Hypothefis, but that was not my Way of « Nil mirum quodveterem canere cantilenam, Jolumaue ut fecerant, condemnare pergerent focii, quum Dei folks erat qui corda hominum explorat, pro certo fcire, an jure merito' fibi Jobus hoc folamen attnbuerct, an falfam fibi fiduciam vanus ar- rogaret. Prtef.xv, coming « [9i ] coming to the Senfe of it. That it was to be underftood of the Refurrection, appeared to me fufficiently clear, from the juft Conftruction of the Words, without regard to any Hypothe fis whatever. If therefore the Pafiage fb un derftood affords a Principle whereon to deter mine the Queftion of an equal Providence, and yet the Debate between Job and his Friends is not determin'd by it ; is it not highly pro bable, from that Jingle Confideration, (even tho' it had not been evident upon the Face of the Debate, as it really is,) that what they principally debated was fomething elfe ? No ; this it feems would have fpoil'd Job's Reafoning. " I had taken it for granted, that Job reafoned " to the Purpofe, and therefore urged this Ar- " gument againft underftanding him, as fpeak- " ing of the Refurrection in Chap. xix. The " Difputants are all equally embarraffed in ad- " jufting the Ways of Providence. Job affirms, " that the good Man is fometimes unhappy, the " three Friends pretend that he never can, be- " caufe fuch a Situation would reflect* upon " God's Juflice. Now the Doctrine of a Re- " furrection, fuppofed to be urged by Job, " cleared up all this Embarras. If therefore " his Friends thought it true, it ended the " Difpute ; if falfe, it lay upon them to con- !^ fute it : Yet they do neither. They neither N 2 « call [9^] " call it into Queftion, nor allow it to be de- " cifive. But, without the leaft Notice, that " any fuch thing had been urged, they go on " as they begun, to inforce their former Argu- " ments, and to confute that, which they feem " to underftand was the only one Job had " urged againft them, viz. the Confcioufnefs " of bis own Innocence. Now what fays our " learned Author to this? Why, he fays, i " that if I be miftakeh and be right, in his Ac- " count of the Book of Job, the Reafon is " plain, why the three Friends took no no- " rice of Job's Appeal to a Refurrection ; " namely becaufe it deferved none." Which of us is right, and which miftaken in our Account ofthe Book of Job, the Rea der will judge. This I think is undeniably clear, from the Procefs of the Debate, as far as I have laid it before him. — That the main Subject of the Book is not a Queftion in which the Difputants are all equally embarrafs'd. — Nor is this Declaration of Job urged by him, as an Argument to clear up that Embarras. — Nor, confequently, had the Friends any Oc- cafion to take notice of it as fitch.-*- .Nor is their Silence therefore any Objection to its being un- derftood of a future Judgment. Which was the Difficulty I undertook to remove. You [93 ] You have been fo good, Sir, as charitably to account for fome of my Miftakes * ; give .me leave, in return, to account for yours. The thing that mifled you in this whole Af fair was this. Your Head has been altogether running upon a formal Difputation, logical Ar guments y, ftrict Reafoning , an Embarras, Doubts, Difficulties, and Solutions ; of which we have hitherto feen very little, if any Ap pearance: The Sum and Subftance of all the Reafoning of either Parties amounting in effecT: to no more than this. — The Friends fay : — -r " Job) y°-u are undoubtedly an hypocritical, " wicked Man. Your Sufferings and Beha* " viour plainly fhew it. This is always the " End of wicked Courfes." Job fays — — " I infift upon it that I am innocent, and fuf- " fer undefervedly. 'Tis bafe and barbarous " in you, to ufe me in this manner. A Time " will come, when I fhall have Juftice done " me." This perfonal Contefi, carried on for Opposition's Sake, with Heat and Vehemence * But what mifled him we have taken notice of above. Remarks, pag. 56. y But the chief Advantage (of our Interpretation ofthe Book ©f Job) we prefume lies in this, that it renders one of the moft difficult and obfcure Books in the whole Canon of Scripture the moft eafy and intelligible, reconciles all the Characters to Na ture, all the Arguments to Logic, and all the Doftrines and Po rtions to the Courfe and Order of God's Difpenfations, Div. Ug. p. 54?. c on [94] on both Sides, you coolly refolve into a Que ftion of an abftract Nature, which you imagine is debated with various Arguments, urged and inforced with great Propriety, till the Difpu- tants, as you call them, have confounded them-> felves, and one another, for want of a Principle to unravel the Perplexities of the Difpute z. This, Sir, is the fundamental Caufe of all your Confufion upon this Subject. But 'tis no Wonder that thofe, who love a Difpute, fhould fometimes take that for real Argument, which is indeed but fimple Contradiction. I thought I might here have refted this Mat ter with the Reader, but there is more Work cut out for me ftill. " However, before we as was fitting, " a great Abatement in the Vigour of this ex- cc traordinary Providence. — And, foon after " this, it is, that we here firft find them " beginning to make their Remarks and " Complaints of Inequality. From hence to " the Time of the Captivity, the extraordi- ,c nary Providence kept gradually decaying, " till on their full Settlement after their " Return, it intirely ceafled." Div. Leg. P- 445- Now, 'tis very plain, I think, that by this great Abatement in the Vigour of it, in the firft Inftance, and by the gradual Decay which fol lowed that Abatement, you muft mean (or you mean [99] mean nothing) that during this whole Period, from Saul to Efdra, that is, for above five hundred Years together, there were ftill more and more Exceptions to it. But to allow this, and yet talk of a Principle of no innocent Per- fon punifhed in Efdra's Time, and upon that Principle to found one Side of a Queftion, in a Difputation regularly carried on after a man ner ftrictly argumentative ; and this , in a Book written by Efdra himfelf, to comfort the Jews, now about to come under an ordinary Pro vidence, contrary to their Expectations, when the extraordinary one had been gradually decay ing, and, confequently, the ordinary one gra dually taking place, for fo many Years before, is talking fo loofely and inconfiftently, that it would be lofing time to go about to prove, that the extraordinary Providence which the Jews were under, makes nothing at all to your Purpofe, in any other manner, than barely repre- fenting, in your own Words, what you have faid concerning it. I had faid in my Preface, This Difficulty therefore being remov'd , namely , why the Friends were not immediately put to Silence, when Job had fo folemnly and magnificently fpo- ken of a future Judgment, nothing hinders us from applying that celebrated Text, ch. xix. not to a temporal Reflitution to his former Condition, but to a Refurrection to eternal Life. Upon O 2 which [ I0° ] which you thus remark: " How well he has " removed the Difficulty the Reader now fees." [ I believe he does ] " But he is too hafty, " when he adds, that now nothing hinders us ' ' from applying that celebrated Text to a Re- " furrection to eternal Life. I have fhewn " in my Difcourfe on Job, that many things " hinder us from underftanding it in this uamvis enim in Sermonibus qui in eo habentur — de uno re- rum omnium Principio, aliiflque graviffimis veritatibus, differtetur, hunc tamen, quem dixi, unicum ejfe Libri flcopum cuivis opinor ma- nifleftum erit . For though — One Principle of all things, and other moft important Truths, are occafionally treated of in the Speeches that occur, yet this which I have affigned will, I believe, appear plainly to be the only Scope of the Book; i. e. the firft and moft obvious Ufe of it. That I could not mean it was the flole Scope of it, in the ftrict Senfe of the Words, is [ »o ] is evident E, becaufe in this very Place I take notice of other Ufes, which, if we look'd farther, we might find, and were, no doubt, in tended by the Author to be found in it. Such are thofe great and weighty Truths, both of a practical and fpeculative Nature (fome of which I had particularly mentioned together with that of one Principle of all things, or the Su premacy ofthe Crealor) as the Wifdom, Juftice, and Holinefs of God the Origin of human Weaknefs and Corruption. The Hope or Expectation of a Deliverance from the Evil of it the Doctrines of a future Judgment — of a Refurrection from the dead— —of a Me diator and Redeemer of good Works not meritorious — of Afflictions not certain Marks of God's Difpleafure the dangerous Con dition and certain Punifhment of wicked Men the Confolation and Support of Integrity under Affliction the Guilt of Uncharitable- nefs and Cruelty to the Diftreffed— — the Dan ger of fpiritual Pride, and the Methods which God makes ufe of to reduce Men from it..—— The Beauty and Excellence of thofe Virtues which adorn both publick and private Life, &c. AH thefe, I fay, are flecondary Ufes of the Book of Job, which the Author might s You own this yourfelf, Rem. p. 56.—" But to make this the file or chief Scope of the Book (fir in that he varies) is perverting all the Rules of Interpretation. have [ I« ] have in view, and yet very conflfiently with its being the principal Scope of it, to recommend Patience and Humility. But to return to the Procefs of the Debate from which I have been too long diverted. To Job'j Declaration that his Innocence would be made appear at the laft Day, what could his Friends reply ? it might be Jo, or it might not be Jo, flor ought they knew. We only argue (fay they) from common Obfervation, and conftant Tradition, That from the Beginning of the World fince Man was placed on the Earth (lay your Hand upon your Heart, Sir, and afk yourfelf flerioufly , whether this can poffibly re late to an extraordinary Providence over the Jews only) the Triumphing of the wicked is fhort, and the Joy of the Hypocrite but for a Moment. And upon this Zophar flourifhes to the End ofthe Chapter. All this Job ftill looks upon as aim'd at him, (and indeed it is moft ap parently fo, being the very Defcription of his Cafe,) and calls it mocking and infulting him. Suffer me that I may fpeak, fays he, ch. xxi. 3. and after that I have fpoken, mock on. As for me, is my Complaint to Man ? and if it were fo , why fhould not my Spirit be troubled ? Or rather, as it fhould be render' d, As for me my Complaint is that of a Man; not the Effect of Stubbomnefs and Impiety, but of human [ 11*1 human Infirmity : What Wonder then, if I have fhewn fome Haftinefs or Impatience in it % He goes on, ver. 7. with the Impunity of the Wicked, and concludes with reproaching his Friends for their Falfhood and Prevarica tion. Chap. xxii. Eliphaz has now Recourfe to the common Weapon of an Adverfary worfted in his Argument, downright Scurrility and perfonal Abufe ; Ver. 5. Is not thy Wickednefs great, and thine Iniquities infinite ? — Charges him with publick and enormous Grimes* exhorts him to Repentance, and encourages him thereunto by the Promifes of Pardon and Acceptance. Chap, xxiii. Job juftifies his Complaints • infifis upon his conftant and uniform Obedience to, and Delight in Gods Commandments, ver. 1 1, 12. But what could he do ? Gods Power was irrefiftible, ver. 13. nor would he grant him, what hefo earnefily wifh'dfor, fo much as the favour of letting him dye out of his Mifery. See the Notes upon ver. 17. Chap. xxiv. — Expatiates upon the Impunity of the Wicked, of whom he gives a large and black Catalogue, and concludes that their Death was generally as eafy, as their Lives had been fecure. Chap. xxv. Bildad founds a Retreat, having now nothing to fay for himfelf or his Companions, but [ "3 ] but what bad been faid before. Ver. 2. Do minion and Fear (fays he) are with him\ he maketh Peace in his high Places. By which Words he feems to reflect upon Job\? In* folence and turbulent Spirit ; as if, by his Cla mours and Complaints, he would even difiurb the Peace of Heaven itfelf; but gives him at the Jame time to underfland, that not- witbftanding all his Pretences to Innocence and Integrity, his Complaints were impious and unreafbnable, fince Man was unclean by the very Condition of his Birth, and therefore could not be juftified in the Sight of the moft pure and holy God> The Speech is fhort and abrupt, and the Scope and Coherence of it not eafily difcoverable. Chap. xxvi. Job now begins to triumph. 2. — Intimates what a poor Second Bildad had been to his Friend, whom he fucceeded in the Difpute. Ver. 5. — Strikes out into a noble Excurfion upon the infinite Power of God, which Bildad hddfiightly touch' d upon in the jft Verfe of the foregoing Chapter, and which therefore Job, in this Place, takes Occafion to enlarge upon, that Bildad might fee, he was by no means inferior to him, in lofty and religious Sentiments of God's Supremacy and Dominion, manifefled in the Works of Crea~ tion and Providence. Q_ Chap. [H4] Chap, xxvii. i . Job goes on triumphing h ;, and to fhew, that his Heart was ftill full of Reverence and Duty towards God, even at the fame time that he complains of his having afflicted him without Caufe, he folemnly pro- tefts and fwears by him, that be had neither- faid, nor would fay, any thing that was falfe or impious, in maintaining his Innocence againft their unjuft Accufations. And, as well in Juftice to himfelf, as to correct their Miftakes, and obviate any ill Ufe that might be made of what he had faid; he now pro ceeds to give his cooler and more fe date Thoughts ofthe Happinefs and hnpunity of the wicked, which, in the Heat of the Debate, he had carried too far, in Contradiction to them. And from the jth Verfe to the End of this Chapter, as fully and particularly defcribes the De- jlruction ofthe Hypocrite, as any of them had done before, h Moreover Job continued his Parable.} feet mafal videtur fpeciali nfu dicatum fuiffe Infpirationibus, & fententiis Deaim- pellente probatis. Vid. Num. xxiii. 7,18. &xxiv. 15, zo,2i, 23. Adhibita eft quoque in fermone magna confidentia elato, quum quafi viSrix caufa, velfententia, alta & clara voce into- uatur. Hue ducit Ef. xiv. 4. Mich. ii. 4 Hab. ii. 6. Let the Reader compare this with what is faid, Div. Leg. pag. 506. ( " The Word Parable properly fignifies in Scripture, the re- 1 ' prefenting one thing by another ; and in this Senfe we fhall " find the Speeches o{ job extremely parabolical) and then judge, whether the celebrated Mr. Warburton, or one -Albert Schultens, is the grtater Critick. In [ "5 ] In this manner it is, that " Job proceeds, you " fay, in the Difpute;" and this, I fuppofe, is one of thofe " many other Arguments which, " after that of Chap. xix. he urges with " great Propriety'.' Rem. p. 61. Let us confider it attentively. It is very evident, that Job's Friends, by what they had fo often repeated of the Punifhment of the wicked, meant fomething more than they cared to fpeak out. What in Terms they infifi upon is only this, That the Hypocrite is punifloed, or, (if you will have it fo, though there are, I think, but two or three Paffages in the whole Book which look that way') always punifhed. What they had a mind to infinuate was, that whoever was punifhed was an Hypocrite, or wicked Man, and confequently Job one. But they no where ' Ch. iv. 7. viii. 13. For the reft fee ch, iv. 8-1 1. v. 3, 5. viii. n, 20. xv. 20, 35. xviii. 5, 21. xx. 5, 29. where you will find nothing but poetical Defcriptions of the Punifhment of a wicked Man, evidently alluding to Job's Cafe and Circumftances. You fay, indeed, that the Friends pretend, that the good Man can never be unhappy, becaufe fuch a Situa tion would refledt upon God's Juftice. But what they fay, with regard to that, is rather correcting Job, as if He had taxed God with Injuftice, than maintaining, that no innocent Perfon was ever afflifted, or could, confidently with God's Juftice, befo. Compare ch. viii. 3, 4, 5. with what goes before at ch. vii. 20, 21 . This is the only Place which gives the leaft Countenance to that Notion. But were it more directly to your Purpofe, yet it by no means proves, that Bildad holds an equal Providence, untefs , A- braham held one, when he fays, Gen. xviii. 2; That the righ teous fhould be as the wicked, that be far from thee; fhall not the Judge of all the Earth do right? Q_2 directly [ "6] directly affirm it. Job therefore allows what they faid, but not what they meant by faying it, nor the Confequence they would draw from it. You have, a little unluckily for your- felf, obferved fomething to this Purpofe, in Zophar s Anfwer to Job's Argument, as you call it, ch. xix. " Take, fays Job, this Proof " of my Innocence, I believe and confidently f( expect, that God will vifit me again in Mer- " cy, &c. To this Zophar-, in effect, re- " plies, But why are you fo miferable now? " For he goes on to defcribe the Punifhment ** ofthe wicked to be juft fuch a State as Job *f then laboured under. He does not directly " fay, The good are not miferable; but that tc follows from the other Part of the Propor " fition, which he here inforces, as a little " more modeft, The bad are never happy k." But pray, Sir, how does it follow, that be caufe the bad are never happy, therefore the good are never miferable? It can follow no otherwife than upon the Suppofition of an equal Providence, which if Zophar is there maintaining, you muft allow, that he is main taining it to have been from the Beginning of the World, and over all Mankind. It is very plain that, in Job's Opinion, it did not follow from it ; for if it did, by allowing the one, he * Div. Leg. /. 544. allowed [ "7 ] allowed the other, and consequently wasros- iemning himfelf, and yielding ati that they con^ tended for. Whereas in the Chapter befeflr© us, he infills as ftrongly upon bis Integrity^ as ever. This, Sir, to me appears a very confidierabkr Objection to your whole Scheme. For,, if ife does not follow, from what Zophar and his Companions fay of the Punifhment of the wicked, that, in fact, they held an equal Pro vidence, (as it certainly does not, or Job would not have faid full as much, on their Side ©i the Queftion, as they do themfelves) the ptairll Confequence is, that an equal or unequal Puete yidence is not the grand Queftion, as you cali it, in Difpute between them. And therefoi© your Hypothefis of the Writer's Age, equaUiyJ ftands in need of fome better Support, wheH*?r: you eftablifh it upon the extraordinary Provi dence over the Jews till Efdra' s time, or upon the Subject of the Book, or upon both tcggfB ther. That Job's Friends would have his Affli&j-*, pns to be the Punifhment of his Crimes,, aBSt. fufpected him to be guilty, becaufe he was mi ferable, is what nobody, that I know of, ovet" denied. But what is there more in this, than cenforious and uncharitable Men would be apt to do, in the like Cafe and Circumftancesy as well ["8 ] well at any other time, as at that which you have affign'd ? Or would you affirm, that thofe who fhould now-a-days talk after the fame manner, to a good Man under great Affliction, were difputing either the Truth, or enquiring into the Reafons of that Inequality in the Dif- penfations of Providence, which is at prefent univcrfally acknowledg'd ? Indeed, fo far are the Friends from ftrictly maintaining, that the Good are never unhappy, or that No innocent Perfon could be punifh'd, be caufe fuch a Situation would reflect upon God's Juftice ; that they rather affirm, that no Man could be fo innocent, as not to deferve Afflicti on j and therefore blame Job for complaining of his Sufferings fo indecently as he did, ma king his Pride and Impatience a further Argu ment to confirm their Sufpicions of his De merit. Chap, xxviii. Job having in the preceding Chapter gz 'ven his juft Sentiments of the Danger and Folly of Wickednefs, goes on in this, after a large and magnificent Difplay of God's infinite Wifdom, tofhew that the only Wifdom and Safe ty of Man is to fear the Lord and depart from Evil. Chap, xxix, xxx, xxxi. He gives a long Ac count of his Glory and former Happinefis; ofthe Exchange of it into Mifiry and Contempt ; and sf bis exemplary Life and Converfation both in his [»«9] his private and publick Character. He con cludes the whole (for the three laft Ferfes of the xxxift Chapter, are% I think, evidently mifplaced) in this triumphant manner. Oh that one would hear me! behold ray Defirc is, that the Almighty would anfwer me, and that mine Adverfary had written a Book, i.el would prefer his Libel or Accufation againft me; furely I would take it upon my Shoulder," and bind it as a Crown to me ; I would de clare unto him the Number of my Steps, as a Prince I would go near to him. /. e. I fhould be fo far from being afhamed of my Indictment, that I would wear it as a Badge of Honour and Diftinction. [The Sword and Crown, fays my Author, were Enfigns of Royalty among the Arabians, and the Sword was hung upon the Shoulder] / would meet him with all the Dignity and Intrepidity of a Prince or General at the Head of his Army. Here ends the Difpute between Job and his Friends. So thefe three Men ceafed to an fwer Job, becaufe he was righteous in his own Eyes. They could neither convict him of Wickednefs in his pafi Life, nor make him fenfible he had been to blame in his prefient Behaviour. The laft thing that Job afferts is his own Integrity ; the firfi thing faid by Eliphaz was an Impeachment of it. Elihu [ 120 ] Elihti, tike Moderator, now comes upbn the Stage, and with admirable Prudence, and, in a Speech jnftly temper' d with Mildnefs and Severity, /hews wherein all of them had been wrong, — The Friends; for that they had not taken a right Method to bring Job to a due Senfe of himfelf, nor given a proper Anfwef fo what -he had faid. Behold (jays he) there was none of you that convinced Job, or that anfwered his Words. Ver. 13. Think not that ye bavefpoken wifely. It was not yout Parts to run him down with a Torrent of Words, the Dictates of Prejudice and Pafi fion, but to convince him with Mildnefs and Sedatenefs. Let me try how I can deal with 'him. He has faid nothing that is cutting or provoking to me, as he has to you : I will therefore addrefs myfelf to him without Bitter- xefs or Severity. Ver. 21, 22. But at the fame time, without Favour or Partiality \ He then applies to Job, and, after affuring Mm, that he would fay nothing ill-natur'd or foreign to the Point, proceeds tofhew from his own Words, that, if 9. he had been in two vefpetts blame-worthy ; in arrogating Righ- tteoufnefs and Merit to himfelf, and indecently expofiulating and contending with God. Ch. xzxxiii. 12. Behold in this thou art not juft (fays be) I will anfwer thee, that God is great- et [ III ] er than Man. Why doft thou ftrive againft him ? for he giveth not Account of any of' his Matters. [Obferve, Sir, that Elihu is' taking the fame Part which the Friends take/ and, tho' in a different Manner, reducing Job to* a dutiful Submiffion.] Ver. 14. Hethenfpeaks of the Methods God makes ufe of to recover Men from fpiritual Pride (which poffibly was Job' j only failing) reminds him of fome of his moft' extravagant Sayings, and exhorts him tofubmit himfelf. In order to this, he endeavour st throughout the whole next Chapter, to give him fuitable ImpreJJions of the Infignificancy of Mans Righteoujnefs to God, and of God's in finite Jufiice, Power, and Wifdom, and nn- fearchable Perfection. Job being thus foftened and prepared, God himfelf is introduced as giving the finifhing Stroke- to his Conviction, by a magnificent Difplay of his Omnipotence; and by mild and gracious Appeals to Job'* Ignorance and Weaknefs in the moft' common things, \fhews him the Folly and Pr'efumption of calling his Maker to an account, or of expecting to enter into the Depth of his fecret Counfels; in fiif- ferihg Wickednefs fome times to prof per, and Virtue to be afflicted. ' An Argument ex tremely well adapted to the humbling of an arrogant and querulous Creature : Not fhew- R ing i-ng, nor meant to jhew, how fuch Difpenfa- tions are reconcilable with Divine Juftice, but that it was Man's Duty to reft Jdtisfied, that f key are fo. In this Light, you plainly fee, Sir., that thefe Speeches of God are ad mirably fitted, and with the tttmoft Propriety, to/have the intended. Effect'^ and which they have accordingly. Job has not a Word more t0. fay for himfelf hut I rep'eni, and abhor myfelf in Duft and^AJh'es. , . From this Account of the Book of Job it appears; that as the Defign of it is carried oh naturally, uniformly,, and cbnuftently, ib it is brought to aConclufion with great Pro priety, and, in a manner, every way wor thy of its facred Author. With regard to which laft Circumftance in particular, let us how fee, if you pleafe. Sir, what a pretty Story is made of it in your Account. You lay it. down for unqueftionable Truth, (and I entirely agree, with you) that be the Subject of the Book what it will, yet, if the facred Writer brings in the Peffons of the Drama difputing, he will take Care that they talk to the Purpofe n. Aoply this to the Dif pute itfelf, and to the final Decifion of it, as you reprefent both in the Divine Legation, p. 488. in the following Words. " Rem. p. 6q. " But Dh ] cc But now the Difpute is begun and car- " ried .on with great Warmth and Vehe- " hemence on both Sides. They affirm, cc they .object, they anfwer, they reply; till " having exhaufted their whole Stock of Ar- " guments, and made the Matter more doubt- " ful than the Combat, and yet excepts againft all the Weapons in Ufe. .But not to difappsint the Company we have irought together, I will accept his Challenge, and fght him with his own wooden Dagger. Appendix to Div. Leg. pag. 8. dThe Truth is, the leaSinghis Bwk (which js (he fjrft J.ever read through of all that .have been hitherto wrote againft me) and the writing this Appe ndix took me up but a Part only of this ¦ene Evcaing. *-»-— Dec . 17. 1743. Rem. p. 151. 4 the [ '*7] the Face — Whether it would not be fafer and more eligible of the two, to fit down content ed, and fuffer you quietly to perfuade as many as it would pafs with, that in the imffenftve Little which I had faid, I had indeed been talking as weakly, inconfiftehtly, falfely, ab- furdly, impertinently, diftreffedly, evafively, and affectedly, as you have endeavoured to re- prefent me ; or, to draw upon myfelf a fecond and feverer Correction, by trying, fince my Modefty andCandour procured no better Quar ter for me, how you would youtfelf relifh a little of that Freedom, which you take with others ; and what amends I could make your Hypothefis, for having thought bj it fo negligent ly before, by doing it, tho* late, the Jaftice you feem'd to call for, and by now proving that to be falfe, which I then, it 'feems, but affected to reprefent fo ? But what if this really had been the 'Cafe, Sit? If I but affected to difbelieve, what you thought I was not able, to overthrow, would it not have been full as well, or would the Credit of your Hypothefis have been at all hurt by it, if you had fuffer'd the Matter to have refted therei If nothing further appeared from any thing that I had faid concerning it, than that my Diffen't from it was owing only to [ 128 } to Fancy and Inclination, and not to any Con viction from the real Nature of Things, that might poffibly be fome Reflection upon myfelf, but could not in the leaft reflect upon you. Surely I carried my Complaifance to you, and my Love of Peace a great way, when, rather. than incur your Difpleafure, or hazard the being into drawn a frivolous Difpute, I was even con tented to give ill-natur'd Readers a Handle to fuf- pect, from my fpeaking with fo much Diffidence and Referve, jthat the true Reafon of my not embracing your Hypothefis, was becaufe I en- Vied you the Glory of it. tiqwever, flnce nothing lefs would fatisfy you than ^c either affent or confute," I have for, once ertdeavour'd to oblige you, though contrary to my Inclination, and to the Inter ruption of better Employment : And, I hope, you are by this time fenfible, that it was not for want of fomething more to fay to it, that I did not at firft beftow upon it that kind of Confutation, which, in the Judgment of the Publick, you think, it deferved. , ¦ . But notwithftanding any thing which my own neceffary Defence, and Candour ill-returned, has extorted from me, I ftill profefs myfelf in the Number of yourWell-wifhers.— Of thofe, who, tho' they cannot help thinking a little rrioreMo- defty [ i29 ] defty and Decency in your manner would neither mifbecome you, nor hurt the Caufe you are ingaged in, are yet fully perfuadedi that you both mean well to the Service of Re ligion, and are extremely well qualified to dd it Service. So much by way of Return to the Compliments you have been pleafed to make me : The laft of which, in particular, would have been much more acceptable, if it had not been accompanied with an invidious Com-* parifon ; and which therefore, if the Author of the Examination of your Second Propofitiort be the very worthy, learned, and judicious Writer, to whom it 4s generally afcribed, I beg leave to decline, as being fenfible that I have no Title to it. I am, SIR, With great Refpeit, &t, FINIS. % ERR AS A. Page 25. 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