What does it mean then that the man with the dropsy is cured before the house of the Pharisee, but that by the sickness of one man's body the sickness of heart in another is represented? For one sick of a dropsy, the more he drinks, thirsts the more, and every covetous person redoubles his thirst by drinking, in that when he has got the things he desires, he pants the more in desiring others. For he that by getting is made to long for more, has his thirst increased by drinking. It goes on; Ver. 10. His snare is buried in the earthy and his trap upon the way.
15. His ^ snare is buried in the earth,' when sin is hidden xiii. under earthly interests. For our enemy in executing his plots shews to the human mind something to long after in earthly gain, and hides the snare of sin, that it may bind his soul tight, so that he should see indeed what he might set his heart on, and yet never see in what a snare of sin he is putting his foot. Now a trap^ has its name from entrapping, i deci-And ' a trap is' then ' placed' by our old enemy ^ upon the P^^^ way,' when in the course of this world's practice, which the 1 26 Satan sets traps in the path of each man^s temper. Job 18, mind is bent to follow, the snare of sin is prepared, which MonAL.
same would not so easily entrap, if it were possible to be seen.
For a trap is so set, that, while the meat is displayed, it is not itself seen by the passers by. For like to meat in a trap is gain with sin, and the prosperity of this world with wickedness; and so when gain is sought after by one with a covetous view, it is as if the trap which is not seen laid hold of the foot of the mind. Thus there are often set before the mind along with sin, honours, riches, health, and temporal life, which, while the weak mind sees like food, and does not see the trap, by the meat, which on seeing it longs after, it is caught fast in the sin, which is not seen. For there are kinds of tempers which border upon certain bad qualities.
Thus harsh tempers are usually found to be united either to cruelty or to pride; but tempers that are soft, and joyous beyond what is becoming, are sometimes allied to lust and dissoluteness. Therefore the enemy of mankind surveys the tempers of each individual, to see what bad quality they are allied to, and he sets those objects before the face, which he sees the mind is most readily inclined to, so thiit to the soft and joyous tempers he often proposes dissoluteness, and sometimes vainglory, but to harsh dispositions he proposes pride or cruelty, and so there he sets a trap, where he sees the path of the mind to be, in that he there introduces peril by deception, where he has found that there is the ' way' of a kindred turn of thought. And, whereas all that the bad man does, he fears to undergo too, and reckons that to be doing by all others toward himself, which he himself prepares for all others, whom he is able, it rightly follows; Ver. 1 1. Terrors shall make him afraid o?i every side. xiv. 16. For he imagines all men to be such toward himself, as he himself strives to be towards all. And what effect these same terrors have in his conduct, is brought in, when it is said; And shall entangle his feet.
For if ' the feet be entangled,' they cannot have free steps, and are not able to accomplish any journey; in that their own entanglements hold them fast. Therefore bad desires force into vilest practice, and vilest practice holds fast in terror; which same terror entangles the feet, that they should have no Past sin holds man ensnared. His ' strength hungerbitten.'' 127 power to step out into right practice. And it often happens Book that a person for this reason fears to be good, that he may not — '- himself suffer that at the hands of the wicked, which he remembers himself to have done to the good; and whereas he dreads to undergo that thing which he has himself done, on every side affrighted, on every side full of misgiving, he as it were has his feet entangled, who is ensnared by fear; he is able to do nothing freely; in that he has in a manner lost his going in good practice by the same act, whereby he stepped out of the line into the evil which he set his heart on. It goes on; Ver. 12. Let his strength he hungerhiiten, and starvation invade his ribs.
17. After the manner of Holy Scripture, he has the ap- xv. pearance of wishing that which he foresees will be, not surely in the spirit of one uttering curses, but of one pronouncingprophecies. Thus every man, in that he consists of soul and flesh, is as it were made up of strength and weakness. For by virtue of that part, by which he was created a reasoning spirit, he is not improperly called ' strong,' but in respect of that, by which he is of a fleshly substance, he is weak. And so ' the strength' of man is the reasoning soul, which is able to resist by reason the tendencies to evil that assail it. And hence it is said again by blessed Job, Thou hast strengthened ^oh 14^ him for a white, that he migfit pass through for evermore. Since from a reasoning soul man derives it, that he should live for evermore. And so this wicked man's * strength is hungerbitten,' in that his soul is not fed by any refreshment of the interior food. Of which same hunger God saith by the Prophet; / loill send a famine in the hind, not a famine ^^os 8, of bread nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the word of the Lord.
18. And it is well added. And starvation invade his ribs. For the ribs lace in the bowels, that lying out of sight within they should be fortified by their solidity. And so the * ribs' of every one are the senses' of the mind, which fence the hidden i Vide thoudits. Therefore ' starvation invades the ribs,' when all^. ^''f' spiritual refreshment being removed, the senses of the mind fail, and cannot either rule or guard their thoughts. * Starvation invades the ribs' of the wicked man, in that the interior hunger debilitates the senses of the mind, that they may not 128 Prlde^ ' the firathorn of death ^ consumes the. Wicked^ Job 18, rule their thoughts at all. For when the senses of the mind ^-^^are dulled, the thouorhts issue forth to things without, and.
as it were, the ribs being weak, the bowels which might have lain in secret in a sound state, are poured forth without. Hence it comes that when the thoughts are spread abroad without, the mind being deceived goes after the image of exterior glory, and is pleased with nothing save what it beholds beautiful without; against whom the words yet further subjoined are fitly directed; Ver. 13. Let it devour the beauty of his skin; and let the firstborn death consume his arms. xvi. 19. ' The beauty of his skin' is temporal glory, which whereas it is coveted as an object without us, is retained as a beauty on the skin. But by the title of arms' works are not unfitly set forth, in that the work of the bodj' is done by the arms. And what is death but sin, which kills the soul Rev. 20, to the interior life } Whence it is written; Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the jirst resurrection^ in that he shall hereafter rise again joyfully in the flesh, who whilst set in this life has risen again from the death of his soul. If then sin is death, ' the firstborn death' may not unsuitably Ecclus. be taken for pride; in that it is written, Pride is the beyin-^^' ^^' ning of all sin. And so ' the beauty of his skin and his arms the firstborn death devoureth,"* in that the glory or the practice of the bad man is overthrown by pride. For he might have been glorious even in this life without sin, if he bad not been proud. He might in the judgment of His Creator have been commended for some works, if before His eyes pride had not overturned those very works. Thus we often see rich people, who might have had wealth and glory without guilt, if they w^ould have had them with humility.
But they are uplifted by possessions, they are flushed with honours, they disdain the rest of the world, and place their life's whole hope and trust in the mere abundance of good Lukei2, things alone. Hence a certain rich man said. Soul, thou ^^' hast much good laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. Which thoughts of their hearts when the Judge above beholds. He plucks them away for this very confidence of theirs by itself. Hence in this place too it is fitly added; Satafi shall trample on those in whom sin reigns. 129 Ver. 14. Let his confidence he rooted out of his taher- Book Tiacle, and let death as a king trample on him. - 20. In this place by the title of ' death' we have denoted xvii. the enemy of the human race himself, who brought in death, who is set forth by a particular minister of his, of whom it is said to John, And his name was Death. And so this Rev. 6, * death,' in the day of departure hence, * tramples upon the wicked man as a king,' in that him, whom he before deceived by soft persuasions, at the last he carries off to punishment in bonds of violence, and forces him down the more cruelly, in proportion as he ties him the stronger in bad deeds. And here too while he possesses the heart of the lost sinner, he ' tramples' upon it, in that as often as he pressed it with feelings of delight, he as it were set upon it the feet of his tvrannical dominion.
21. But if by the title of ' death,' we are to understand not the devil explicitly, but sin, in consequence of which the lost meet with the doom to be dragged to death, then indeed such ' death tramples on the mind like a king,' when it possesses the same making no resistance. For temptation to sin cannot be away from man whilst set in this life. But it is one thing to resist sin tempting us, and another to be enthralled by it tyrannizing over us. And so the wicked man, because he is not taught to resist the persuasions of sin, and is not afraid to be subdued to its dominion, has it rightly said of him, Death as a king shall trample on him. For it was the reign of this death that Paul was keeping off from the hearts of his disciples, when he said. Let not sin there- Rom. 6, fore reign in your mortal body. Since he does not say, * let it not be,' but, let it not reign, in that it cannot help but be, but reign it may not, in the hearts of the good. And so whereas, when a sin strikes the heart of the bad man, it does not find it resist, but bows it under its dominion, let it rightly be said, Let his confidence he rooted out of his tabernacle^ and let death as a king trample on him. And so ' his confidence is rooted out of the earth,' when the bad man, who in this life had provided for himself many goods after his mind, is brought to nought by death in an instant. And ^ death as a king tramples on him,' in that he is either pressed upon here by evil habits, or at the time VOL. II. K 130 Tabernacle of a wicked soul haiinied by devilisk thoughts.
Job 18, of his death, hereby, viz. that he is carried off to punishment, he is brouglit under to the power of the devil. Which IS thus done m the minds ot the wicked on this account; because, even when the opportunity of committing sin is lacking, the suggestions of the desire are not in the least lacking to their minds. And whereas they do always follow the devil in practice, yet do they doubly bind themselves fast to him in thought. And so there is first sin in thought, and afterwards in act. Whence it is said to the daughter of Is. 47,1. Babylon, Come down and sit in the dust, O Virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the earth. For whereas dust is always earth, earth is not always dust. What then are we to understand by dust but thoughts, which, while they perseveringly and silently fly up in the mind, blind its eyes? And what is denoted by * the earth,' but an earthly way of acting? And whereas the mind of the lost sinner is first cast down to imagine wicked things, and afterwards to do them, to the daughter of Babylon, who came down from the judgment of interior uprightness, it is rightly said in a wounding sentence, that first she should ' sit in the dust,' and afterwards ' in the earth,' in that except she had lowered herself in thought, she would never have settled fast in bad practice. It goes on; Let his fellows dwell in his tabernacle, because he is not.
xviii. 22. i. e. In his mind apostate angels shall have their haunt by vilest thoughts, they being ' his fellows,' who for this reason no longer ' is,' because he has departed from the Supreme Essence, and for this is, by a daily augmented declension, as it were tending ' not to be,' in that he has once fallen from Him Who truly is; who moreover is rightly said * not to be,' in that he has lost well-being, though he has not lost natural being. Still, yet further setting forth these thoughts of the bad man with more minuteness, he subjoins, saying.
Let brimstone be scattered upon his habitation. xix. 23. What is ' brimstone' but the fuel of fire, which, however, so cherishes the fire, that it sends out the very foulest stench. What then do we understand by ' brimstone,' but carnal sin, which, while it fills the mind with wicked thoughts like a kind of ill savours, is kindling everlasting fires for it; and whilst it spreads the cloud of its stench in the lost soul, II Brimsto7ietypifiesunclea7ivess. Thought theroot oftvorks. 131 it is as it were providing against it fuel for the flames to Book come after. For that the ill savour of the flesh is understood '- by brimstone, the mere history of Holy Writ by itself bears record, which relates that the Lord * rained down fire and Gen. 19, brimstone upon Sodom.' Who, when He had determined to punish her carnal wickednesses, by the very character of the punishment marked out the stain of her guilt: since * brimstone' hath stench, and fire burning; and so, forasmuch as they had been kindled to bad desires in the ill savour of the flesh, it was meet that they should perish by fire and brimstone combined; that by their just punishment they might be taught what they had done in unjust desire. And so this ' sulphur is scattered upon the habitation' of the wicked man, as often as the corrupt indulgence of the flesh exercises dominion within him; and whereas bad thoughts unceasingly occupy him, and forbid his bringing forth the fruit of good practice, it is rightly added; Ver. 16. Let his roots be dried up beneath, and above let his crop be spoiled, 24. For what do we understand by the title of ' roots,' xx. which are set out of sight, and bring forth a shoot into open view, but the thoughts, which, while they are not seen in the heart, produce visible works? And hence by the title of a ' crop' there is denoted the same visible practice, which is thus produced from a hidden root. And whereas every bad man first dries up in the imaginings of temptation and afterwards dies off* from good deeds, it is rightly said by Bildad, Let his roots be dried up beneath, and above let his crop be spoiled, in that, whereas the wicked man sets his thoughts in things below, and neglects to seek the delights of everlasting greenness, what is this but that he lets his ' roots be dried beneath?' Whose ' crop too is spoiled above,' in that all his practice is counted as nothing in the view of the judgment above, even if it seem good in the eyes of man. Thus the ' roots' are at the bottom, and the * crop' above, in that we first send out good thoughts here, that we may one day deserve to receive the fruit of our good works in eternal recompensing; but every wicked person when he abandons good thoughts, and pours himself forth upon the things that are without, has * his roots dried up below:' but ^ above his crop is k2 132 The vain ambition of Antichrist for a lasting/ name.
Jot 18, spoiled,' in that he, who persists barren here, after this life is — '- — - bidden to no rewards. It goes on; Ver. 17. Let his rememhrance perish from the earthy and let not his name be repeated hi the streets, xxi. 25. It is deserving of our notice, that Bildad the Shuhite "°^"* so expresses himself of each one of the wicked, that his words are secretly directed against the head of all the wicked; for the head of the wicked is the devil. And he in his own person having in the last times entered into that vessel of perdition, shall be called * Antichrist,' who will endeavour to spread his name far and wide, which same every individual now likens himself to, when, by the memorial of an earthly name, he strives to extend the gloriousness of his praise, and exults in transitory reputation. Therefore let these words be so understood of each one of the wicked, that they be referred in a particular manner to the head of the wicked himself. Therefore let him say, Let his rememhrance perish front the earthy and let not his name be repeated in the ^■plsitea.' streets, For^ streets are called by a Greek term from width, ™ / and so Antichrist aims to settle the remembrance of himself < broad.' upon earth, when he longs, if it were possible, to remain for ever in temporal glory. He delights to have ' his name celebrated in the street,' whilst he spreads the working of his wickedness far and wide. But whereas this wickedness of his is not permitted to be reared to a height for a long time, let it be said, Let his remembrance perish from the earthy and let not his name be repeated in the street; i. e. that he should both quickly part with the fame of his earthly power, and lose all the pleasures of his name, which he had spread far and wide in the shortlived prosperity of time. It goes on; Ver. 18. He shall drive him from light into darkness.
xxiii. 26. He is led ' from light to darkness,' when for honour in the present life, he is condemned to eternal punishments.
And hence it is more plainly added, And translate him out of the world.
For he is ' translated out of the world,' when upon the Judge above appearing, he is taken away from this world, in which he wickedly glories; and for this, that when the end of the world breaks in upon him, he is condemned with all his followers, it is rightly subjoined;, His seed cut off, Enoch and Ellas to be slain by him. 133 Ver. 9. There shall neither be seed of him, nor offspring Book in his people, nor any remnant in his parts.
For it is written, that the Lord Jesns shall consume Am2Thess.
with the Spirit of His month, and shall destroy him with the ' brightness of His coming. And so, then, whereas his wickedness is ended together with the settled constitution of the world, there shall be * no offspring of him left in his people,' in that both he himself and his people along with him are equally forced to punishment; and all the wicked, who by his evil advising were born in bad comses, by the brightness of the Lord's coming are struck with eternal destruction together with that head of theirs. And there is ' no offspring of him remaining in the world,' in that the strict Judge ends the iniquities of that one simultaneously with the end of the world. Now that these words are to be understood expressly of Antichrist is shewn, when it is added; Ver. 20. In his days the last shall be astonied, and horror shall seize on the first.
27. For he will then let himself loose against the righteous xxiii. with such a measure of iniquity, that even the hearts of the very Elect shall be struck with no small consternation. Whence it is written. Insomuch that if it were possible, they shall de- Mat.24, ceive the very Elect. Which, clearly, is said, not because the ^** Elect shall fall, but because they shall tremble with terrible alarms. Now at that time both the latest Elect and the first Elect are described as maintaining the conflict for righteousness against him, in that both they that shall be found among the Elect at the end of the world, are destined to be laid low in the death of the flesh, and they too who proceeded from the former divisions of the w^orld, i. e. Enoch and Elijah, shall be brought back amongst men, and shall be exposed to the savageness of his cruelty still in their mortal flesh. This one's forces let loose in such terrible power, ' the latest are astonied at, and the first do dread,' in that, though in respect of this, viz. that he is lifted up by a spirit of pride, they despise all his temporal power, yet in respect of this, that they are themselves still in mortal flesh, wherein they are liable to suffer temporal anguish, they dread the very punishments, which they bear with resolution; so that there is in them at one and the same time both constancy 134 The wicked go at last to their own place.
Job 18, derived from virtue, and alarm proceeding from the flesh; in p — - — that though they be of the number of the Elect, so that they cannot be overcome by torments, yet from this only that they are men, they fear the very torments, that they overcome. 8o let it be said. In his days the last shall he astonied, and terror shall seize on thejirst. In that he shall then shew forth such signs, and do things so cruel and hard hearted, as to force them to astonishment, whom he shall find at the end of the world, and to pierce with the pang of carnal death the first fathers, who are reserved for his extirpation. Therefore whereas he has described many particulars relating to all the wicked, or to the head of the wicked himself, he immediately adds with a general description, Ver. 21. Surely, such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God. xxiv. 28. For he had said above; He shall drive him from light Moral. ^^^^^ ^arkncss, and translate him out of the world; and upon subjoining his miseries, he added; Surely, such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God. In that he who is now lifted up from not knowing God, is then brought to his own ' dwellings,' when his own wickedness plunges him into woes; and one day he finds ' darkness his place,* who, while he made himself glad here in the counterfeit light of righteousness, was occupying the place of another. For bad men in all that they do in dissimulation, are striving to possess themselves of the righteous man's name of credit, as of another's place. But they are then brought to their own place, when they are tormented with everlasting fire, as the desert of their iniquity.
For here in all that they do they are ministering to their desire of winning praise, and by the semblance of good works, they are opening wider the bosom of the mind to avarice. So let the wicked man go now, and full blown with complete equipments, let him build his habitations here below, let him spread a name of glory, let him multiply estates, and delight himself in abundant stores, but when he shall be brought to everlasting punishments, then surely he shall know that ' such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God.' Now Bildad said this rightly, but he did not know who it was that he Job vexed with hearing wrong and speaking in vain. 135 was saying it to. But the heart of a good man is seriously Book afflicted, when sentences are pronounced against him upon - an unfair estimate. Whence blessed Job directly answered, saying; How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?
29. The sayings of the holy man, as we have already often xxv. said, are to be understood as spoken sometimes in his own "^^^'^' person, sometimes in the voice of the Head, and sometimes in a figure of the Church Universal. Now the soul of the righteous is deeply distressed, when those persons launch severe sentences against the good, who have not learned to lead good lives, and by the words of the mouth claim righteousness to themselves, to which in practice they are enemies. Whence to the friends of blessed Job, who, as we have already often said, bear a type of heretics, himself rightly answers, How long will ye vex my soul, and wear me with ivo7'ds? For good men are * worn' with the words of the wicked, when those swell out against them in words of the lips, who lie low either in a corrupt faith, or in bad habits. It goes on; Lo, these ten times ye confound me.
30. On enumerating the successive times of the speeches xxvi. of Job's friends, we learn that as yet they had spoken but five times. But for this reason, that he had five times heard rebukes from them, and five times himself replied to their rebukes, he says that he had been ten times confounded; because both herein, viz. that he had been causelessly reproached, he suffered deeply, and in this, that he uttered words of instruction to those that gave no ear, he underwent confusion. And so, while in hearing he held his peace, and in speaking was not heard, that person had trouble put upon him, who both in holding his peace submissively, and in speaking to them fruitlessly, experienced pain within his heart; and hence he says above. What shall I do? If I speak, my gri^ is not assuaged; and though I forbear, it will not depart from me. But if we make these words refer Alleg. to a type of Holy Church, it is well known that it is her great delight to keep the precepts of the Ten Commandments; and the wicked ' confound her ten times,' in that by all that 136 Shame checks some in sin that fear not God.
Job 19, they do wrong in their wicked principles, they forsake the ~ — '■ — precepts of the Ten Commandments, and cause confusion to the good as often as they set themselves against the words of God in their doings. It goes on; And ye are not ashamed that ye oppress me* xxvii. 31. There are some persons, whom bad principle suddenly springing up invites to the commission of wickedness, yet respect for their fellow-creatures recalls again. And very often from this, viz. that they are made ashamed outwardly, they are brought back into their own interior heart, and pass an inward judgment upon themselves; in that if they are afraid to do what is evil on man's account, how much more ought they not even to have longed after what is evil, on God's account. Who sees all things? And in the case of these persons it is brought to pass, that they correct greater evil by inferior good, i. e. interior sin by exterior shame. Again, there are some, who, when once they have brought themselves to contemn God in their hearts, despise the judgments of their fellow-creatures much more, and all the evil that they long after, they do not blush to execute boldly, which persons secret wickedness invites to the commission of sin, and outward shame holds not back; as it is said also of a Lute certain wicked judge, Which feared not God, neither re-' ' garded man. Hence too it is said of certain persons sin-Is. 3,9. ning with shameless effrontery; And they have declared their sin as Sodom. Thus very often there are such persons enemies of Holy Church, persons who are not withheld from committing wricked things, either by the fear of God, or regard of man; and it is well said to these by blessed Job, And ye are not ashamed that ye opp^^ess me; seeing that though it was wrong to have wished bad things, it is worse not to be ashamed of things wrongly desired. It goes on; Ver. 4. And he it indeed that I have been ignorant, my ignorance remaineth with, myself. xxviii. 32. Heretics have this about them, that they are swoln by the empty pretensions of their knowledge, and often turn to ridicule the simplicity of those that believe rightly, and i account the life of the humble to be of no worth. On the \ other hand Holy Church, in all that she has really wise in | her, keeps low the level of her view in humility, that she be Even their ignorance is good for good men. 137 not puffed up by knowledge, nor be made to swell high on Book the seeking out of things hidden, and venture to dive into - points, that are above her powers. For with more profit to herself she is anxious not to know things she is unable to fathom, rather than boldly to define things she does not know. As it is written; It is not good to eat mnch honey: Prov. so he that is a searcher of majesty, shall he overwhelmed by ' glory. For if the sweetness of honey be taken in greater measure than there is occasion for, from the same source whence the palate is gratified, the life of the eater is destroyed. The ' searching into majesty' is also sweet; but he, that seeks to dive into it deeper than the cognizance of human nature admits, finds the mere gloriousness thereof by itself oppress him, in that, like honey taken in excess, it bursts the sense of the searcher which is not capable of holding it.