An exposition with practical observations continued upon the eighth, ninth and tenth chapters of…An exposition with practicall observations continued upon the eighth, ninth and tenth chapters of…

Thirdly, Man is apt to say, there is no reason for that, of which he seeth not the reason.

When we are at our wits end, and at our reasons end, we think there is an end of all wisdom and reason, as if neither God nor man could give an account beyond ours, or answer, when we are non-plust.

Yet we may conceive Job had a further sense, which yields a more mollifying meaning of these words, for though he (as all the Saints in the old Testament) was much in the dark about the benefit of sufferings, which the Gospel hath now more clearly revealed to us, and called us unto; yet he might have some other intendment in these expostulations: We may charitably suppose him troubled that he was in a condition of life, which (as he conceived) hindered the main end of his life, the glorifying of God, Wherefore hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? As if he had said, Lord, I am in a state, wherein I know not how to honour thee, and then what is my life worth unto me? Thy justice is greatly obscured towards me, many are ready to say, for my sake, that surely thou art a hard Master, leaving them to reap evil who have sowed good, and paying thy faithful and most active servants their wages in sufferings. And as for mercy, I taste little of that; ¹comforts are dainties with me: my cup is bitter, my sorrows are multiplied: Now when neither justice nor mercy move visibly towards me, how shall I glorify thee? And wherein can my life be useful or advantageous to thee? Am I not like a broken vessel, a vessel wherein there is no pleasure? Wherefore then was I brought forth out of the womb?

Yet we may conceive Iob had a further sense, which yeelds a more mollifying meaning of these words, for though he (as all the Saints in the old Testament) was much in the dark about the benefit of sufferings, which the Gospel hath now more clearly revealed to us, and called us unto; yet he might have some other intendment in these expostulations: We may charitably suppose him troubled that he was in a condition of life, which (as he conceived) hindered the main end of his life, the glorifying of God, Wherefore hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? As if he had said, Lord, I am in a state, wherein I know not how to honour thee, and then what is my life worth unto me? Thy justice is greatly obscured towards me, many are ready to say, for my sake, that surely thou art a hard Master, leaving them to reap evil who have sowed good, and paying thy faithfull and most active servants their wages in sufferings. And as for mercy, I taste little of that;