A35537:1765
An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, and thirty-seventh chapters of…
An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, and thirty-seventh chapters of the book of Job being the substance of thirty-five lectures / by Joseph Caryl ...
London: printed by M. Simmons, 1664
AN EXPOSITION WITH Practical Observations UPON The Thirty-fifth, Th… › Chapter 37 › Verses 6-8
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Thirdly, To seal a thing is (in common sense) to confirm it (Jer. 32.10, 11.) I (said the Prophet) subscribed the Evidence and sealed it; that is, I confirmed it and made it good in Law. Now when 'tis said here, He se•leth up the hand of every man, I conceive we are to take it in the first sense, that is, he hideth or shuts up every mans hand. The hand is the chief instrument of working, and therefore to say, God shuts up or seals the hand, is an elegant Metaphor, signifying that God puts a stop or stay to, or that he takes men off from their work. If a mans hands be bound or sealed up he cannot use them.
Thirdly, To seal a thing is (in common sence) to confirm it (Jer. 32.10, 11.) I (said the P•ophet) subscribed the Evidence and sealed it; that is, I confi•med it and made it good in Law. Now when 'tis said here, He se•leth up the hand ef every man, I conceive we are to take it in the first sence, that is, he hideth or shuts up every mans hand. The hand is the chief instrument of working, and therefore to say, God shuts up or seals the hand, is an elegant Metaphor, signifying that God puts a stop or stay to, or that he takes men off f•om their work. If a mans hands be bound or sealed up he cannot use them.
But how doth God seal up the hand of every man, of every working man or labourer? By the Snow and by the Rain, saith Elihu; because when God sends abundance of Snow upon the earth, or when he sends the great Rain of his strength, men cannot work;1 in a deep snow, or in a great rain, without doors, Labourers are hindered from their labour: And hence anciently, Winter had this title given it, dull or sluggish Winter; because in the extremity of winter weather, many men are forced to sit (as we say) with their hands in their pockets, or folded under their arms. He sealeth up the hand of every man, that is, by tempestuous and fowl weather, he binds their hands and presseth them together as with a Seal.