An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, and thirty-seventh chapters of…

¹Unless our hearts bow to God, he will not bow his ear to us. We only fill the air with words, we are but sounding brass and ⟨p. 133⟩tinkling Cymbals in all we say to God, unless we do what God saith. Elihu supposing J•bs spirit yet unsubdued or not wrought and brought into a right frame under his affliction, might well say, he openeth his mouth in vain; and as it followeth to the same effect in the close of this verse and Chapter, He multiplieth words without knowledge.

¹Unless our hearts bow to God, he will not bow his ear to us. We only fill the air with words, we are but sounding brass and ⟨p. 133⟩tinkling Cimbals in all we say to God, unless we do what God saith. Elihu supposing J•bs spirit yet unsubdued or not wrought and brought into a right frame under his affliction, might well say, he openeth his mouth in vaine; and as it followeth to the same effect in the close of this verse and Chapter, He multiplieth words without knowledge.

1. 1Gratio vana sensus atque sapientiae inops, tantum sonitu verborum & querimoniarum clamosa.

Here is another hard censure, upon this good, this holy, and wise man Job. Some Expounders fall heavy upon Elihu, as charging Job too far; he spake (say they) many things that were right, but not rightly; he spake many things that were true, but he did not speak truly in fixing them upon Job; he spake all uprightly, but somewhat too rigorously: And indeed, if he had charged him so far, as to say, he had no knowledge at all, and had not opened his mouth at all to purpose, he had charged him beyond both truth and modesty. But Elihu, who was set up by God for this very end to humble Job, had ground to tell him, that as to some things, he had both opened his mouth in vain, and multiplied words without knowledge; that is, he had spoken many words which seemed not to proceed from any sound or well-grounded knowledge; and I may give a four-fold ground of it.