A35538:2027
An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty-eighth, thirty-ninth, fortieth, forty-first, and forty-second,…
An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty-eighth, thirty-ninth, fortieth, forty-first, and forty-second, being the five last, chapters of the book of Job being the substance of fifty-two lectures or meditations / by Joseph Caryl ...
London: printed by M. and S. Simmons, 1666
Title page typeset from the transcription.
AN EXPOSITION WITH Practical Observations UPON The Thirty-eighth, T… › Chapter 40 › Verse 1-2
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.
Shall he, or can he, surely he shall not, surely he cannot. There are several readings of this former part of the verse; I shall only name four, and then come to the explication of the words as they lie in our Translation.
1First, The words are rendered thus, Is it wisdom or learning to contend with the Almighty? This reading puts the latter words first. Is it wisdom or instruction, or is that man well instructed, or well in his wits, who contends with the Almighty? The sense of that reading is plain, and the improvement of it might be very useful: for indeed these two are utterly repugnant and contrariant,2 To contend with God, and to be wise; to contend with God, and to show our selves well taught. That man hath not received instruction either by or about divine correction, who mutters or quarrels at God correcting him: For how wise soever he is in his own eyes, he shows himself a very fool, at least, as to that point or attempt, very foolish. So then 'tis a great truth which this reading holds forth, Is it wisdom, is it learning, to contend with the Almighty? Whosoever doth so, errs in doing so, and will at last both see and feel his error by sad experiences.
1First, The words are rendered thus, Is it wisdom or learning to contend with the Almighty? This reading puts the latter words first. Is it wisdom or instruction, or is that man well instructed, or well in his wits, who contends with the Almighty? The sense of that reading is plain, and the improvement of it might be very useful: for indeed these two are utterly repugnant and contrariant,2 To contend with God, and to be wise; to contend with God, and to shew our selves well taught. That man hath not received instruction either by or about divine correction, who mutters or quarrels at God correcting him: For how wise soever he is in his own eyes, he shews himself a very fool, at least, as to that point or attempt, very foolish. So then 'tis a great truth which this reading holds forth, Is it wisdom, is it learning, to contend with the Almighty? Whosoever doth so, erres in doing so, and will at last both see and feel his errour by sad experiences.