The riches of Gods love unto the vessels of mercy, consistent with his absolute…The riches of Gods love unto the vessells of mercy, consistent with his absolute…

The Lord gave him leave, and Job acknowledgeth the Lords hand in all that Satan did, saying, The Lord gave and the Lord takes away, yet in all this Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly. Satan desires yet farther liberty, saying skin for skin, yea all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thy hand now and touch his bone, and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold he is in thy hand, but save his life. So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown, and he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal, and he sate down among the ashes, Then said his Wife unto him, Doest thou yet continue in thy integrity? Curse God and dye. She manifested the inward corruption of her irreligious heart. Job might have brought her to a form of godliness by his pious courses in his family, but little power of godliness doth appear upon her. For as Solomon saith, If thou faint in the day of adversity thy strength is small. It seems her heart was soured with Atheism, thinking the world was governed by chance, rather then by divine providence, and consequently it was all one, whether a man did bless God, or curse God, and a madness to make a conscience of walking in integrity, and that in Jobs case at this time, whether he did bless God he must dye, or whether he did curse God he could but dye, and better it was for him thus impoverished, thus afflicted, to dye then to live; as for the powers of the world to come, it seems she never had but a taste of them, and that taste never produced any true faith in her concerning them. Here was a sore temptation, the very gates of hell playing upon him with their greatest Ordinance to batter (if it were possible) his shield of faith. But what is Jobs answer. Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. The work of Satan in the impoverishing of Jobs estate, and afflicting his person, cannot be denied to be Gods work. As for the work of his wife, why might not that be the work of God, as well as the work of Satan? For did not Satan sin in all this?

The Lord gave him leave, and Job acknowledgeth the Lords hand in all that Satan did, saying, The Lord gave and the Lord takes away, yet in all this Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly. Satan desires yet farther liberty, saying skin for skin, yea all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thy hand now and touch his bone, and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold he is in thy hand, but save his life. So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boyles from the sole of his foot unto his crowne, and he took him a potshard to scrape himselfe withall, and he sate down among the ashes, Then said his Wife unto him, Doest thou yet continue in thy integrity? Curse God and dye. She manifested the inward corruption of her irreligious heart. Job might have brought her to a forme of godlines by his pious courses in his family, but litle power of godlinesse doth appeare upon her. For as Solomon saith, If thou faint in the day of adversity thy strength is small. It seems her heart was sowred with Atheisme, thinking the world was governed by chance, rather then by divine providence, and consequently it was all one, whether a man did blesse God, or curse God, and a madnesse to make a conscience of walking in integrity, and that in Iobs case at this time, whether he did blesse God he must dye, or whether he did curse God he could but dye, and better it was for him thus impoverished, thus afflicted, to dye then to live; as for the powers of the world to come, it seems she never had but a tast of them, and that tast never produced any true faith in her concerning them. Here was a sore temptation, the very gates of hell playing upon him with their greatest Ordinance to batter (if it were possible) his shield of faith. But what is Iobs answer. Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evill? In all this did not Iob sin with his lips. The worke of Satan in the impoverishing of Iobs estate, and afflicting his person, cannot be denied to be Gods work. As for the work of his wife, why might not that be the work of God, as well as the work of Satan? For did not Satan sin in all this?