Job having said before, I have kept the commandments of his mouth, I have kept his ways, and not declined, I have not gone back, now comes to the spring of all this constancy in obedience, I have esteemed the words of his mouth, &c. Love is the spring of action, and esteem is the top of love; we love nothing which we do not esteem, and what we love much we think we can never esteem enough; And what we thus love and esteem, we strive to keep close unto. They that receive the truth, and do not receive the love of it, quickly turn from it to believe a lye, yea God therefore sends them strong delusion to believe a lye, because they received not the love of the truth. As not to love, the truth is a sin, so it is punished with another sin, the love of error. Though we have taken much truth into our understandings, yet unless we take it into our affections also, we cannot hold it long. 'Tis love which holds the heart and the word together. No man willingly obeys that Law which he doth not love. Before David could say, The Law is my meditation all the day, he saith, O how I love thy law (Ps. 119.97.) The hypocrite, who hates instruction, and casts the word of God behind his back; that is, slights and vilifies it to the utmost (for so much to cast behind the back imports, the hypocrite, I say, who thus casts the word of God behind his back) will be talking of the word, and have it much in his mouth, yea he will mouth it so, or be so talkative about it, that God reproves or ⟨p. 413⟩checks him for it (Psal. 50.16.) Unto the wicked saith God, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my Covenant in thy mouth. So then, the hypocrite was very busy with his tongue, and he could speak much of that which he loved never a whit. But was the hypocrite a man of his hands also? was he busy in obeying the word which he had cast behind his back? The next words of the Psalm (ver. 18, 19, 20, 21.) tell us what he was busy about, even this, he was breaking the Law as fast as he could; When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentest with him, and hast been partaker with Adulterers, &c. The indictment is large, and upon many heads, yet all true, and is therefore closed with, These things hast thou done (ver. 21.) I the Lord am witness, and so is thy own Conscience.
Job having said before, I have kept the commandements of his mouth, I have kept his wayes, and not declined, I have not gone back, now comes to the spring of all this constancy in obedience, I have esteemed the words of his mouth, &c. Love is the spring of action, and esteeme is the top of love; we love nothing which we doe not esteeme, and what we love much we thinke we can never esteeme enough; And what we thus love and esteeme, we strive to keepe close unto. They that receive the truth, and doe not receive the love of it, quickly turne from it to beleive a lye, yea God therefore sends them strong delusion to beleive a lye, because they received not the love of the truth. As not to love, the truth is a sin, so it is punished with another sin, the love of error. Though we have taken much truth into our understandings, yet unlesse we take it into our affections also, we cannot hold it long. 'Tis love which holds the heart and the word together. No man willingly obeyes that Law which he doth not love. Before David could say, The Law is my meditation all the day, he sayth, O how I love thy law (Ps. 119.97.) The hypocrite, who hates instruction, and casts the word of God behinde his backe; that is, slights and vilifies it to the utmost (for so much to cast behinde the backe imports, the hypocrite, I say, who thus casts the word of God behinde his backe) will be talking of the word, and have it much in his mouth, yea he will mouth it so, or be so talkative about it, that God reproves or ⟨p. 413⟩checks him for it (Psal. 50.16.) Ʋnto the wicked saith God, What hast thou to doe to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my Covenant in thy mouth. So then, the hypocrite was very busie with his tongue, and he could speake much of that which he loved never a whit. But was the hypocrite a man of his hands also? was he busie in obeying the word which he had cast behinde his back? The next words of the Psalme (ver. 18, 19, 20, 21.) tell us what he was busie about, even this, he was breaking the Law as fast as he could; When thou sawest a theife, then thou consentest with him, and hast been partaker with Adulterers, &c. The inditement is large, and upon many heads, yet all true, and is therefore closed with, These things hast thou done (ver. 21.) I the Lord am witnes, and so is thy owne Conscience.