A81199:165
An exposition with practical observations continued upon the twenty-second, twenty-third, twenty-fourth, twenty-fifth, and twenty-sixth…An exposition with practicall observations continued upon the twenty-second, twenty-third, twenty-fourth, twenty-fifth, and twenty-sixth…
An exposition with practical observations continued upon the twenty-second, twenty-third, twenty-fourth, twenty-fifth, and twenty-sixth chapters of the book of Job being the sum of thirty-seven lectures, delivered at Magnus near London Bridge. By Joseph Caryl, preacher of the Word, and pastor of the congregation there.An exposition with practicall observations continued upon the twenty-second, twenty-third, twenty-fourth, twenty-fifth, and twenty-sixth chapters of the book of Job being the summe of thirty-seven lectures, delivered at Magnus near London Bridge. By Joseph Caryl, preacher of the Word, and pastour of the congregation there.
London: printed by M. Simmons, 1655
Title page typeset from the transcription.
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.
Again, Eliphaz seems to take Job off from the wrong ground of his sufferings, and tells him, though he looked to other reasons, yet the true reason was the greatness of his wickedness, and the numberlessness of his iniquities.
Againe, Eliphaz seemes to take Job off from the wrong ground of his sufferings, and tells him, though he looked to other reasons, yet the true reason was the greatnesse of his wickednesse, and the numberlesnes of his iniquities.
Hence observe; That few think of, or hit upon any other cause of suffering but sin.
Hence observe; That few thinke of, or hitt upon any other cause of suffering but sinne.
Sin is so much and so often the cause of suffering, that we do it no wrong to suspect it as the cause of all sufferings; and it is indeed one kinds of cause (causa sine qua non) of all our sufferings; so that we can hardly wrong sin by this suspicion, but we may easily wrong both God and man by it. When the blind man came before Christ, his Disciples asked him, saying; Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he ⟨p. 47⟩was borne blind; they could hit upon nothing but sin, why the man was borne blind, (Joh. 9.2.) But at the third verse, Christ answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; he vindicates both from this suspicion. What man was this? and who were his parents, that they sinned not? were they clean from sin? not so neither, but the meaning of Christ is this, neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents, so, as that either his sin or theirs should be reckoned the special cause why he was borne blind. There was somewhat else in it, which the Disciples took no notice of, nor did they understand. Christ doth not deny but that a mans own sin, and the sin of his parents may be a cause of blindness; but neither the one nor the other was the cause in that mans case; as if Christ had said; Can you think of nothing else why a man is afflicted but only his sin? There are many other causes of suffering besides that. The cause why some suffer, is the trial of their graces. The cause why many suffer, is to bear witness to the truth, and to encourage others both in the profession of it, and in persecutions for it. And Christ particularly assigns another cause of the sufferings of the blind man, That the work of God might be made manifest in him: That the work of God in his power and mercy might be seen in restoring this man to his fight, therefore was he borne without the power of seeing. The blindness of that man was an occasion to make a very glorious discovery of God. Much of God had not been so eminently seen at that time, if that man had always seen. Many are cast down upon beds of sickness, or into a state of poverty, that the work of God in raising them up to health and plenty may be made manifest. The design of God looks beyond the sin of man in the afflictions of most men, yet man seldom looks beyond it.