I Ì2 Chap. I. An Exportion upon the .00k of J O B. Ver tion. Thou protedeil hire, thou bleff -ft him, and thou doll in- creaCé all that he lath, He is increaféd in the Land. That is the fum and fence of thewords. Ì íhall now open them a little more diftintIy. Firft, He fpeaks hereofhis proteaion, Haft thou not made an hedge about him ? Some render it,. Haft thou not made a wall about him ? Or, Hail thou not made a trench about him? It is anele- gant Metaphor frequent in Scripture, fhewing that as when a field is well hedg'd, or a Town well wall'd and entrench'd, then it is fafe. So when God is Paid to make an hedge ora wall about a man, orabout a Nation,the fafetyof that man or Nation isaffured by it. Ira. 5. 2. we have this worduled, where God fpeaksof his Vine- yard. Heplanted a Vinyard in a very fruitful hill, andhe fenced it,er he made a wall or a hedge about it. So verfe 5. when God is angry with his Vineyard, and will deftroy it, it is thusexprefs'd, i will (faith he) take away the hedge thereof, that is, I will take away my protc Lion from it.. n the fame fence, Zech.2.5. Iwill be(faith God) a wall offire round about ; that is, I will be a defénce unto it. So when it is laid here,that Godhad made ahedge about Job, it notes divine protection, he was under the wings and fafeguard of the Almighty. Thishedge ofproteaion is two-fold. It is Paid Godmade this hedge,Haft thou not made an hedge about him ? Firfl, There is an hedge which is made immediately by the hand of God :Sometimes God makes the hedge immediately, yea fomtimes God exprefreth Dew q¡>le avx himlclftobe the hedge or wall,as Zech.2.5.fo Pfal. 18. (all thole ell pee virtue are words of rotetion . 2. Thou art m innxi;rnar.- p ) ver f y Rock, andmy láor- íir, Pandas ba. trefr, my Deliverer, my Strength, my Buckler, the Horn of my bit irmnenfirm Salvation, and my high Tower, &c. There God was the hedge, vonomen deed here God makes the hedge;God hath not pit out this hedge to o- f thers to make, but he makes it himfelf; Satan obfervesas much Jus'mirus ac Haft not thou madean hedge about him ? arcanus eft, g neumiofum Secondly, Sometime the hedge ofprotèc`fion, is made by the ff;.fpem,t e. handsofothers. God fends out his Angels to guard hispeople, ronbanccuram pfal 34.7 The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them Jtis deman 4j angelic, thatfear him. Encamping and hedging are to the fame purpofe; Gods hedge is as firong for fafety asany wall,asany trench. Some- time God doth make one man to be a hedge or a defence to another. The fervants ofA'abal faid ofDavid, a Sam. 25. id. That he had been a wall unto them,both by nightand day; that is, he had been a protc ion
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