3. flin ExpofLion upon the Bookof j O B. Chap.3. z 4..6. We read, t'bàt when Herod's birth-day was k,ept,tbe daughter of Herodias dancedbefore them. It is generally conceived,that Job did folemnize his birth-day , and fo many Interpreters take thofe iafts, fpoken of in the firft Chapter, to have been thebirth-day feafts of Job's Children. Origen, in his fragments upon Matthew, . affirms,that the Scripturegives no teftimony ofany one goodman celebratinghis birth-day : The truth is,while we reflect uponour .birth-fin, we have little caufe to rejoyce in our birth -day : The new-born infant feems to forbid this fòlenrnity, and by his tears weepsand fpeaks_down this joy. The birth-day of Nature fhould be mourned over every day,much moreupon the day ofour birth. The birth-day of Grace is our joy and our glory, and is worthy to . be rejoyced in,not only in this day of grace, but in that of glory, and fò it.fhall Eternity, which it the day of glory, is one continued triumph for o'pt' kr birth-day in grace. Notwithstanding this, I feeno cogent reafon, why a godly manmay not celebrate and rejoyce his natural birth-day ; fo he rejoyce in God, who took him out of his mothers womb,and hath preferved him ever fincehewas born. So then,we taking Job's day for his birth-day, he laying, Let that dayperi¡li,means, let it be no more folemnized,let there be no more joy, no feafts upon that day. Or fourthly, Let that day perifh, may be thus underftood, let not that be reckoned upon, let it be loft, letit not be counted in the Calenderof the year. Aday whereof no ufe is made, is cal- led in Scripture, a loft day, a fallenor perifhed day. In thefixth of Numbers, the number of days is prefcribed for the feparation of .:thc Nazarites, thus and thus it fhall be, and fo many days Now if the .Nazaritehad continued many days, according to the Law of his feparation, yet ifhe were polluted with a dead body before the full number was accomplifht, then he mutt begin again, for ( faith Mofes ) the dayes that were before (hall be loft, beeáufe NI reparationwas defiled, ver. 12. In the Hebrew it is,all the otber alayes fhali fall, he mutt not reckon upon thofe : So here lob faith, let the dayy perifh, that is, let it not be numbred or reckoned, let it heas a day loft Or fallen So then, the funs of all is this let the joy and folemnity of my birth-day be laid afide,let it never be cc- :lebrated more in the return of the year, I could with that day had never been; but feeing that is.impoflible, it having been already, yet let it be as if it had never been,let it be put Out of all accounts, let it be taken off from all records ; and not only not remembred with
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