Chap. 3's. eifn Expoftien upon the rook of J e B. Verf, z. refs, in either notion, was more thanGods ; for that righteoufnefs which is imputed to our perlons, is indeed the righteowínefs of God, (Bogor, io. 3.) but 'cis not a righteouCnefie more than Gods. And as for that righteoufneífe planted in our perfone,how imperfect and mixt with corruption is that, at beff, in this life ? And therefore had Job fpoken any fuch words, or had harboured fuch a thought, it had been blafphemy at the highefl rate; and (as one expreflech it well) IfJob had/ oken thefe horrible blafphemsess m ! though extorted from him by utoftextremity, and in thegreatefi is blafpheria angHijl ofhis fpirir, furelySatan hadgot the day, and triumphed fiúifet ab eo us rider in toss great confl4, not Job. Should the moll righteous extorts, Satan man on Earth, or Angel in Heaven, fay in aria fence, c fy nigh- jobu's °n outer teaafneffe is msre than Gods, this laying were a charging of God cerramt,v with unti hteoufnefle, yea (which Satan promifed himfelf, and £7oriam obum«u told God Job could do, if tryed to the turnoff) a curling ofGod to ìJf.-t, Bet. his face. But as Job abhorred to fpeak irreverently (though he fometimes fpakepaf iionarely) óf God,fo, that he utterly difclaim- ed fuch thoughts of his own righteoufneífe, hash appeared fully by his frequent prote(ations again(( all dependance upon,and trufi in anyfelf- righteoufnetfeor perfe6ion, in divers paffages of this Book. Secondly, There is a righteouîneffe dour Caufe,or ofthe (pe- dal matter incontroverfie': in which fence (I conceive) Judah faid of Tamar, (Gen. 313. 26.) She hath been more righteous than 1, That is, She bath carried this bufineffe better, and more ac- cording to right. And thus we may underhand Elihucharging yob for Paying, ety righteoufne,(j'e is more thanGods ; that is, my. Caufe is more righteous than his ; and to fay that ( which is the moll moderate fence) was too great a boldneffe for any creature, yea a blafphemyagainí the Creato. Shall man prefume to lay that God dorh not carry things righ:eoufly with him, or that there is no reafon why God fhould deal to or fo with him i But did Job eve. aflîcm his Caufe more righteous thanGods ? I anfwer, not. categorically, or di;e6lly; But Elìhu hearing Job make fo many complaints, might fuppofe he thought there was no reafon why God fh,ould deal with him as he had done, and then he had been more righteous in his Caufe than God. The Septuagint read it without any comparifon at al!, which makes the meaningmuch more eafie; they fay nor, r_912y righte- oufof
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