Chap.42. ß/1n Expofstion upon the Book of J o B.. Verf.7. 865 They ail,agreed,firfl,in This, iliac all the atfli &ions which befal man in this life, fall within the fight and certain knowledge of God. Secondly, they all agreed, That God is the author and effici- ent caute, the orderer and difpofcr of all the afi&ions that befal man. Thirdly, they all agree, That God neither Both, nor can do wrong to any man, whatfoeveraffli&ion he layeth uponhim, or how long foever he continueth it upon him.Thus far they all fpake right things, and agreed in what they fpake. But jobs friendsheld other opinions,wherein he totally diffent ed from them. FirI+, That, whofoever is good, and doth good, Thal receive a prefent good reward. Secondly, That whofoever is evil, and doth evil, fhall receive prefent punifbment. So that, if any wicked man profper, it is but for a while, fudden mifchiefwill overtake him : And if any god- ly man be affliaed, it is but for a while, his affliugion will loon end, and he return to a flourifbing condition in this life. From thee pretnifes they concluded, that whofoever is afTi&ed, and continueth long under affli&ion, certainly that man is wicked, and thereupon they judged job tobe fuch a one. But Job held this right pofition againfl them all, That the pro- vidence of God difpenceth outward goodand evil fo indifferently to gpod and bad men, that no unerring judgment can poffibly be made of any mans fpiritual (late, by his outfdeor temporal line: This job (luck dole to, as was (hewed more fully in the Preface to the Second Part. I conclude then, That neither didElipbae, and his two friends, £ail fo much in fpeaking, as to fpeak nothing right of God (yea, there was fomewhat right in every thing they fpake of G)d) nei- ther did job fpeak fo right, as to fpeak nothing amifs of God. NowGod, whoknew exa&ly who fpake rightell, determined the matter for job : rehave not fpokken of me the thing that is right, as my fervant Job bath. Yet beforeI pals from thefe words, it may be queflioned, and fome make it a great queflion , whether we are to underhand this fentente and determination of God (preferring what Job had fpolken of him, before what Eliphaz andhis two friendíbad fpokken ofhim) Sffff in
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