Char. 4. An Expofition upon the Book of J O B. Vert. 7. 39 and fo was Elijah, and many (hall be found alive when Chrift cometh to judgment, who (hall not die ; they (hall be but chang- ed, and have a metaphorical, not a proper death ; This makes fome fmall abatcmen t from, but doth not trots the general rule, that all muff dyc. Take perifhing in the third fenfe, for Come temporal outward fuffering in the world, either from the hand of God immediately, or mediately from the handof man. Thus righteous and innocent perlons may perith too, that is,they may fall under fore and great afiliâions : thus righteous Abel perifhed, and thus Jacob wat a Syrian ready to perifh, and thus the godly party among the Jens, in the timeof the captivity peri(hed,they peri,fliedfrom offthe Land, as it was threatneca,Ciefhtsa 23.)with the rest of the wicked ; of which the two baskets of figs, one bad, and the other good, were a famous type, fer. 24. 3. And in regardof thisoutward, prefent, temporal perifhing,we find itoften,that the righteous periii,while theunrighteous fou- rifh i Pf l.73. i 2. Behold (faith David) thefe are the ungodly , that profiler in the world ; and at the fourth verfe,All the day long bave I beenplagued, and eba fined every morning. As lure, or as loon as I rife, I have a whipping, and my breakfait is bread of forrow, and the water of adverfiry ; thefe profper,anel I perifh : And the Prophet (3er.i2. 1,2.) expoftulatcs with holy fabmi(ll- on about this flourifh eftate of the wicked, and perithing eftate of the godly : Wherefore doth the way of the rvick,edprofper,&c, And in the next verfe, Thou haft planted them, yea they have to kpe root, they groev, yea they bringforthfruit : What a gradati- on is here of the flourithing profperity of wicked men, while the righteous fecm to wither ? Thou hag planted them ; but every tree that is planted, dotk not take root, but thefe take root every tree that taketh toot, doth not grow up to any fireng h, but thefe take root and they grow : there are trees that grow, yit they bring not forth fruit,but there bring forth fruit alto; Yea (faithhe) they bring forth fruit ; thefe were flourifhing trees in- deed, yet in the mean time,thonfands ofrighteous perfons perifh- ed in and by outward troubles. Sometimes(we find on the other hand) that the wickedperi la in outward troubles,whilethe righteous are delivered, and have Arks provided to fave them in a common deluge. God makes that difference fometime, even in this life ; he pulled Lot out of Sodome,
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