184 Chap.'s. An Expofrtion upon the Book of JOB, vert 31. of his hands and heart can earn , and thefe he (hall have fully paid to him : Vain he hath been, and.vanityfiall be hit recompence. Some read this Verfe,, not as a dehortation, Let not him that it deceived trujt, or believe in vanity ; but as a negative propofì:. tion ( for that particle in the Hebrew , which fòmetirnes car - t122 !laio¡rm. rieth a prohibition, notesall() a bare negation fo here) He piiciternegare t Itat if deceivedwith vanity will not believe( the Came word fig- gum prohibe. nifi,:s both to believe and trult) thatvanity fhztl be hit recant. re.Merc. pence; He will, not believe a change, much leis filch a change Non crede: qui This isa cleare fenle , and it hints os this Obfervation. vaniaace errat That a wicked man is full of infidelity or unbelief, that his e- gvod vInaas eri, permuta fratek evil, or 'hall ever be worfe than it is. doejts.Merc. The unbelief of man is as prong againfi the threatnings, Non credo: fo, as againft the promifes : The Saints are hardly brought to be- re," eju+f. lieve, that glory (hail be their recompence, that thepurchafe licitar permue which Chrili hath made of Heaven, and eternal ha inefs recur f ad m pp rneramvanira. belongs to them. A wicked man will not believe that tribu- temdeieniet. latron and anguilh ¡hall be upon him , or that the wrath of yitabl God is revealed from Heaven againft his unrighteoufnefs, he will not believe that he (hall go toHeil and be damned , or ..that everlafting fire (hall burn him , or the worm that dies not, feed upon him; he that is deceived will not believe thefe things, and the Devil hath as great an advantage upon men, by making them thong in Unbelief: As God bath, by making his people prong in Faith. The fir(t affault that ever the Devil made againfl man , was toweaken Faith , or ¡lrengthen unbelief about the threat- nings : While he laboured to deceive the Woman,he laboured as much to perfwade her, That vanity fbould not be her recant- pence : God had laid peremptorily, In the day thatye eat there- of, ye'hallfitrely die : The Devil denied as peremptdrily , Ye fhall not Jurely die (Gen. a,. 4..) The people were commanded to fay Amen to every branch of the Curfe (Deut. 27. i 6,17, rnc. ) Though it be the lowell way ofobedience to obey , be- caufe we believe the truth, and certaintyof the Curfe ; yet it is a high at of obedience tobelieve it : And Satan is as bulle againft our faith, in the threatnings, as he is againft our faith in promifes. This unbeliefopens the way to the committing of fin, and fweetens fin while weare committing it : Were it not for
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