Chap. 22. An ExpRion upon the Book of JOB. Verf. 16 i44 mighty winde, fh.xll blow and rutb upon hiw,caufing him to recoi le and give back or (as our Mi °gent bath it) put him roflight.Again ( Etc I¿; 13.) Tl'e Prophet forefhewes the approaching cala- mityupon tho`e who had (educed the ?ewes into a vaine fe- curity which is there called, the building ofa Wall with unrem- peredwerter. Awall he calls that prophecy , becaufe it pro.: mifed fafety, anddefence; but he calls it alfo a wall built with untempered moreer, becaufe that falle prophecy was a weake prophecy, and fhould (bortly fall. The manner how, he gives us in the notionof the Text (verf. 13.) Wherefore thus. faith the Lord god, Iwill even rent it with aftormj winde in my fury, and there !hall be as anoverflowing ¡bower in mine anger, &c. that is, wrath (ball be upon it (theBabylonian Army was the fpeciall judgement in which that wrath wasexpreffed) and that /hall be as an overflowing Jbower. Great and continuall (bowers will try the ftrongeft buildings, and quickly overthrow the weake. A wall of untempered enorter is no match for a ftorme. As our Saviour alto affures us in the dole of his Sermon on the Mount, ( Mattis. 7. 27.) where all thofe evils, troubles , of tIic`tions, forrowes, and perfecutions, whether Pent upon fuch as are really godly, or onely in name and outward profeffion, are called rain, floods; winds. So faith the Text , The raine der- tended, and theflirds came, and the winds blew and beat upon the houfe and itfell, andgreat was thefall of it.While it ftood',it flood to no purpofe but for a (hew , but when it fell, it fell to pur- pofe, Thefall thereof was great. Thus it is more then evident from Scripture phrafe, that raines and floods 6gnifi.t all forts ofafi&ing evils, and thereforewe need not reltraine the ttord flood in the Text to aDeluge ofElementary water,, or of water in a proper fence, but we may Enlarge it to any kinde of af- fli&ing Evill or trouble whatfoever that falls upon man. And the Scripture is (I conceive) fo freq;lent in the ufe of this meta- phor of a flood, andofwaters, where great calamities are fet forth, for there two reafons. Firt}, To note the fwifrnefs and fuddennefs -erf the judge- Tentsof God , bloods come often very fuddenly , and rife not onely beyond expe&ation, but before there is any the lea(l expeétation of them. Noahs flood was long foretold before it tame, but when.the time came, wherein itfhoxld come, it came at.
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