ta y Chap. 27. An Expofstion open the Book, of j o s. Vetf.i 3 There are two general opinions concerning the fcope of this- verte, and of the latter part of this Chapter. Firft, Some underhand it as a repetition of what his friends had Paid beforé,'you fay this is the portionof the wicked,they . are alwayes affii&ed,Vic, Secondly, Thefe words may be taken by way of Conceffion As if he had Paid, I grant what you have aflerted, that God puni, fles and affliCts wicked men ; I fay fo too; there's no°controvetfie between us in this poynt : but, this is not the whole matter, this is not the hinge of the bufinefs ; this is nor, as one calleth ir, the depth of divine wifdome ; there isa ferret beyond all this God Both alto afflia the godly and the righteous, he layes heavy lïroaks uponthem alto, yea, there isan appearance of wrathupon them inmany divine difpenfations.`Andhere's the difficulty,how tounfold, how to unriddle this, that Cod fhould love a man, and yetexpreffe nothing but wrath in his dealings with him; that God fhould embrace aman in the arms of mercy, and yet daily wound. him ; that God fhould fmile upon a foul, and yet Phew nothing_ but frowns in his face towardhim how can there things be ? I grant whatyou fay, God dothaffiiél and vex the wicked of the world, butthere is more in it ; fie alto afffietsthe godly,and how to reconcile there two, is the -knot of the .contr overlie between us. But force may Lay, pb teems to fay and lank ; for at the 2r. Chapter, he 'enlarged himfeif concerning the profperity of the wicked, and here he=fpeaks as much concerning the miferyof the wicked, as if he were agreedwith hisadvet faries; I antwer, lob doth not crotfe what before he alerted, he ac- knowledgeth that wickedmen are'affliaed, yet that no man can conclude that any one is wicked becaufeáfflited, -which he had often denyed,' and Hill did, concerning himfelf, notwithfianding all his affi,etions ; for asmuch as he fill depeodcd upon God in the midst and worli of them, which the wicked cannot doe. This is theportion of the ,nickel: I (hall not flayupon thisverte, becaufeitbath beenhandled in thefubfiance of it already at large ( Chap. 2O.sg.) Where Zophar thus concludeshis difcourfe ; This is the portion ofa wicked man. fromGod, -and the heritage appoynted to himby God. fobmakes up the.Iamcccnc1uhon, Ibis it the portionofawickedman withGod, and
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=