z3 z Chap. 28. An ExpofitiotL Br on the Book of J o n. Verf. 3: job proceeds.. The ftonesof darknefs, and the fhadow ofdeath. That is, as manfearcheth out all perte&ion, fo he alfo fearch= eth our, The f ones of darknefs, and the fhadow of death. This feems to be a very prodigious fearch. To larchBones of light and the wnyes of life, is a noble fearch, may force fay ; but how uncouth a work is this, to fearch Rotes of darknefs, and the (ha- dowofdeath e To clear this, I (hall enquire what, he means by the ftones of darknefs, pnuidemper la- Pita, By there (iones, force underfiand precious Roues or em gemmd gems, which though they are in their nature and qualliry Goner intelligunic or (All gems or precious fiás have light to them, and interdum 3zti fuming lapse the more light they have,the more precious they are)yet he calls pretapiipre- them (tones of darknefs,becaufe they lye naturally bedded in the tiofus Druf. dark and unfeen, either in the bowells of the earth, or in the bottom of the Sea. Thofe (tones which fparkle with the molt re- refpendent raies of light, were once in this darknefs, and may therefore, not improperly be called, ftones ofdarknefs. Secondly, By (tones of darknefs, yse may rather underftand common[tones which he finds out ormeets with in digging for Silver, and lurching for Gold. The miner muR follow the veins ofprecious mental through Rocks andMountains ; there alto are ftones of darknefs, obicure fione, or Rones lying in obfcurity, whereas others lye in the light, or upon the furface of the earth. But what is meant by ftones of the fhadow ofdeath? That's a fe- cond query. I aniwer, Thofe miners for Silver and ratchets for Gold, that they may be lure to come to the perte&ion of all things, will not onely venture tomake way through the Bones that lye in the dark, but that lye in the fhadow of death : And he calls themRopes of the fhadow ofdeath. FirR, Becaufe under the earth there is not only dark:le's, but akind of deadly (hide : a man is, as it were, in a tomb or grave, when he is under the ground. Secondly, Becaufe darknefsunder ground is fo terrible, that it is enough even to affright a man todeath. Thirdly, Becaufe in thofe dark places, damps often prove deadly, many have been fuffocated or choaked in under ground- workings,
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