Chap. 3 r. An expojition upon the Rook of J o B. Verf. 2. 31 1 fourth verfes Is not deftruflion to the wicked, &c ? As if he had v5' e t mo, 4 fayd, How comes it to pate that God deales thus withmee ? if de -'tea ,'""Pi 1;11.i':," f ruflion be to the wicked, why am I delroy'd ? The eye of the u, Lord is uponall my wages, he knows I have laboured to keepe my hiabcrnnicaton' felfe pure as the temple ofthe Holy ggbof yet a firange purifbraert 'e 4' P i+ exce.'' ismyportion ; what portion of God is there to wee from above, and rf habitat pYa- t7ttY.p TAtfY what inheritance ofthe Almightyfrom cn hcgh to heflon'ed on mee, vitatr. tie ,: butfores and /ickneflea ? Arenot a broken f -ate, a blottedname,and ben! 6E11771, ni a troubled foule, the lot ofmy prefent inheritance ? But I (hall not hit r.-tinw, affi- infift upon this fence, becaufe it favours of coo high a difcontent, go' Arm as if lobhad found no fruit of his obedience, nor refpet'1 from t':',1,ß b" qui(; God, though he had diligently maintain'd a refpec`I to all his v,r,tone( f';tzi Cota,mandements. And therefore vl fe hutnas- Secondly I ratherconceave that thefe words (as I intima- antis ted before) give us a reafon why o was fo carefu to keepe ) g y b l! P Brent, himfelfe pure and chaff ; becaufe there is no portion ofGod from above, nor inhe itance ofthe Almighty from on high, to wicked men. What is there to be gotten, what fruit, benefit, or advan- tage can he exp d fromGod, that gives hitfelfc up to the do- minion ofany lull ? Thus the (:haldee Paraphrafe expreffeth it ; °c r,"711-1 What goodportion, or what portion ofgood could Ihavefrom, gad, "°"' ifIhad let mine eyes wander after, andmy th>ughts feed upon for- Chalet. bidden pleafures? Hence obferve. He that is wicked, or doth wickedly, bath noground to hope for goodfrom God. What good caq; ;meere natural!, or unregenerateman ex- pee, feting while le is without. C'hrif and an Alien from the Common-wealth ofIfrael, He is alto aftrangerfrom the Covenant ofpromife. And therefore the Apoftle in the fame place (Eph a--. 12.) concludes him without hope (chat is,without;any true ground of hope, as we! as without God, that is, without the favour of God) in the world; Thenatural] man being without Chrifl, is without the promife ; and-being without the promife, he can not but be without hope too ; or if he doe hoQe for any good,, his hope is meere prefumption. For as the truth of the,promife is the ob;eél of faith, fo the good ofthe promife is thecib'ed of á' hope. Faith cannot live; much Ieffe can hope be lively 'with'out ' a..-
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