Part I. P R 0 S 0 P 0 P E I A. Sg fkilfully and wittingly, when his Eyes were dim with Age, that he could no: difcern by feeing, which was the eldefl: Son, therefore of fet Purpofe did he lay h1s Hands crofs-wile; and therefore Mofes fays, that he made lm .Hands to unde~fl:and, as 1fthey (viz. his Hands) could tell Thmgs to come, becaufe ne d1d not hafl:1ly nor gropmgly put them forth, but as one well knowing direCts his Right to Ephraim the Youngefl: and his Left to the F!ffl:-born, &c. See 'I'ract. Cap. 2. followmg towards the End. 'Job xx!x. 11. When the Ear heard, then it blef!ed me, and whm the Eye Jaw, it gave Witneft to me. Here to the Ear and Eye is attributed, what belong_: to Man. 'Job xxviii. 4· 'I'he Flood breaketh out front the Inhabztant, forgotten of the Foot, where For– 'cetfulnefs is attributed to the Foot, that is, (as 'Junius and 'J'remellius note) fuch Floods ~s no Foot ever experienced, becaufe fo deep as not to be waded or gone through. Pfal. xxxv. 10. All my BONES.fhallfay, 0 Lord, who is like unto thee? Pfal. l_i. _S. 'J'he Bones which thou haft broken jhall re;ozce, (fo the Hebrew;) here Glorymg and ReJOic– ing in God is attributed to the Bo11es which is t_he Property of Man ; as if he had faid, I will inwardly and heartily glonfy thee and reJOICe m thee. By the fame Reafon It IS faid, Pfal. ciii. I. Blefs the Lord, 0 my Soul, and all that is within (or my Bowels) blefs his holy Name. Pfal. lxviii. 31. Ethiopia jhall make her Hands to turn to God, (fo the He– brew 1that is, fhall with fpeed fl:retch them out in Prayer; as the Chald. expounds it: Or !hall quickly extend her Hands to give Gifts of Gold to the Lord as R. Aben Ezra and R. Salomo11 expound it. See Pfal. lxxii. 15. Some take this meton)'lnically, where extendmg the Hands is put for a Gift, as before. Pfal. lxxiii. 9· 'I'hey ftt their Mouth again.ft the Heavens, (that is, the Foolifh and Wicked, as Verfe 3.) and their 'I'ONGUE walketh through the Earth, that is, they do r~fhly and licentiouOy throw Reproaches upon God and Man, neither fparing heavenly or earthly Things. Pfal. cxxxvii. 5· If I forget thee, 0 'Jerufalem, let my Right-hand f orget, (that is, as Junius and 'I'remellius fay, itfelf,) viz. Let it be rather dead or withered than l thouid give over Singing, or as Illyricus fays, let my Right-hand for– get its mulical Dexterity, as in the next Verfe, L et my Tongue cleave to the Roof of my Mouth, if I prefer not Jerufalem above the Head of my Joy, that is, let the Lord vouchfafe, that I may never play upon Mufic, or fing more, 'ere I lhould admit fo gre•t a Wickednefs, as to defert Jerufalem, and its Religion and Minifl:ry, and give over to celebrate it with Hymns, Mulic and Voice; yea, I will prefer thee to the chief Elteem before all other Things, Joys, Comforts, &c. Prov. x. 32. 'I'he Lips of the Righteous, know what is acceptable, that is, they fpeak fo prudenrly, as if Knowledge reftded in them, which 'Job xxxiv. 35· is in the nega– tive exprelrecl, 'Job bath Jpoken without Knowledge, and his Words were without Wifdom_ Matt. vi. 3· But wheu thou givejt Alms, let not thy Left-hand know what thy Right-hand doeth; this is fpoken to prohibit the vain Glory of Almfgiving, when done for Praife, &c. 'I'heophilact expounds it, if it be pollible, you are even to forget all your own good Deeds, or at leafl: by no Means to glory in them or rell: upon them, Jell: you be vainly lifted up. To this may be referred, where Anger is attributed to the E;·es, Gm_ xxxi. 3i · and xlv. 5· !fa. iii. 8. and Cohcupifcence, Pleafure or Defire, 1 Kings xx. 6. Ezek. xxiv. 16, 21. 1 John ii. r6. (hence the Phrafe of the Heart's walking after the Eyes. Job xxxi. 7· that is, the Defires and Lull:s follow, which the Eyes moved by out– ward ObjeCts, endeavor to ll:ir up in the Heart. 'I'he Abominations of the E)'es, Ezek: xx. 7· that is, which were the ObjeCt and Scope of Ddire) and Adultery, 2 Pet. ii. 14. and Compa./}ion, as when the E;•e isfaid to pity, Deut. xiii. 8. !fa. xiii. r8. &c. and Hope or Expectation, Pfal. cxix. S2, 123. and cxlv. 14, 15. vid. Gram. Sacr.p. 282. 2. Words are ufed of BRU'I'ES which properly belong to Man, as 'Job xii. 7· But aJk now the Bea.fts, and they jhall teach thee, and the Fowls of the Air, and they jhall tell thee, or /peak to the Earth, and it jhall teach thee, and the Fijhes of the Sea jhall dedare u1tto thee. To a(k ·and fpeak in this Place Ggnifies to meditate, fearch into or concem– pl~te; for the Teaching, Telling or Narration, of Beafl:s, Fowls, the Earth and Fifhes Intimates that they are a real Tefl:imony and Evidence of the Wifdom of the Creator. What he faid, Verfe2. that he had Underftanding and Skill in what his Friends difcourfed of, he profecutes here, as if he had faid, ve have talked much of the Wifdom and A a Power
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=