Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Job
Book: Job
Chapter: 6
Overview:
Job justifies his complaints.
(1-7) He wishes for
Death.
(8-13) Job reproves his friends as unkind.
(14-30)
1-7 Job still justifies himself in his complaints. In addition
to outward troubles, the inward sense of
God's wrath took away
all his courage and resolution. The feeling sense of the wrath
of
God is harder to
Bear than any outward
Afflictions. What then
did the
Saviour endure in the garden and
On the
Cross, when he
bare our sins, and his soul was made a
Sacrifice to Divine
Justice for us! Whatever
Burden of affliction, in body or
estate,
God is pleased to lay upon us, we may
Well submit to it
as long as he continues to us the use of our reason, and the
peace of our
Conscience; but if either of these is disturbed,
our case is very pitiable.
Job reflects upon his friends for
their censures. He complains he had nothing offered for his
relief, but what was in itself tasteless, loathsome, and
burdensome.
8-13 Job had desired
Death as the happy
End of his miseries.
For this,
Eliphaz had reproved him, but he asks for it again
with more vehemence than before. It was very rash to speak thus
of
God destroying him. Who, for one
Hour, could endure the wrath
of the Almighty, if he let loose his
Hand against him? Let us
rather say with
David, O spare me a little.
Job grounds his
comfort upon the
Testimony of his
Conscience, that he had been,
in some degree, serviceable to the
Glory of
God. Those who have
Grace in them, who have the evidence of it, and have it in
Exercise, have
Wisdom in them, which will be their help in the
worst of times.
14-30 In his prosperity
Job formed great expectations from his
friends, but now was disappointed. This he compares to the
failing of brooks in summer. Those who
Rest their expectations
On the
Creature, will find it fail when it should help them;
whereas those who make
God their confidence, have help in the
time of need, Heb 4:16. Those who make
Gold their
Hope, sooner
or later will be ashamed of it, and of their confidence in it.
It is our
Wisdom to cease from
Man. Let us
Put all our
confidence in the
Rock of ages, not in broken reeds; in the
Fountain of
Life, not in broken cisterns. The application is
very close; "for now ye are nothing." It were
Well for us, if we
had always such convictions of the vanity of the
Creature, as we
have had, or shall have,
On a sick-
Bed, a
Death-
Bed, or in
trouble of
Conscience.
Job upbraids his friends with their hard
usage. Though in want, he desired
No more from them than a good
look and a good
Word. It often happens that, even when we expect
little from
Man, we have less; but from
God, even when we expect
much, we have more. Though
Job differed from them, yet he was
ready to yield as soon as it was made to appear that he was in
error. Though
Job had been in fault, yet they ought not to have
given him such hard usage. His
Righteousness he holds
Fast, and
will not let it go. He felt that there had not been such
iniquity in him as they supposed. But it is best to commit our
characters to Him who keeps our souls; in the great
Day every
upright believer shall have praise of
God.