Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Job
Book: Job
Chapter: 42
Overview:
Job humbly submits unto
God.
(1-6) Job intercedes for his
friends.
(7-9) His renewed prosperity.
(10-17)
1-6 Job was now sensible of his guilt; he would
No longer speak
in his own excuse; he abhorred himself as a sinner in
Heart and
Life, especially for
Murmuring against
God, and took shame to
himself. When the understanding is enlightened
By the
Spirit of
Grace, our knowledge of Divine things as far exceeds what we had
before, as the sight of the eyes excels report and common fame.
By the teachings of men,
God reveals his Son to us; but
By the
teachings of his
Spirit he reveals his Son in us, Ga 1:16, and
changes us into the same image, 2Co 3:18. It concerns us to be
deeply humbled for the sins of which we are convinced.
Self-loathing is ever the companion of true
Repentance. The
Lord
will bring those whom he loveth, to
Adore him in self-abasement;
while true
Grace will always lead them to confess their sins
without self-justifying.
7-9 After the
Lord had convinced and humbled
Job, and brought
him to
Repentance, he owned him, comforted him, and
Put honour
upon him. The
Devil had undertaken to prove
Job a
Hypocrite, and
his three friends had condemned him as a wicked
Man; but if
God
say,
Well done, thou good and
Faithful servant, it is of little
consequence who says otherwise.
Job's friends had wronged
God,
By making prosperity a
Mark of the true
Church, and affliction a
certain proof of
God's wrath.
Job had referred things to the
future
Judgment and the future state, more than his friends,
therefore he spake of
God that which was right, better than his
friends had done. And as
Job prayed and offered
Sacrifice for
those that had grieved and wounded his
Spirit,
So Christ prayed
for his persecutors, and ever lives, making intercession for the
transgressors.
Job's friends were good men, and belonged to
God,
and He would not let them be in their mistake any more than
Job;
but having humbled him
By a discourse out of the whirlwind, he
takes another way to humble them. They are not to argue the
matter again, but they must agree in a
Sacrifice and a
Prayer,
and that must reconcile them. Those who differ in
Judgment about
lesser things, yet are one in
Christ the great
Sacrifice, and
ought therefore to
Love and
Bear with one another. When
God was
angry with
Job's friends, he
Put them in a way to make peace
with him. Our quarrels with
God always begin
On our part, but
the making peace begins
On his. Peace with
God is to be had only
in his own way, and upon his own terms. These will never seem
hard to those who know how to value this blessing: they will be
glad of it, like
Job's friends, upon any terms, though ever
So
humbling.
Job did not insult over his friends, but
God being
graciously reconciled to him, he was easily reconciled to them.
In all our prayers and services we should aim to be accepted of
the
Lord; not to have praise of men, but to please
God.
10-17 In the beginning of this
Book we had
Job's patience under
his troubles, for an
Example; here, for our encouragement to
follow that
Example, we have his happy
End. His troubles began
in
Satan's malice, which
God restrained; his restoration began
in
God's
Mercy, which
Satan could not oppose.
Mercy did not
return when
Job was disputing with his friends, but when he was
praying for them.
God is served and pleased with our warm
devotions, not with our warm disputes.
God doubled
Job's
possessions. We may lose much for the
Lord, but we shall not
lose any thing
By him. Whether the
Lord gives us health and
temporal blessings or not, if we patiently suffer according to
his will, in the
End we shall be happy.
Job's estate increased.
The blessing of the
Lord makes rich; it is he that gives us
power to get wealth, and gives success in honest endeavours. The
last days of a good
Man sometimes prove his best, his last
Works
his best
Works, his last comforts his best comforts; for his
path, like that of the morning
Light, shines more and more unto
the perfect
Day.