A paraphrase on the Book of Job As likewise on the Songs of Moses, Deborah, David: On Four Select Psalms: Some Chapters of Isaiah, and the Third Chapter of Habakkuk. By Sir Richard Blackmore |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| XVII. |
| XVIII. |
| XIX. |
| XX. |
| XXI. |
| XXII. |
| XXIII. |
| XXIV. |
| XXV. |
| XXVI. |
| XXVII. |
| XXVIII. |
| XXIX. |
| XXX. |
| XXXI. |
| XXXII. |
| XXXIII. |
| XXXIV. |
| XXXV. |
| XXXVI. |
Ch. XXXVI
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| XXXVII. |
| XXXVIII. |
| XXXIX. |
| XL. |
| XLI. |
| XLII. |
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| LIII. |
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Ch. XXXVI
A paraphrase on the Book of Job |  |
Ch. XXXVI
To this Discourse Job gave attentive heed,
Which made the young Instructer thus proceed:
I now more fully will impart my Sense,
And urge fresh Arguments in God's defence.
His spotless Justice I will vindicate,
Decide with clearness this perplex'd Debate.
Nor will I labour to entangle thee
With artful words, and cheating Sophistry.
I the sublimest Principles will use;
Sincere and plain, and solid Reasons chuse,
Fit to convince the Mind, not to amuse.
Know then, that God whose Throne surmounts the Skys,
Will ne'er the meanest, lowest Man despise.
Th' Almighty is too Good, too Wise, too Great,
His Creature e'er injuriously to treat.
When Men grow ripe in Wickedness, the Day
Of their Destruction God will not delay.
The Wretches he'll extirpate, and restore
To Slaves their Ease, their Substance to the Poor.
What Suff'rings e'er the Good and Righteous bear,
They never cease to be th'Almighty's Care.
And sometimes he exalts them from the Dust,
To Posts of highest Dignity and Trust.
They round the Thrones of Kings as Fav'rites stand,
And next to them in Power, the World command.
They rest secure above the reach of all
Who hate their Virtue, and design their Fall.
Or if by adverse Fate they are distrest,
And by Affliction's Iron Rod opprest,
This is to make them on their Faults reflect,
Which God is pleas'd in Kindness to correct;
Sin's growing Power and Greatness to restrain,
Lest in their Hearts it should Victorious reign.
Men are hereby inlighten'd, and the Mind
To hear Divine Instruction is inclin'd.
They for their Faults their Sorrow will declare,
Resolv'd from Virtue's Rule no more to err.
And if their Pains produce this blest effect,
If thus their Faults and Follys they correct,
If they a Zeal for Piety maintain,
They shall their Splendour and their Power regain.
And blest by gracious Heav'n in all their ways,
Shall pass in unmolested Peace their Days.
But if they persevere to disobey,
God shall the unrelenting Rebels slay.
Which made the young Instructer thus proceed:
I now more fully will impart my Sense,
And urge fresh Arguments in God's defence.
His spotless Justice I will vindicate,
Decide with clearness this perplex'd Debate.
Nor will I labour to entangle thee
With artful words, and cheating Sophistry.
154
Sincere and plain, and solid Reasons chuse,
Fit to convince the Mind, not to amuse.
Know then, that God whose Throne surmounts the Skys,
Will ne'er the meanest, lowest Man despise.
Th' Almighty is too Good, too Wise, too Great,
His Creature e'er injuriously to treat.
When Men grow ripe in Wickedness, the Day
Of their Destruction God will not delay.
The Wretches he'll extirpate, and restore
To Slaves their Ease, their Substance to the Poor.
What Suff'rings e'er the Good and Righteous bear,
They never cease to be th'Almighty's Care.
And sometimes he exalts them from the Dust,
To Posts of highest Dignity and Trust.
They round the Thrones of Kings as Fav'rites stand,
And next to them in Power, the World command.
They rest secure above the reach of all
Who hate their Virtue, and design their Fall.
Or if by adverse Fate they are distrest,
And by Affliction's Iron Rod opprest,
This is to make them on their Faults reflect,
Which God is pleas'd in Kindness to correct;
Sin's growing Power and Greatness to restrain,
Lest in their Hearts it should Victorious reign.
Men are hereby inlighten'd, and the Mind
To hear Divine Instruction is inclin'd.
They for their Faults their Sorrow will declare,
Resolv'd from Virtue's Rule no more to err.
155
If thus their Faults and Follys they correct,
If they a Zeal for Piety maintain,
They shall their Splendour and their Power regain.
And blest by gracious Heav'n in all their ways,
Shall pass in unmolested Peace their Days.
But if they persevere to disobey,
God shall the unrelenting Rebels slay.
Enrag'd against them he shall take the Field,
And Darts of Fire, and Bolts of Thunder weild.
Then shall his Sword with horrid Sway descend,
To cut off those, his Rod could ne'er amend.
False Hpocrites, to Vengeance destin'd, lay
Wrath up in Stores, against the wrathful Day.
Suddain Destruction on their Heads shall fall,
Before the Wretches can for Mercy call.
Their Life's short Course ends at the middle Stage,
Crush'd in the Vigour of their Manly Age.
Unthought of Ruin shall their Seats surprise,
Like that which Rain'd on Sodom from the Skies.
But God is touch'd with Pity to the Poor,
And saves the humble, who his Aid implore.
He is to these, ev'n in his Anger, kind,
Afflicts the Body, to instruct the Mind.
His Strokes are sharp, but strike out heav'nly Light,
Whereby th' afflicted learn to judge aright;
Their Eyes are open'd to discern their Sin,
And Night without, dispels the Night within.
Hadst thou thy humble Will to God's resign'd,
And born Correction with a patient Mind,
When with his Rod he had thy Virtue prov'd,
He would have all thy grievous Pains remov'd.
Thy hideous train of Woes he had discharg'd,
And thee from all thy pinching Straits enlarg'd.
He would have made thy Table to abound,
And thee with lasting Peace and Honour crown'd.
But since thy impious, rash Discourses shew,
Job thinks of Heav'n as Unbelievers do;
God will assert the Honour of his Laws,
And Judgment give according to thy Cause.
Since then thou findst th'Almighty is displeas'd,
Fear, left his Fury should be yet increas'd.
Let not thy Crimes afresh his Wrath provoke,
To cut thee off with his avenging Stroke.
Dost thou believe he does thy Wealth regard,
Or can thy Power thy Punishment retard?
No, tho' a Soveraign Lord thou wert, possest
Of all the Strength and Treasure of the East.
That Power or Wealth can serve thee, do not dream,
Please not thy self with such an idle Scheme.
Never thy self with such vain Hopes delight,
Not ev'n in musing on thy Bed by Night.
For God whole Nations who soft Peace enjoy'd,
Sometimes with suddain Vengeance has destroy'd.
But let thy Suff'rings teach thee so much Sense,
Offended Justice never to incense.
Too much of this thou hast already done,
Too much thy Sin, too much thy Folly shown:
While thou didst rather Providence accuse,
Then patiently to bear Affliction, chuse.
And Darts of Fire, and Bolts of Thunder weild.
Then shall his Sword with horrid Sway descend,
To cut off those, his Rod could ne'er amend.
False Hpocrites, to Vengeance destin'd, lay
Wrath up in Stores, against the wrathful Day.
Suddain Destruction on their Heads shall fall,
Before the Wretches can for Mercy call.
Their Life's short Course ends at the middle Stage,
Crush'd in the Vigour of their Manly Age.
Unthought of Ruin shall their Seats surprise,
Like that which Rain'd on Sodom from the Skies.
But God is touch'd with Pity to the Poor,
And saves the humble, who his Aid implore.
He is to these, ev'n in his Anger, kind,
Afflicts the Body, to instruct the Mind.
His Strokes are sharp, but strike out heav'nly Light,
Whereby th' afflicted learn to judge aright;
Their Eyes are open'd to discern their Sin,
And Night without, dispels the Night within.
156
And born Correction with a patient Mind,
When with his Rod he had thy Virtue prov'd,
He would have all thy grievous Pains remov'd.
Thy hideous train of Woes he had discharg'd,
And thee from all thy pinching Straits enlarg'd.
He would have made thy Table to abound,
And thee with lasting Peace and Honour crown'd.
But since thy impious, rash Discourses shew,
Job thinks of Heav'n as Unbelievers do;
God will assert the Honour of his Laws,
And Judgment give according to thy Cause.
Since then thou findst th'Almighty is displeas'd,
Fear, left his Fury should be yet increas'd.
Let not thy Crimes afresh his Wrath provoke,
To cut thee off with his avenging Stroke.
Dost thou believe he does thy Wealth regard,
Or can thy Power thy Punishment retard?
No, tho' a Soveraign Lord thou wert, possest
Of all the Strength and Treasure of the East.
That Power or Wealth can serve thee, do not dream,
Please not thy self with such an idle Scheme.
Never thy self with such vain Hopes delight,
Not ev'n in musing on thy Bed by Night.
For God whole Nations who soft Peace enjoy'd,
Sometimes with suddain Vengeance has destroy'd.
But let thy Suff'rings teach thee so much Sense,
Offended Justice never to incense.
Too much of this thou hast already done,
Too much thy Sin, too much thy Folly shown:
157
Then patiently to bear Affliction, chuse.
Consider, Job, God's vast and boundless Power,
He does debase at pleasure, and restore.
What Statesman shall invite him to his School,
To teach th' Almighty how he ought to Rule?
Who can the Master that directs him, name?
What Visitor does his Proceedings blame?
Where is the Censor that presumes to say
Here thou hast err'd, here thou hast kept thy way?
Against thy God no more Objections raise,
But let the Contemplation of his Ways
Excite thy Admiration and thy Praise.
The wonders of his Providence adore,
As much as Men admire the marks of Power,
Of Wisdom, and of masterly Design,
Which in the World's amazing Fabrick shine.
All must the Maker's Skill Divine proclaim,
Who view the Parts of this stupendous Frame.
None are so stupid, none so dull of Thought,
Ev'n in the Barbarous Regions far remote,
But, if their Eyes they open, must descry
The bright Impressions of his Majesty.
They'l own their Reasoning at its utmost stretch,
His boundless Power and Wisdom cannot reach.
They may their Arms from Pole to Pole extend,
And sooner grasp the Spheres, then comprehend
Th' immense Eternal Mind; for who can show
The number of his Days, that no Beginning know?
Our Thoughts their way in such Enquirys miss,
O'erwhelm'd, and swallow'd in the vast Abyss.
When we approach him, his too glorious Light
Quite dazles, and confounds our feeble Sight.
He does debase at pleasure, and restore.
What Statesman shall invite him to his School,
To teach th' Almighty how he ought to Rule?
Who can the Master that directs him, name?
What Visitor does his Proceedings blame?
Where is the Censor that presumes to say
Here thou hast err'd, here thou hast kept thy way?
Against thy God no more Objections raise,
But let the Contemplation of his Ways
Excite thy Admiration and thy Praise.
The wonders of his Providence adore,
As much as Men admire the marks of Power,
Of Wisdom, and of masterly Design,
Which in the World's amazing Fabrick shine.
All must the Maker's Skill Divine proclaim,
Who view the Parts of this stupendous Frame.
None are so stupid, none so dull of Thought,
Ev'n in the Barbarous Regions far remote,
But, if their Eyes they open, must descry
The bright Impressions of his Majesty.
They'l own their Reasoning at its utmost stretch,
His boundless Power and Wisdom cannot reach.
They may their Arms from Pole to Pole extend,
And sooner grasp the Spheres, then comprehend
Th' immense Eternal Mind; for who can show
The number of his Days, that no Beginning know?
158
O'erwhelm'd, and swallow'd in the vast Abyss.
When we approach him, his too glorious Light
Quite dazles, and confounds our feeble Sight.
He does in Air the fluid Clouds sustain,
Which he dissolves and melts to Dew or Rain.
Which falling down in small refreshing drops,
Dispose the Earth to bring forth fruitful Crops.
Thus to the Earth its Vapours he restores,
And makes the Clouds distil such frequent Showers,
As lookers on with Admiration fill
Of this Contrivance, this surprising Skill.
And who has Understanding to declare
How he extends his Clouds, and makes the Air
The pondrous Burden of the Water bear?
Who can account for that tremendous Noise,
Those awful Murmurs, and Majestic Voice
Which issue thence, and terribly declare,
That God has fixt his high Pavilion there.
Observe too how he spreds upon the Streams,
And on the Deep, the Sun's diffusive Beams.
Where for the Clouds they levy fresh Supplys,
And raise Recruits of Vapours which arise,
Drawn from the Sea to muster in the Skys:
Which he for different purpose does employ;
Some serve in Storms the Wicked to destroy.
Others refresh the Earth with genial Rains,
And make his Fields reward the Farmer's Pains.
Sometimes he draws his hovering Mists between
The Heav'ns and Earth, and makes his Clouds a Screen
To intercept the Light, and so defeat
The Fruits and Flowers of their expected Heat.
Brute Beasts themselves, by Nature's instinct Wise,
When they observe the gath'ring Clouds arise,
Can tell, if Storms and Tempests are design'd,
Or if sweet Showers will to the Soil be kind.
Which he dissolves and melts to Dew or Rain.
Which falling down in small refreshing drops,
Dispose the Earth to bring forth fruitful Crops.
Thus to the Earth its Vapours he restores,
And makes the Clouds distil such frequent Showers,
As lookers on with Admiration fill
Of this Contrivance, this surprising Skill.
And who has Understanding to declare
How he extends his Clouds, and makes the Air
The pondrous Burden of the Water bear?
Who can account for that tremendous Noise,
Those awful Murmurs, and Majestic Voice
Which issue thence, and terribly declare,
That God has fixt his high Pavilion there.
Observe too how he spreds upon the Streams,
And on the Deep, the Sun's diffusive Beams.
Where for the Clouds they levy fresh Supplys,
And raise Recruits of Vapours which arise,
Drawn from the Sea to muster in the Skys:
Which he for different purpose does employ;
Some serve in Storms the Wicked to destroy.
Others refresh the Earth with genial Rains,
And make his Fields reward the Farmer's Pains.
159
The Heav'ns and Earth, and makes his Clouds a Screen
To intercept the Light, and so defeat
The Fruits and Flowers of their expected Heat.
Brute Beasts themselves, by Nature's instinct Wise,
When they observe the gath'ring Clouds arise,
Can tell, if Storms and Tempests are design'd,
Or if sweet Showers will to the Soil be kind.
|
Ch. XXXVI
A paraphrase on the Book of Job | |