21 With nothing I came out of my mother's body, and with nothing I will go back there; the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; let the Lord's name be praised.
But you have put him away in disgust; you have been angry with the king of your selection. You have made your agreement with your servant of no effect: you have had no respect for his crown, it has come down even to the earth. All his walls are broken down; you have given his strong towers to destruction. All those who come by take away his goods; he is laughed at by his neighbours. You have given power to the right hand of his haters; you have made glad all those who are against him. His sword is turned back; you have not been his support in the fight. You have put an end to his glory: the seat of his kingdom has been levelled to the earth. You have made him old before his time; he is covered with shame. (Selah.) How long, O Lord, will you Keep yourself for ever from our eyes? how long will your wrath be burning like fire? See how short my time is; why have you made all men for no purpose? What man now living will not see death? will he be able to keep back his soul from the underworld? (Selah.) Lord, where are your earlier mercies? where is the oath which you made to David in unchanging faith? Keep in mind, O Lord, the shame of your servants, and how the bitter words of all the people have come into my heart; The bitter words of your haters, O Lord, shaming the footsteps of your king. Let the Lord be praised for ever. So be it, So be it.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Job 1
Commentary on Job 1 Matthew Henry Commentary
An Exposition, With Practical Observations, of
The Book of Job
Chapter 1
The history of Job begins here with an account,
In all this he is set forth for an example of suffering affliction, from which no prosperity can secure us, but through which integrity and uprightness will preserve us.
Job 1:1-3
Concerning Job we are here told,
Job 1:4-5
We have here a further account of Job's prosperity and his piety.
Job 1:6-12
Job was not only so rich and great, but withal so wise and good, and had such an interest both in heaven and earth, that one would think the mountain of his prosperity stood so strong that it could not be moved; but here we have a thick cloud gathering over his head, pregnant with a horrible tempest. We must never think ourselves secure from storms while we are in this lower region. Before we are told how his troubles surprised and seized him here in this visible world, we are here told how they were concerted in the world of spirits, that the devil, having a great enmity to Job for his eminent piety, begged and obtained leave to torment him. It does not at all derogate from the credibility of Job's story in general to allow that this discourse between God and Satan, in these verses, is parabolical, like that of Micaiah (1 Ki. 22:19, etc.), and an allegory designed to represent the malice of the devil against good men and the divine check and restraint which that malice is under; only thus much further is intimated, that the affairs of this earth are very much the subject of the counsels of the unseen world. That world is dark to us, but we lie very open to it. Now here we have,
Job 1:13-19
We have here a particular account of Job's troubles.
Job 1:20-22
The devil had done all he desired leave to do against Job, to provoke him to curse God. He had touched all he had, touched it with a witness; he whom the rising sun saw the richest of all the men in the east was before night poor to a proverb. If his riches had been, as Satan insinuated, the only principle of his religion now that he had lost his riches he would certainly have lost his religion; but the account we have, in these verses, of his pious deportment under his affliction, sufficiently proved the devil a liar and Job an honest man.
Lastly, Here is the honourable testimony which the Holy Ghost gives to Job's constancy and good conduct under his afflictions. He passed his trials with applause, v. 22. In all this Job did not act amiss, for he did not attribute folly to God, nor in the least reflect upon his wisdom in what he had done. Discontent and impatience do in effect charge God with folly. Against the workings of these therefore Job carefully watched; and so must we, acknowledging that as God has done right, but we have done wickedly, so God has done wisely, but we have done foolishly, very foolishly. Those who not only keep their temper under crosses and provocations, but keep up good thoughts of God and sweet communion with him, whether their praise be of men or no, it will be of God, as Job's here was.