is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? 15. Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight: 16. How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?
Eliphaz here falls very foul upon Job, because he contradicted what he and his colleagues had said, and did not acquiesce in it, and applaud it, as they expected. Proud people are apt thus to take it very much amiss, if they may not have leave to dictate and give law to all about them, and to censure those as ignorant and obstinate, and all that is naught, who cannot, in every thing, say as they say.
Several great crimes Eliphaz here charges Job with, only because he would not own himself a hypocrite.
I. He charges him with folly and absurdity; (v. 2, 3.) That whereas he had been reputed a wise man, he had now quite forfeited his reputation; any one would say that his wisdom was departed from him, he talked so extravagantly, and so little to the purpose. Bildad began thus, (ch. viii. 2.) and Zophar, ch. xi. 2, 3. It is common for angry disputants thus to represent one another's reasonings as impertinent and ridiculous, more than there is cause, forgetting the doom of him that calls his brother Raca, and Thou Fool. It is true, 1. That there is in the world a great deal of vain knowledge, science falsely so called, that is useless, and therefore worthless. 2. That this is the knowledge that puffs up, with which men swell in a fond conceit of their own accomplishments. 3. That whatever vain knowledge a man may have in his head, if he would be thought a wise man, he must not utter it, but let it die with himself, as it deserves. 4. Unprofitable talk is evil talk: we must give an account, in the great day, not only for wicked words, but for idle words. Speeches, therefore, which do no good, which do no service either to God or our neighbour, or no justice to ourselves, which are no way to the use of edifying, were better unspoken. Those words which are as wind, light and empty, especially which are as the east wind, hurtful and pernicious, it will be wrong to fill either ourselves or others with, for they will pass very ill in the account. 5. Vain knowledge and unprofitable talk ought to be reproved and checked, especially in a wise man, whom it worst becomes, and who does most hurt by the bad example of it.
II. He charges him with impiety and irreligion; (v. 4.) "Thou castest off fear," that is, "the fear of God, and that regard to him which thou shouldest have; and then thou restrainest prayer." See what religion is summed up in—fearing God, and praying to him; the former the most needful principle, the latter the most needful practice. Where no fear of God is, no good is to be expected; and those who live without prayer, certainly live without God in the world. Those who restrain prayer, prove that they cast off fear. Surely those have no reverence of God's majesty, no dread of his wrath, and are in no care about their souls and eternity, who make no applications to God for his grace. Those who are prayerless, are fearless and graceless. When the fear of God is cast off, all sin is let in, and a door open to all manner of profaneness. It is especially bad with those who have had some fear of God, but have now cast it off, have been frequent in prayer, but now restrain it. How are they fallen! How is their first love lost! It denotes a kind of force put upon themselves. The fear of God would cleave to them, but they throw it off; prayer would be uttered, but they restrain it, and, in both, baffle their convictions. Those who either omit prayer, or straiten and abridge themselves in it, quenching the spirit of adoption, and denying themselves the liberty they might take in the duty, restrain prayer: this is bad enough, but it is worse to restrain others from prayer, to prohibit and discourage prayer, as Darius, Dan. vi. 7.
Now Eliphaz charges this upon Job, either, 1. As that which was his own practice. He thought that Job talked of God with such liberty as if he had been his equal, and that he charged him so vehemently with hard usage of him, and challenged him so often to a fair trial, that he had quite thrown off all religious regard to him. This charge was utterly false, and yet wanted not some colour. We ought not only to take care that we keep up prayer and the fear of God, but that we never drop any unwary expressions, which may give occasion to those who seek occasion to question our sincerity and constancy in religion. Or, 2. As that which others would infer from the doctrine he maintained. "If this be true," (thinks Eliphaz,) "which Job says, that a man may be thus sorely afflicted, and yet be a good man, then farewell all religion, farewell prayer and the fear of God. If all things come alike to all, and the best men may have the worst treatment in this world, every one will be ready to say, It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it to keep his ordinances? (Mal. iii. 14.) Verily I have cleansed my hands in vain, (Ps. lxxiii. 13, 14.) Who will be honest, if the tabernacles of robbers prosper? (ch. xii. 6.) If there be no forgiveness with God, (ch. vii. 21.) who will fear him? (Ps. cxxx. 4. ) If he laugh at the trial of the innocent, (ch. ix. 23.) if he be so difficult of access, (ch. ix. 32.) who will pray to him?" Note, It is a piece of injustice, which even wise and good men are too often guilty of, in the heat of disputation, to charge upon their adversaries those consequences of their opinions, which are not fairly drawn from them, and which really they abhor. This is not doing as we would be done by.
Upon this strained inuendo Eliphaz grounds that high charge of impiety; (v. 5.) Thy mouth utters thine iniquity, teaches it, so the word is. "Thou teachest others to have the same hard thoughts of God and religion that thou thyself hast." It is bad to break even the least of the commandments, but worse to teach men so, Matth. v. 19. If we ever thought evil, let us lay our hand upon our mouth to suppress the evil thought, (Prov. xxx. 32.) and let us by no means utter it, that is putting an imprimatur to it, publishing it with allowance, to the dishonour of God, and the damage of others. Observe, When men have cast off fear and prayer, their mouths utter iniquity. They that cease to do good, soon learn to do evil. What can we expect but all manner of iniquity from those that arm not themselves with the grace of God against it? But, thou choosest the tongue of the crafty, that is, "Thou utterest thine iniquity with some show and pretence of piety, mixing some good words with the bad, as tradesmen do with their wares to help them off." The mouth of iniquity could not do so much mischief as it does, without the tongue of the crafty. The serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, Rom. xvi. 18. The tongue of the crafty speaks with design and deliberation; and therefore thev that use it may be said to choose it, as that which will serve their purpose better than the tongue of the upright: but it will be found, at last, that honesty is the best policy.
Eliphaz, in his first discourse, had proceeded against Job upon mere surmise; (ch. iv. 6, 7.) but now he has got proof against him from his own discourses; (v. 6.) Thine own mouth condemns thee,
