Matthew Henry Commentary Job 17
Matthew Henry Commentary
Job 17
Matthew Henry Commentary
Job 17
"My spirit is consumed, my days are extinct, The grave is [ready] for me. Surely there are mockers with me, And mine eye dwelleth upon their provocation. Give now a pledge, be surety for me with thyself; Who is there that will strike hands with me? For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: Therefore shalt thou not exalt [them]. He that denounceth his friends for a prey, Even the eyes of his children shall fail. But he hath made me a byword of the people; And they spit in my face. Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, And all my members are as a shadow. Upright men shall be astonished at this, And the innocent shall stir up himself against the godless. Yet shall the righteous hold on his way, And he that hath clean hands shall wax stronger and stronger." — Job 17:1-9 (ASV)
Job reflects on the harsh censures his friends had passed on him, and, looking on himself as a dying man, he appeals to God. Our time is ending; it concerns us to carefully redeem the time and spend it preparing for eternity.
We see the good use the righteous should make of Job's afflictions—from God, from enemies, and from friends. Instead of being discouraged in the service of God by the harsh treatment this faithful servant of God met with, they should be emboldened to proceed and persevere in it.
Those who keep their eye on heaven as their end, will keep their feet in the paths of religion as their way, whatever difficulties and discouragements they may encounter.
"But as for you all, come on now again; And I shall not find a wise man among you. My days are past, my purposes are broken off, Even the thoughts of my heart. They change the night into day: The light, [say they], is near unto the darkness. If I look for Sheol as my house; If I have spread my couch in the darkness; If I have said to corruption, Thou art my father; To the worm, [Thou art] my mother, and my sister; Where then is my hope? And as for my hope, who shall see it? It shall go down to the bars of Sheol, When once there is rest in the dust." — Job 17:10-16 (ASV)
Job's friends had pretended to comfort him with the hope of his return to a prosperous estate; here he shows that those who draw their comforts from the possibility of recovery in this world do not act wisely when comforting the afflicted. It is wise for us to comfort ourselves, and others, in distress, with what will not fail: the promise of God, his love and grace, and a well-grounded hope of eternal life.
See how Job reconciles himself to the grave. Let this make believers willing to die; it is merely going to bed; they are weary, and it is time for them to be in their beds. Why should they not go willingly when their Father calls them? Let us remember our bodies are subject to corruption, the worm, and the dust; and let us seek that lively hope which will be fulfilled, when the hope of the wicked will be put out in darkness; so that when our bodies are in the grave, our souls may enjoy the rest reserved for the people of God.
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