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theends of deceit, so as to say, I will go forth, and I will be Book a ying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. But because king Ahab by his previous sins had made himself worthy to De cursed with such deception, in order that he who had many times willingly fallen into sin, might for once unwillingly be caught for his punishment, leave is given by a secret justice to the evil spirits, that those whom with willing minds they strangle in the noose of sin, they may drag to the punishment of that sin even against their will. - What then it is there to describe the Host of heaven as having stood on the right hand and on the left hand of God, the same it is here to declare Satan to have presented himself among the sons of God. So on the right hand of God there stood Angels, for that the sons of God are named; so on His lest hand Angels are standing, because Satan presented himself among them.

39. But as we have determined to search out the hidden senses of the allegory, we not unfitly take it to mean, that the Lord beheld Satan in the day, in that He restrained his ways in the Incarnation of His Wisdom; as though it were not to have seen him, to have for so long borne with his wickedness in the ruin of the human race. Whence it is straightway said to him by the voice of God,

Ver. 7. Whence comest thou?

40. In the day Satan is demanded of his ways, for that in xxi. the light of revealed Wisdom the snares of the hidden foe are discovered. Because, then, the devil is rebuked by the Incarnate Lord, and restrained from his baneful license, it is well subjoined, And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? For He then by arraigning attainted the ways of Satan, when by the Advent of the Mediator restraining the wickedness of his persuasions, He rebuked the same. And it is not without reason that the sons of God are related to have stood in the presence of the Lord on this day, forasmuch as it is by the light of Wisdom illuminating them that all the elect are gathered to the calling of their eternal country. Who, though Incarnate Wisdom came to assemblé them in actual deed, were yet by virtue of His foreknowledge already inwardly present to His Divinity. But since the

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Satan's work on earth. Christ described in Job.

JOB 1, old enemy, at the coming of the Redeemer, is questioned of 7.8. his ways, let us hear what he says.

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Ver. 7. From going to and fro in the earth, and fron walking up and down in it.

xxii. 41. For from the time of Adam till the coming of the Lord, he drew after him all the nations of the Gentiles; he went to and fro in the earth, and walked up and down in it, in that he stamped the foot-prints of his wickedness throughout the hearts of the Gentiles. For when he fell from on high he gained lawful possession of the minds of men, because he fastened them as willing captives in the chains of his iniquity; and he wandered the more at large in the world, in proportion as there was no one found who was in all things free from that his guilt. And his having gone to and fro in the world as with power, is his having found no man who could thoroughly resist him. But now let Satan return back, i. e. let the Divine power withhold him from the execution of his wickedness, since He has now appeared in the flesh, Who had no part in the infection of sin from the infirmity of the flesh. He came in humility for the proud enemy himself to wonder at, that he who had set at nought all the mightiness of His Divinity, might stand in awe even of the very infirmities of His Humanity. Wherefore also this very weakness of His human nature is immediately set forth against him with wonderful significance as an object to confound him; whereas it is said,

xxiii.

Ver. 8. Hast thou considered My servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth?

42. That Job means by interpretation, 'Grieving,' we have already said a little above. And He is truly called 'Grieving' in figure, Who is declared by the testimony of

Is. 53,4. the Prophet 'to bear our griefs.' Who has not His like on the earth; for every man is only man, but He is both God and Man. He has not His like on earth, because though every son by adoption attains to the receiving of the Divine nature, yet none ever receives so much, as to be, by nature, God. He was even rightly styled a servant, because He did not disdain to take the form of a servant. Nor did His taking the humility of the flesh injure His sovereignty, for in Christ's perfect Humanity à rebuke to Satan.

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order that He might both take upon Him that which He Book was to save, yet not undergo alteration in that which He had, He neither lessened the Divine by the Human, nor swallowed up the Human in the Divine; for although Paul hath it, Who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to Phil. 2, be equal with God; but emptied Himself, and took upon Him the form of a servant; yet to Him it is ' emptying Himself,' of the greatness of His Invisible Being to manifest Himself as Visible; so that the form of a servant should be the covering of That Which without limitation enters into all things by virtue of Godhead. Again, God's saying to Satan in figure, Hast Thou considered My servant Job, is His exhibiting in his despite the Only-Begotten Son as an object of wonder in the form of a servant. For in that He made Him known in the flesh as of so great virtue, He as it were pointed out to the adversary in his pride what it would grieve him to contemplate; but now that He had brought before him a perfect object for him to admire, it remains that in order to strike down his pride he should further go on to enumerate its excellencies. It goes on,

Ver. 8. A perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil.

43. For there came among men the Mediator between xxiv. God and Man, the Man Christ Jesus, for the giving an example of living, perfect'; in respect of His rigour towards 'simplex the evil spirits, upright; for the exterminating pride, fearing God; and for the wiping off impurity of life in His Elect, departing from evil. For it is said of Him by Isaiah in a special manner, And shall make him of quick understanding in the Is.11,3. fear of the Lord. And He did in a special manner depart from evil, who refused to imitate the actions which He found among men, since, as Peter bears witness, He did no sin, 1 Pet. 2, neither was guile found in His mouth. It follows;

Ver. 9, 10. Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not Thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

The old enemy knew that the Redeemer of mankind was • E. V. made Himself of no reputation, which is less literal.

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Satan understood not our Lord's humiliation.

JOB 1, come to be the conqueror of himself; and hence it is said by 10.11. the man possessed in the Gospel, What have we to do with Matt. 8, Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of God? Art Thou come hither to tor

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ment us before the time? Yet before, when he perceived Him to be subject to passion, and saw that He might suffer all the mortal accidents of humanity, all that he imagined concerning His Divinity became doubtful to him from his exceeding pride. For savouring of nothing else but pride, whilst he beheld Him in humility, he doubted of His being God;

Matt. 4, and hence he has recourse to proof by temptation, saying, If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. In this way, because he saw that He was subject to passion, he did not believe Him to be God by birth, but to be kept by the grace of God. And for the same reason too he is in this place said to allege,

XXV.

Ver. 10. Hast not Thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

44. For he urges that both himself and his house are hedged about by God; because he could not find an entrance to His conscience by tempting him. He declares his substance to be hedged about, in that he dares not to attack His elect servants. He complains that God had blessed the work of his hands, and that his substance was increased in the land, for this reason, that he pines at beholding that faith in Him enlarges its bounds, in man's coming to the knowledge of Him by the preaching of the Apostles. For His substance is said to be increasing, all the time that by the labours of the preachers the number of the faithful daily waxes larger. Satan's saying this to God, is his seeing these things with an envious eye. Satan's saying this to God, is his grieving at these things with a pining spirit. It proceeds:

Ver. 11. But put forth Thine hand a little, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse Thee to Thy face.

45. For He, Whom he thought in time of tranquillity to be under the keeping of God's grace, he imagined might be led to sin by means of suffering; as though he had plainly said, 'One, Who for the miracles which He works is accounted God, The Jewish Church Christ's heritage and first-born. 99

being put to the test by afflictions, is discovered to be a Book sinner, and nothing better.' So the Lord said to Satan,

Ver. 12. Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand.

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46. Whereas we are examining Holy Scripture under its xxvii. figurative import, by the hand of Satan is to be understood not his power, but the extent of his tempting. All, then, that he hath is given into the hand of the Tempter, and he is only forbidden to put forth his hand upon him, which nevertheless, when his substance is gone, is permitted him; for that first Judæa, which was His possession, was taken from Him in unbelief, and that afterwards His flesh was nailed to the stock of the Cross. He then Who first underwent the opposition of Judea, and afterwards came even to the Cross. in a manner first lost that He had, and then in His own Person endured the wickedness of the adversary. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. 47. Just as it was said above, Satan went forth from the xxviii. presence of the Lord, in that he attained the objects of his desire; for he was in a certain sense in His presence, all the time that on account of Him, he failed to accomplish all that he mischievously thirsted after.

Ver. 13. And there was a day, when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house.

48. We have said that the sons and daughters of blessed xxix. Job were a representation either of the order of the Apostles, or of the whole multitude of the faithful. Now the Lord Incarnate first chose a few out of Judæa unto faith, and afterwards He gathered to Himself the multitude of the Gentile people. But who was the eldest son of the Lord, unless the Jewish people is to be understood, which had been a long time born to Him by the teaching of the Law which He gave? and who the younger son but the Gentile people, which at the very end of the world was gathered together? And therefore whereas, when Satan was unwittingly contributing to the welfare of the human race, and having corrupted the hearts of those persecutors was demanding warrant for the Passion of the Lord, the Holy Apostles were as yet ignorant that the Gentile world were to be gathered